Southwest Stuffed Peppers ~ 11.19.10

This recipe hails from my cousin, Karen, who is a foodie like myself. In fact, she, too, has a wonderful food blog that I think you should check out: Farmhouse Foodie.

She made these stuffed peppers one summer and I was an instant fan. I make my own version of an enchilada sauce that I found via Creatively Domestic and combined it with my cousin's recipe. I really recommend you just make it yourself, it's so simple to throw together and it's definitely more economical.  I swap out a few extra ingredients and use one jar of Tastefully Simple's Corn, Black Bean Salsa. You can adjust the heat on these according to your family. I've been making it with a bit more kick each time I throw it together!

Southwest Stuffed Peppers
from my cousin, Karen DiPasquale

6 large red peppers (I just buy the red/orange/yellow asst. at Sam's club)- you can cut these the way you like, I prefer cut crosswise and cored. I have steamed them to remove some liquid but it's not a necessary step
1 pkg sweet turkey sausage: browned and crumbled- you buy the links and squeeze out the sausage from the casing- flatten it and saute until browned and cooked through
8 oz pkg corn bread stuffing
8 oz Monterey Jack cheese (or Pepper Jack for more heat)
1/2 can chicken broth (the last time I made this I added beef broth by accident- it was FINE!)
1 jar Tastefully Simple Corn, Black Bean Salsa (or any store brand you like OR 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes; 1/2 can black beans;1 cup frozen corn)

Combine all in a large bowl. Scoop into peppers. Pour a little sauce on the bottom of 9x13 pan and then add filled peppers. Pour sauce over the top of peppers and bake covered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, Uncover and bake 30 minutes more. Can add additional sprinkling of cheese at the end.

Enchilada Sauce:
1 Tbs veg oil
1 onion, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 of a chili (from chiles in adobo sauce can)
2 tsp cumin
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp sugar
1 large can tomato sauce (you can add an additional small can and it will give you extra sauce to freeze or to have to reheat these)
1/2 cup water

Cook onion and garlic in veg oil. Add spices and stir and coat the onion- about 30 sec. Stir in tomato sauce and water. Simmer until warmed through and slightly thickened- about 5 minutes. Season with S &P.

These are great served with Lime Cilantro Rice and an ice cold beer!

Wild Rice Salad with Cranberries ~ 9.14.09

Wild Rice Salad with Cranberries

from The Three Rivers Renaissance Cookbook IV, Rania Harris

serves 8-10

I've made a few changes to this recipe over the past several times I've made it as I often have a bit of a hard time finding wild rice that doesn't come in a box with a flavoring packet. Trader Joe's to the rescue. I've used their version of wild rice and also added a brown mixed rice to it as well. No other changes were made to the recipe except that I used 2 cups of uncooked rice (cooked separately as their cook times were different). If you're doubling this, know that you can double the rice (as I stated above) and the other ingredients and you will still have plenty of dressing. Lastly, I only used olive oil, but you can certainly stick to the recipe and use 1/2 oo and 1/2 canola.

Cooked wild rice- begin with 1 cup and follow package instructions for cooking
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced red pepper
1/2 cup diced yellow pepper
1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans (toast first, then chop)
3/4 cup dried cranberries (I've also used this lovely little mix from Trader Joe's of cranberries, cherries and pomegranate seeds, mmmm)

Dressing:
6 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper


Cook rice and drain any excess water and cool.

Combine rice with celery, peppers, pecans and cranberries.

Combine dressing ingredients in a lidded jar and shake shake shake!

Dress the salad with enough dressing to coat and flavor well. Refrigerate and taste before serving. (I often add the rest of the dressing after letting the salad sit in the fridge overnight- add salt and pepper to taste, too)