Meatless Mondays: Baked Rigatoni with Roasted Vegetables

I'm excited to tell you about this week's Meatless Mondays dish, because it was such cheesy, comforting goodness. After finding myself with a healthy supply of zucchini, summer squash, and various cheeses, it seemed only natural that this recipe would pop into my head. After searching briefly through one of my Giada De Laurentiis cookbooks, I found it: Baked Pasta with Roasted Vegetables.

There's really nothing I can hate about this dish. It's pasta, so right there I'm in love. Next, throw in a nice assortment of roasted veggies. Awesome. Then, you mix it all together with some marinara sauce, thawed frozen peas, and, best of all, four different types of cheese. Uh, yum! You pour it all into a big baking dish, then top it with yet another type of cheese, and bake it until the whole thing turns brown and bubbly and melty. Ahhh.

This was wonderful. What else can I really say? If you like baked pasta dishes, I highly recommend throwing in some roasted veggies for a delightfully healthy twist on the old fave. The five types of cheese just make it more interesting and even more delicious. I liked the peas in there, too. It was a nice pop of texture every time you bit down on one. I made it a bit differently than Giada did; it's got less oil in the veggie-roasting part, and I thought it was totally unnecessary to add chunks of butter to the top of the casserole before baking it, like she did. I wrote the recipe as I made it down below.

Baked Rigatoni with Roasted Vegetables
adapted from Giada De Laurentiis' Everyday Pasta
makes 8-10 servings

Ingredients
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and cut into 1-inch strips
2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 summer squash, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced into 1-inch strips
1-2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. dried Italian herb blend or herbes de Provence
1 lb. rigatoni pasta
3 cups marinara sauce, homemade or store bought
1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup gouda cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Muenster cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup Camembert cheese, crumbled or chopped
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. On a baking sheet (I lined mine with nonstick aluminum foil), toss the bell peppers, zucchini, squash, and onion with the olive oil, 1/2 tsp. of the salt, 1/4 tsp. of the pepper, and the herbs. Bake until tender, about 15 minutes.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook for about 8 minutes; you don't want to cook it fully since it will be cooked later in the oven. Drain.

3. In a large bowl, combine the pasta with the roasted vegetables, marinara sauce, all the cheeses except the Parmesan, the peas, and the remaining salt and pepper. Gently mix using a wooden spoon until all the pasta is coated with sauce and the ingredients are combined.

4. Pour the pasta into a greased 9x13-inch baking pan. Top with the Parmesan cheese. Bake until the top is golden and the cheese melts, about 25 minutes. Allow the pasta to rest for 5 or so minutes before serving.

Grilled Baby Peppers (for Wine and Cheese Date Night)

Recently, my husband and I were afforded the blessed, rare opportunity to have a date night. With two little boys and no relatives living close by, we find that our alone time is pretty sparse these days. But the kids were off for a few days with their grandparents, so we decided to have a fun date night where we pretended we were sophisticated and know how to pair wines with cheeses. Silly us!



I went all out for this meal. I was inspired by some meals we have had at restaurants in the St. Louis area, where we always seem to order the assorted cheese plates. What can I say, we love our assorted cheese plates. They usually come with some type of dried fruit, some nuts, some olives, or some cured meats. Well, I figured I would just serve all of these!



We had golden raisins, green grapes, dried cranberries, and dried apricots. We had cashews and marcona almonds. We had a wide assortment of olives that I picked up from the olive bar at Whole Foods (which may be my new favorite section of the store!). We had pita bread, toasted wheat bread, and hummus. We had so much food I was a little overwhelmed by it all!

I went to a fancy cheese store that afternoon, and they were very helpful there. They let me sample pretty much any and every cheese I glanced at. I wanted a good variety, and there was so much to choose from. I settled on a Muenster, some Gouda, some Gruyere, a nice Manchego (which is a hard cheese, like Parmigiano), a bit of Camembert (that was my fave), and some super duper stinky blue cheese called Morbier. To go along with it, I picked up some spicy Spanish chorizo from the same store.

We lined up four different types of wine (two reds, two whites) and tried to pair up the various cheeses with the corresponding wines. In some cases, we were shocked at how beautifully it all worked. In other cases, though, it just didn't work out. We still had a blast trying to figure stuff out. It's not something we're likely to do every day, but it was great for a staying-in date! And I would imagine it was at least marginally less expensive than going out.

Now, because none of my blog entries seems complete without some kind of recipe, I will share with you the absurdly simply recipe for the baby bell peppers I served with this meal. I found it in Food Network Magazine, and it seemed like something that would go well with everything else we had that evening. It's a snap, and so very pretty!

