Kim's Stuffed Peppers

So, it's like this. I say.... hmmm, I'm sick, I'm hungry, I've got thawed beef and some peppers. What should I make? I ponder options and immediately discard the idea of stuffed peppers. They sound nasty... mushy peppers, who wants them? Keep pondering and come back to the idea. Dried out peppers, who wants them? Keep pondering. 20 minutes of searching online for a recipe. ANY recipe. OKAY already, I'll make stuffed peppers. 

So, back to the online search, because stuffed peppers? I've NEVER. HAD. THEM! Nope. Not once. Nobody in my family  made them as far as I can recall. But, having never had them I still have opinions. Oh yes, I ALWAYS have opinions. And, none of these recipes is "just right" so I combine, tweak, reconfigure, and yes... I have  recipe. And oh my, IT IS GOOD! Yes? YES!

So, here it is. 

• 4 peppers... whatever color you want. I like LOTS of colors. WE used red, orange and yellow. (That's what we had.), tops sliced off, seeds and ribs removed
• 1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
• 3 green onions, chopped, cooked with beef (Note to self... use 1/2 of a sweet onion next time)
• 1.5 - 2 c. cooked rice
• celery salt to taste, maybe 1/2 tsp.
• 1/2 c. tomato sauce
• 1/3 c. ketchup (note to self... use all ketchup in future)
• 1.5 c. shredded jack cheese, divided

1. bring salted water to a boil
2. cook peppers for 4 minutes... NOT till mushy, colors will be very pretty
3. remove from water, turn upside down on a plate and let drain
4. meanwhile, brown beef, when close to done add diced onion, cook till onion is opaque and meat is no longer pink
5. cook rice
6. mix meat, rice, ketchup, celery salt and one c. jack cheese
7. stuff peppers (at this point you can cover and put in fridge if not cooking right away, or you can wrap and freeze for use in the future)
8. cook in covered dish at 350 for 30 minutes
9. take out, add cheese to top, pop in for 5 more minutes
10. serve. YUM

Somehow this is becoming a foodie blog. Guess that's fine. It's my blog and I can write what I want to. HA! 

Enjoy, and if you have  better ideas, please let me know. 

Shalom, 

Kim

Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

So, sans photos... sorry, but I'm sick and I just didn't think of this till now.

Took an old recipe and tweaked it to fit the ingredients on hand. YUM!

Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

1 2-4 pound butternut squash, peeled and cubed (reserve the seeds for roasting)
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 onion, diced
olive oil
stock... veggie is best, chicken works (4-6 cups... just to barely cover the veggies)
ginger.. 1-1.5 inches, peeled and minced
orange juice--1/2 cup maybe
zest of 1/2 - 1 orange

sour cream
Tabasco sauce

1. Prep veggies, and everything will turn orange!
2. saute onions for 3 minutes, add carrots for two more minutes
3. put in veggies, including ginger
4. add stock to barely cover veggies, and orange juice
5. bring to boil
6. turn down to simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes or until fork tender
7. add in ze3st
8. use stick blender to puree'
9. serve with dollop of sour cream and as much Tabasco as you'd like

You can make this with pumpkin as well.

We have the pumpkin version every Thanksgiving thanks to my SIL, Meg. I couldn't find the original version, so used a combo of recipes from online and used ingredients on hand. Serve with a crusty bread, and some apple sauce to cool the "heat" of the ginger.

Enjoy!

New Journies...

Over the past 10 months or so there have been any number of changes in my life. During this time I have tried hard to focus on God, His word, and His plan for my life. 

Until the age of 30 or so I was always under weight. SIGNIFICANTLY so... as in 20 pounds or more. Something changed after the birth of our second child and my body and I were not so friendly any more. It didn't seem to be treating me well and I was definitely not treating it well. Can you say cookies, ice cream and brownies? YIKES!

So, now here I am almost 50 and realizing I am not treating my body right. 

1 Corinthians 6:18-20

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁸ Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. ¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? ²⁰ For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

So, what immorality? Gluttony, laziness, and neglect. And so this journey, a journey to physical health, begins. I've started Couch to 5K using a free app on my iPhone. It was so easy to use and seemed just the right plan. That is it seemed just right until an old nemesis returned. Shin splints. OUCH! Having spent the time and money years back for properly fitted orthotics, and this year for properly fitted running shoes I really hoped that the flat feet were not going to be an issue. Alas, it was not to be. I wanted to say my body had failed me, much as I had failed it. But, I'm going to look at this as a way in which the Lord will guide me to what HE thinks is "just right" for me. 

Back to biking. 

And healthy eating. 

Ah yes, no more ice cream for breakfast. Okay, maybe now and again. But not every day. So to kick off the healthy eating I tried a smoothie as shared by my friend April. Here it is in all it's loveliness. 

Green Smoothie

1 carton Greek yogurt (I used Dannon Oikos Vanilla)
5 strawberries
1 frozen banana
BUNCH of baby spinach leaves 
skim milk (Or almond milk, soy milk, whatever)

Blend till smooth. I know... the color. OH MY! And the texture isn't much better. But, April was right, you don't taste the spinach. Give it a try. I had this smoothie and a bowl of rice for dinner last night. Not bad. 

Meanwhile, I'll continue to exercise, back to biking for while, and remember that God joys over me with singing. What a concept! May you also experience that joy!
Shalom, 
Kim