Stuffed Bell Peppers with a Goat Cheese and Pear Salad

[ALLY! This is the dinner that Mike forgot about!! Rub these pictures in his face and gloat!]

Note:: This recipe is gluten free AND// This recipe is vegan if you leave out the Italian sausage and skip the parmesan cheese.

For this recipe, I cut the bell peppers lengthwise versus the tradition stuffed pepper in which you lop the top off and make it stand up, I did this because I was short on time. This meal was super satisfying, very hearty and very colorful.

You will need (for the peppers):

Olive oil

3 bell peppers (organic red bells are on sale this week!)

2 Italian sausages (I used sweet turkey Italian sausages)

1 cup of quinoa

1/2 of a yellow onion, diced

1 handful of baby tomatoes, quartered

1 cup of white beans, cooked and drained

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

1/2 tablespoon of marjoram

1/3 cup of shredded parmesan cheese

You will need (for the salad):

1 1/2 cups of baby spinach (or other salad greens, arugula would be great for this as well)

1 bosc pear, cut into slivers

1/3 of a cup of red onion, sliced thinly

1 sprinkling of chevre crumbles

1 tablespoon of olive oil (or walnut oil)

2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a casserole dish with a thin layer of olive oil. Once the oven is preheated place the bell pepper halves in the casserole dish and let them bake for **10 minutes to soften them gently before you stuff them.

Prep the excess pepper tops into smaller, diced pieces and prep the other veggies for your filling.

Over medium high heat, cook your sausages with oil and a scant amount of water. Brown each side, adding a drizzle of water and cover to allow them to steam until they are cooked through.

Have I mentioned I drink my kombucha from a wine glass while I cook? I makes me feel like a grown-up.

Though this was not on the ingredient-list, I am heating up some leftover marinara I had in the fridge to drizzle onto the peppers when they are done. This is not necessary, but if you have access or are in need of using up something that is already in your refrigerator, gently heat up marinara over low heat.

While the sausages are cooking and your bell peppers are in the oven, start your quinoa: one cup of quinoa to two cups of water. Once boiling, cover and reduce to low heat for 15 minutes.

Today I was too busy to make my own beans (blush!!) But do take a minute to drain your beans (whether you made them yourself or got them out of a can)

Peel and mince your garlic.

Once your sausages are cooked thoroughly, remove them from the pan and allow them to cool on a plate. In their oil/drippings, saute the yellow onions over medium heat until they are translucent, about five minutes.

Add the beans and garlic and stir over medium heat for 3-5 minutes.

Add the baby tomatoes and diced bell pepper.

Stir them in over medium heat and let them soften for about five minutes.

Add your finished quinoa and turn the heat to low.

Add your marjoram.

Cut your sausage into half moons once it is cool enough to touch.

Stir your sausage into the quinoa mixture.

You are now ready to stuff your peppers!

Grate a 1/3 of a cup of parmesan cheese.

Then begin to stuff the peppers with spoonfuls of filling.

Sprinkle them with parmesan cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

While the peppers are cooking, put together your salad. Blend the balsamic and olive oil together and drizzle over the top.

I served my peppers over a ladle of marinara on the same beautiful plate as the salad. Include a steak knife for cutting when you serve!

xo

(PS. Mike, if you are reading this, you missed out! hehe)

Kale and Mushroom Stroganoff

Again, AJ asked that I show him how to make this. And I am so thankful! It's been so miserably cold here and I am so tired that some real comfort food, like my mom used to make, is really what the kind doctor ordered. 

***This recipe IS gluten free and can be made vegetarian**

::if you use vegetable stock or mushroom instead of beef stock

and it can be made vegan** 

::if you also replace the butter for vegan margarine or olive oil, sour cream with vegan "sour cream" or plain yogurt and replace the grated parmesan with nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan.

What you will need:

16 ounces of rice flour rotini (curled) or egg noodles 

4 tablespoons of butter

3-5 medium Baby-Bello or Cremini mushrooms, washed and sliced into thin quarters

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 bunch of kale, I used Red Russian because its so pretty and this is a Russian dish!

3 green onions, chopped thin, with the greens separated from the white part (you will use both but at different times)

1 heaping tablespoon of rice flour

16 fluid ounces of beef, mushroom or vegetable stock

1/3 of a cup of grated parmesan cheese

8 ounces of sour cream (or your choice replacement)

Black pepper

Salt 

With one tablespoon of butter, saute the garlic and the kale until the kale is soft and then set aside over very low heat.

In a shallow sauce pan (or deep saute pan, or a cast iron!!) melt the other three tablespoons of butter over medium low heat, then add the sliced mushrooms and let them slowly turn brown.

Stir your kale occasionally. Also, start a pot of water to boil your rice pasta.

Once the mushrooms turn golden brown, add the light/white end of the chopped green onion and let them cook over medium-low heat for about 3 minutes.

Add one tablespoon of rice flour. Stir until it disappears-- it will stick to the mushrooms and bottom of the pan, about 2 minutes. Then deglaze the pan, adding the 16 ounces of broth and turning the heat to medium. Take your wooden spoon and brush the bottom of the pan so as to remove any stuck flour as the broth begins to simmer.

Let the broth/mushroom mixture cook for about 12 minutes, simmering on medium heat, stirring occasionally. It will thicken as it cooks.

At this point, have your water should be boiling for your pasta to cook, add it and cook for 10 minutes (as package indicates, until al dente) because you area about 10-12 minutes out from everything being ready.

Prep the materials for the rest of your sauce. If you haven't already, chop the "green onion greens"

Grate the parmesan cheese

As your sauce thickens it will begin to look like this:

Small simmering bubbles are good, but if it starts popping, blowing big bubbles or sticking you have it on too high.

Have your finishing ingredients handy, as everything is nearly ready:

Check your pasta, and drain it once it is perfectly cooked. Lightly oil it so that it doesn't stick and cover with a lid to keep it warm until you are ready to serve.

Add the sour cream, green onions, parmesan cheese and black pepper to your mushroom/broth mixture and stir over medium heat for 2 minutes, to meld everything together and heat the sauce.

Serve immediately:

This was seriously the most delicious thing I have had in a while :)

xoxooxo