Grilled Baby Peppers
adapted from Food Network Magazine
makes 4 servings

Ingredients
1 lb. baby bell peppers (or quartered full-size peppers)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Chopped fresh mint, to taste
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4-1/2 cup feta, crumbled

Directions
1. Preheat a grill pan to high. Toss the peppers with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Throw them on the grill pan and cook for about 10 minutes, turning frequently, until blistered on all sides.

2. Remove the peppers from the grill pan and place on a serving dish. Sprinkle the mint over the peppers, along with the juice of the 1/2 a lemon and the feta. Toss lightly, and serve.

Jamaican Pork Chops with Snow Pea Succotash

I decided to make this recipe because of one tiny, little pepper. I was experiencing a craving for something Caribbean-flavored, and I just so happened to have a beautiful habanero pepper that needed using. Suddenly, inspiration struck and I knew I was destined to make Jamaican Pork Chops. It's been a while since I've used those flavors, and we love them so much. Plus, these pork chops were hanging around in my freezer and could stand to be cooked already.



I gathered the ingredients for my marinade based on several different recipes, ones that I can't even quite remember just now. The flavors were fantastic, I thought. There was some great sweet/tangy/fiery marriage going on there. Unfortunately, I kinda overcooked my meat. I took it out of the oven just as it was nearly done, but then I threw it back in for another minute or two, and sort of forgot about it. Five or six minutes later, I took the meat out again, only to find that it was a bit crispy around the edges. Oh, well. It was still good! It was just a bit dry, but as I said, the flavors were enough to salvage the whole thing.

To serve with the chops, I made a simple pot of Israeli couscous, along with a quick Snow Pea Succotash that I found in one of my Rachael Ray cookbooks. I took a couple of liberties with her master recipe, and I really liked it. It is also a clever way to use up the other half of the lime you use for the pork chops! Waste not, want not!




Boneless Jamaican Pork Chops
adapted from various recipes
makes 4 chops

Ingredients
4 (6-7 ounce) boneless pork chops, trimmed of excess fat
1 medium habanero pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
1/2 lime, zest and juice
2 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. ground thyme
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. onion powder

Directions
1. In a large, resealable Ziploc bag, place the pork chops. In a medium bowl, stir together all the remaining ingredients, then pour the marinade into the bag. Close the bag and shake it up so the marinade coats the chops. Stick the bag in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours before broiling.

2. Once you are done marinading, preheat the broiler. On a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil, place a cooling rack. Using tongs, extract each pork chop from the marinade bag, allowing the liquid to drip off. Place the chops on the cooling rack-covered baking sheet.

3. Broil the pork chops for 5 minutes per side, then allow them to cook for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until the juices run clear. Rest the meat for 5 minutes before serving.


Snow Pea Succotash
adapted from Rachael Ray
makes 4 servings

Ingredients
8 oz. (about 2 1/2 cups) snow peas, trimmed and chopped into bite-size pieces
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced
3 ears corn on the cob, kernels removed (you can also use thawed frozen corn)
1/2 yellow onion, sliced thinly
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1/2 lime, juice and zest
2 tsp. hot sauce, such as Sriracha
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions
1. In a medium skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the snow peas and cook for about 2 minutes, tossing frequently. Add the bell pepper, corn, and onion, and cook for another 7 minutes or so, until the veggies are crisp-tender. Remove from the heat.

2. Transfer the veggies to a serving dish. Sprinkle in the lime zest and juice, the hot sauce, and salt and pepper. Toss well before serving.

Greek Panzanella Salad

I don't make the Barefoot Contessa's recipes very often, but it has very little to do with how I feel about her. I actually like her very much; she's such a soothing television host, and her food always looks accessible and drool-worthy. Therein lies the problem; her food isn't exactly fat-free! It usually has a high calorie content, although I wouldn't call her an unhealthy cook. So, I think the best thing I can do when I'm craving one of Ina's recipes is to go for it, but alter it to better fit my calorie needs. As Ina herself might say, "How easy is that?"

So I embarked upon the task of making her Greek Panzanella Salad, because it looked insanely delicious, and quite frankly I was craving bread. This seemed like the perfect way to turn bread into a one-dish meal that is also packed full of fresh vegetables, feta cheese, and a scrumptious dressing. I've made panzanella once before, and it was Ellie Krieger's recipe. That one was wonderful, too; this one is just a different spin on the formula.

This one has spinach, onions, bell peppers, cucumbers, kalamata olives, grape tomatoes (which I roasted first so they would get all soft and concentrated in flavor), and feta cheese. I used a five-grain bread for my toasted bread cubes, which added a nice nutty dimension to the salad. The dressing is a pretty simple red wine vinaigrette; I just used a lot less oil than Ina did. I also decreased my feta to about 2 oz., and used a reduced-fat variety. That said, I think it could have used a bit more feta, so I wrote the recipe below with the option of using 3 or 4 oz. of cheese. Use the amount you feel comfortable with. Even with all my changes, this salad was absolutely wonderful! I didn't feel like I was depriving myself of anything; all the flavors were there, and a serving was definitely filling enough to pass for an entree. Now that I've made this recipe with such rousing success, I can hardly wait to get my hands on some more of Ina's recipes!

Greek Panzanella Salad
adapted from Foodnetwork.com
makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray
1 (12-0z.) loaf whole grain, crusty bread, cut into cubes
1/4-1/3 cup kalamata olives, chopped
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved (or roasted, like I did)
1/2 a cucumber, seeded and chopped into cubes
1 orange bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 a red onion, sliced into thin strips
3 cups lightly packed baby spinach leaves
3/4-1 cup reduced-fat feta cheese, cubed
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar (I use a pomegranate red wine vinegar; yum!)
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Arrange the bread cubes on a large baking sheet and lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray. Bake the cubes in the oven for about 10 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking. Check for doneness; they should feel stale, like croutons. Adjust cooking time if they need a bit longer.

2. Toss the olives and the next 7 ingredients (through feta cheese) together in a large salad bowl. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine the red wine vinegar, the mustard, salt, pepper, garlic, and oregano. Slowly stream in the olive oil, whisking constantly.

3. Pour the dressing over the vegetables; toss well to combine. Add in your reserved, cooled bread cubes and toss again to coat the cubes with dressing. Serve in shallow bowls.

CEIMB: Asian Noodle Bowl

This week we had the pleasure of making Ellie's Asian Noodle Bowl for Craving Ellie in My Belly. This was chosen by Margaret of Tea and Scones, and it was the absolute perfect weeknight meal for my family. I'm not sure how this recipe escaped my notice for so long, but I'm sure glad Margaret put it on my radar!

I love the ease and freshness of a stir fry. This is one of the first things I ever learned how to make, and we never seem to tire of them. This one, while similar to others I've made in the past, was different and delicious. I realized, this may be the first stir fry I've ever prepared without garlic! I have to say, we didn't really miss it all that much, but it would have been good in there, too.

The ingredients list included fresh broccoli florets, shiitake mushrooms (my first time using them), red bell pepper, canned baby corn, scallions, chicken, and soba noodles. Once everything is stir-frying away, you pour in some low-sodium soy sauce and chicken broth and let it all absorb. The dish is finished with a bit of sesame oil and a few reserved scallions on top.

I was faithful to this recipe, for the most part. I did add one jalapeno pepper to the ginger and scallions that are added to the skillet at the beginning of the recipe, and I was glad I did. It gave the dish just the right amount of heat. Also, I had just 5 oz. of mushrooms, instead of the 8 oz. that were called for, but I just added in extra broccoli and it all worked out okay. My husband called this dish "extra delightful," which I can only take to mean that this one was a big winner!

Thank you to Margaret for choosing this one; it's simple but so delicious! To view the recipe, you can click here. And to see the CEIMB blogroll, you can click here.

Meatless Mondays: Thai Bulgur Salad with Almond Dressing

It's been a few weeks since I've been able to do a Meatless Monday, and I have to say that I've missed it. It's not that I haven't been going meatless, at all, though. In fact, when trying to decide which recipe to blog about today, I realized that I had lots of meatless options to choose from!

In the end, though, I really wanted to talk about this Thai Bulgur Salad with Almond Dressing. This was my first time working with bulgur, and my first time eating it, too. It's quick-cooking, cracked wheat that pretty much behaves like barley or rice in a dish. It's surprisingly hearty and loaded with protein and fiber. The kind I purchased also had roasted soy chips, for an extra punch of soy protein. It's pretty tasy, and very versatile. I'm converted!



This salad is made up of a bunch of fresh veggies, the bulgur, and a tasty almond dressing that is sort of reminiscent of a peanut satay sauce. The secret ingredient is almond butter, another one of my new loves. If you like peanut butter, I recommend trying almond butter just for a change. It's got a very rich, almost sweet flavor, despite containing virtually no sugar. It's better for you than peanut butter; rich in antioxidants and monounsaturated fats, it's also good for your heart and can even aid in controlling your weight. You can get it in smooth or chunky, just like peanut butter. It's great on toast and fabulous in this dressing. I'm planning on baking it into some cookies in the near future!

The dressing also contains rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, honey, and sesame oil, and it is delicious. It was a truly satisfying meal, despite the fact that it was, well, a salad, and contained no meat. By adding protein in varied and unexpected ways, you really don't miss it. This one's a keeper; give it a try!




Thai Bulgur Salad with Almond Dressing
adapted from a Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publication
makes 4 servings

Ingredients
1 cup water
1/2 cup bulgur
2 cups frozen edamame, thawed and shelled
1 cup sweet red bell pepper, cut into julienne strips (about 1 medium pepper)
1/2 cup diced carrot (about 1 medium)
1/2 cup chopped radish (about 7-8 radishes)
1/2 cup thinly sliced, quartered red onion
4 cups packaged fresh spinach leaves
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
3 Tbsp. natural almond butter
1 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
1 tsp. low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 garlic clove, minced
Lime wedges, for garnish (optional)

Directions
1. In a medium saucepan, bring the water to boiling; stir in the uncooked bulgur. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 15 minutes or until bulgur is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Drain if necessary; transfer to a large bowl.

2. While the bulgur is cooking, make the dressing. In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients (rice vinegar through garlic) and whisk thoroughly to combine. Set aside.

3. Add the edamame, bell pepper, carrot, radish, and red onion to the bulgur. Divide the spinach leaves among four shallow bowls. Top with bulgur mixture; drizzle with the almond dressing. If desired, garnish with lime wedges.

CEIMB: L.O.V.E. Wrap Sandwich

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly was a very simple, yet totally delicious, wrap sandwich. Ellie calls it the L.O.V.E. Wrap because it contains lettuce (L), onion (O), veggies (V), and egg (E). Plus, it makes quite a "love"-able sandwich, so the name does fit. This week's selection was made by Joanne of Apple Crumbles.



I assembled the ingredients for this wrap gradually, leisurely. I hard-boiled the eggs the day before we were to eat then, and chopped the bell peppers and onions early as well. I set aside just enough egg for my husband's wrap, and I mashed his together with the mayo and mustard. Since I normally cannot stomach mustard, unless it is totally mixed into something, and mayo makes me kinda sick, I just opted to eat my egg sandwich sans dressing. I didn't mind this at all; in fact, I sort of appreciated the simplicity. However, my husband raved about his mayo/mustard/egg mixture! So forgive me for not being able to speak from personal experience, but I do trust his opinion. So it was really good!

Thanks to Joanne for the quick, easy pick this week! I will definitely be keeping this one in mind when Easter rolls around, and I have more hard-boiled eggs than I know what to do with. If you'd like the recipe, it's on Food Network's site, here. For the CEIMB blogroll, click here.

Meatless Mondays: Barley-Stuffed Peppers

Now that I've made stuffed peppers more than once, I am happy to tell you that they are now a reliably delicious meal for my family and me. The head spins at the possibilities of flavor combinations, different proteins you can use, etc. However, sometimes you can truly surprise yourself and discover that you like something much more than you thought you did. This meal is a great example of this for me.

I have really come around on my aversion to mushrooms. In fact, one could even say I now embrace them, and look forward to ways I can use them! It's a huge step for me. I feel like this whole new world has been opened up to me, and it's exciting. I love it when this kind of stuff happens!

These Barley-Stuffed Peppers are a shockingly satisfying vegetarian main dish. Loaded with tender barley, mushrooms, and carrots, as well as some bread crumb, egg, and cheese to bind the filling together, they are flavorful and hearty. The peppers were perfectly cooked; succulent and juicy, while the stuffing was slightly creamy from the cheese and chewy from the grains. Oh, how we loved these peppers!

Barley-Stuffed Peppers
adapted from a Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publication
makes 6 stuffed peppers

Ingredients
2 cups water
2/3 cups pearled barley
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 of a vegetable bouillon cube
3 large red sweet peppers, halved and hollowed out (seeds removed, stems intact)
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided (3 oz.)
1/2 cup shredded carrot (or chopped in small pieces)
1/3 cup soft bread crumbs (I used two slices of whole wheat bread, crusts removed)
1 Tbsp. fresh sage, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
Several dashes bottled hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco or Cholula

Directions
1. Place 2 cups water, 2/3 cup barley, and the 1/2 bouillon cube in a medium saucepan. Bring the water to a boil, lower heat and cover, and simmer for about an hour or so, until the water is absorbed and the barley is cooked and tender. Add the sliced mushrooms after an hour, remove from heat, and recover for about 15 minutes while the mushrooms soften.

2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the egg, tomato paste, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese, carrots, bread crumbs, sage, parsley, salt, and hot pepper sauce. Stir in cooked barley mixture. Place pepper halves, cut sides up, in an ungreased 2-quart baking dish. Spoon barley mixture into peppers.

3. Cover the baking dish with foil. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until filling is heated through. Sprinkle the peppers with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese. Bake, uncovered, for an additional 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Note: these can be made ahead of time! I made mine two days prior by filling the peppers and then refrigerating them. When I was ready to bake them, I put them in the oven for 50 minutes, then put the cheese on and baked for another 5-10 minutes. Worked like a charm!

Meatless Mondays: Curry-Spiced Noodles

I've been waiting for another opportunity to do a Meatless Monday, and finally that time has come! It's always great for the wallet and the waistline to substitute meats with extra veggies or beans or something, and this meal proves that you do not need chicken or beef in a stir-fry dish in order to have something completely filling and satisfying.

I found these Curry-Spiced Noodles in my current issue of Cooking Light Magazine. Since I had just bought a whole jar of mild red curry paste and really wanted to find different ways to use it, I was really excited to find this. It's simple and quick: just chop up an assortment of vegetables, julienne-style, then stir-fry them while cooking a pot of spaghetti noodles. Add in some Indian spices and curry paste, along with garlic and ginger. Simmer briefly in some broth and soy sauce, then toss the whole thing together with the spaghetti. Top with some cashews for crunch, and you're ready to eat dinner. Almost too easy, right?

The original recipe calls for lemongrass, but I wasn't able to get any this time around. I have worked with it before and was kinda iffy about it. It does lend a great aroma and a unique flavor to a dish, but I think last time I did not know how to trim and chop the stalks properly. However, this issue of Cooking Light also features a tutorial on how to tend to lemongrass correctly, so I do want to find some soon and try it out again! It feels great to be armed with knowledge sometimes, doesn't it?

I also subbed in chicken broth for the vegetable broth called for here. It still counts as a meatless dish, I figured. Besides, you can easily just use the veggie broth to make this 100% vegetarian. Finally, I had no fresh cilantro on hand, so I didn't use any despite the fact that the recipe called for about 1/3 cup. We didn't really miss it; it was great just the way it was.

The flavors were assertive, and I would classify them as "warm," rather than hot or spicy. My kids shocked me by loving this stuff! I guess I just assumed they would turn their noses up at this. Instead, it was devoured and loved by all. The house smelled so fragrant and amazing while this cooked, and the smell pleasantly lingered for the rest of the evening. Best of all, the hearty shiitake mushrooms were meaty and substantial enough that you weren't left wanting for more when you were finished eating. It was the perfect meat-free meal for our family, and maybe it would be for yours, too!

Curry-Spiced Noodles
adapted from Cooking Light
makes 4 servings

Ingredients
1 (13.25 oz.) box whole-wheat spaghetti
1/2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 cups julienne-cut carrot
2 cups julienne-cut green bell pepper
1 cup julienne-cut red bell pepper
4 cups thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps (about 8 oz.)
1 Tbsp. grated peeled fresh ginger
1 Tbsp. red curry paste
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground turmeric
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup water
2 tsp. lower-sodium soy sauce
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped dry-roasted, unsalted cashews

Directions
1. Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Set noodles aside; keep warm.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tsp. oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add carrot to pan; saute 2 minutes. Add bell peppers; saute 2 minutes. Remove carrot mixture from pan.

3. Heat remaining 1/2 tsp. oil in pan over medium-high heat; swirl to coat. Add mushrooms; saute for 2 minutes. Add the next 5 ingredients (through garlic); cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add broth, 1/2 cup water, soy sauce, and salt. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 2 minutes or until slightly thick. Add noodles, carrot mixture, and onions; cook for 2 minutes, tossing to combine.

4. Divide mixture evenly among 4 bowls; top with cashews. One serving equals about 2 cups noodle mixture and 1 Tbsp. cashews.

CEIMB: Whole-Wheat Pasta Salad with Walnuts and Feta Cheese

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe was selected by the fabulous Kayte of Grandma's Kitchen Table. I love checking in on her blog at least once or twice a week, if not more. Her food always looks delicious, and she belongs to some really cool cooking groups (like our Ellie group, of course!). For this week's dish, she chose the Whole-Wheat Pasta Salad with Walnuts and Feta Cheese, from Ellie's The Food You Crave book.

Same as last week, when we made Ellie's Mushroom, Onion, and Basil Pizza, I couldn't believe that this week's recipe had never caught my eye before. I've had this cookbook for almost three years, and use it very often. Plus, pasta is my ultimate favorite comfort food. Yet, somehow, I've never made this pasta salad! Well, thank you very much, Kayte; because of you, now I have.

It's a snap to put together. Boil up some pasta, toast some walnuts, chop some onions (and green bell peppers, in my case), whisk together a simple vinaigrette of oil (I used avocado oil and it was yummy!), vinegar, Dijon mustard, and garlic, then throw everything in a bowl with fresh spinach, feta cheese, and salt and pepper. Funny story: I didn't have fresh spinach when I assembled my salad (I prepared it a day ahead of eating it as a side dish for dinner), so I had planned on adding the spinach in at the last minute, after we had picked some up at the grocery store. But when it came time to eat this for dinner, the spinach completely escaped my mind. Before I knew it, we were all eating, and there was no spinach in sight. It was safely tucked away in my fridge. It was still delicious, though! We have leftovers of this pasta salad, so I just added some spinach to the leftovers and we'll be able to enjoy it that way next time. Oh well. My planning was good; my execution was lacking!

As predicted, I loved this dish. The flavors really had a chance to mix and mingle while the pasta salad sat in the fridge overnight, so it was very vibrant and robust. The hubby said he was surprised that he loved this as much as he did. I was a bit concerned that the dressing wouldn't contribute enough flavor to the salad, but I should have trusted Ellie, as always. It all worked beautifully, and now I have a new pasta salad recipe under my belt!

Thanks again, Kayte! This was perfect for us this week. The original recipe can be found on Food Network's website, here, and the CEIMB blogroll can be found here.

Spicy Stuffed Peppers

I used to think I didn't like stuffed peppers. I don't know why that is. Maybe I just never had a really good stuffed pepper, the kind that you want to shout about from the mountaintops and make for everybody you know, so that they can also experience the deliciousness that you've discovered. Well, I am happy to tell you that I have found such a pepper, and I can't wait to share it with you right now!

They're filled with a deceptively simple ground meat mixture, topped with an even more deceptively simple tomato sauce, and then baked for close to an hour. The preparation is so simple; the hardest part is waiting for them to finish cooking. I love the fact that everything goes into the peppers as is. You don't need to saute anything beforehand, or make sure the meat is already cooked. Everything cooks together, in the oven, including the pepper itself. That's something I did differently than the recipe I was following. The original instructs you to blanch the peppers briefly before stuffing them. I read somewhere that it's just fine to stuff the peppers while they are raw, so I wanted to try it that way because I think I always disliked the sogginess of stuffed peppers when I've had them in the past.

This worked amazingly well. The peppers were soft, but they still had structure and texture. The meat mixture inside was moist, flavorful, and packed a slight punch thanks to the chopped jalapeno I added to it. The quick, simple tomato sauce was surprisingly yummy, and of course you could use any tomato sauce recipe on these peppers if you have a favorite. I'm so glad I decided to try my hand at stuffed peppers instead of just basing my opinion of them on what I've had in the past. These have quickly become one of my reliable standbys, and now I want to experiment with different fillings and make stuffed peppers often. When it's this easy and delicious, I have no excuses not to!

Spicy Stuffed Peppers
adapted from Food.com
makes 6-10 peppers

Ingredients
For the peppers:
Nonstick cooking spray
6-10 green bell peppers, tops and seeds removed
1 lb. ground turkey
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp. parmesan cheese
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried basil

For the tomato sauce:
1 cup tomato sauce (I used a plain can of tomato sauce)
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried parsley
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a baking dish with cooking spray. Combine all ingredients, from ground meat to dried basil; mix well, without overmixing. Using a spoon or a small cookie scoop, fill each bell pepper with the meat mixture.

2. In a medium bowl, combine all the tomato sauce ingredients. Spread about 2 Tbsp. of the sauce across the bottom of the baking dish. Add the stuffed peppers to the dish. Drizzle all but about 1/4 cup of the sauce over the tops of the peppers.

3. Bake peppers for about 50-60 minutes, until the meat is cooked through and the peppers are tender. Serve with the remaining sauce on top of each.