Summer Stuffed Peppers (Whole 30)

If you love stuffed peppers, guacamole, and cilantro, you'd better run to the store, because this combo of the three is really good. I should probably add that this recipe also calls for one jalapeno pepper, too, but we didn't find it spicy. Mr.4444 can't handle much, in terms of kick, and he loved this flavorful meal, so don't be scared.

I know how you all love it when food bloggers get to the point, so give me just another line or three and I'll deliver. I just want to give a shout out to my daughter Kendall, who turned me on to the Whole30 way of eating a year and a half ago. These days, I shudder at the ingredients I used to use for Mrs.4444 Cooks recipes. Now, I like to cook healthy, flavorful food, and this recipe is a great example. I called it "summer" stuffed peppers because most of the ingredients may be found in your garden, and it has a bright, summery flavor.  Now, here you go: Whole30 Stuffed Peppers, with a nod to lakeshorelady*.

Stuffed Pepper Ingredients (in order of appearance):
6-8 medium to large peppers (any colors you like), cut in half and readied for stuffing like so:


2-3 tbls ghee (or your sautéing oil of choice)
1 large, sweet onion (I used vidalia), diced
3 garlic cloves, minced

1 lb ground turkey

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 jalapeno, seeds removed, diced
1 cup riced cauliflower, cooked (I buy the frozen bags and follow their directions.)

6 tbls. cilantro, chopped and divided (2 T for the stuffing, 2 for the guacamole (next step), and 2 for garnish when serving)
kosher salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste (I used about a teaspoon each)

Guacamole
2-3 avocados
juice of one lime
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 garlic clove, minced, salted, and allowed to get happy for about five minutes
1 roma tomatoes, diced
kosher salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste

Don't be afraid to double those guac ingredients--Who doesn't love extra guac?! In fact, you may notice from my photos that I doubled the whole recipe this time--It was so good last time, and I'm guessing these will freeze nicely.

After cutting the peppers in half and cleaning them, set your oven to 375 degrees. Open the canned tomatoes and "grease" a cake pan or casserole dish with a bit of the contents so that the peppers are less likely to stick. Get a large skillet hot over medium heat, add the ghee, and saute the onions for a few minutes before adding the garlic and cooking until the onions are translucent, a few more minutes. Add the turkey, breaking up as it cooks and adding a little more ghee if needed. (I did not drain this concoction, but do what makes you happy.)

Next, add the tomatoes, jalapeno, and cauliflower. Heat through for a minute. Add one tablespoon of cilantro (save the rest for garnishing), salt and pepper to taste, give it a stir, and remove from heat.

Fill the peppers generously and place in a single layer in a casserole dish or cake pan. [The recipe I followed called for four peppers, and that's all I had, so it all fit in a single cake pan. I've adjusted this recipe and will use two pans next time.] Bake 30 minutes, uncovered.

Meanwhile, make the guacamole. I use a potato masher to mash the avocados and then add the remaining ingredients. Stir.

Serve each stuffed pepper with a good dollop of guac on top and a sprinkle of more cilantro. YUM!

This doubled batch made this many peppers and filled two small pyrex containers that I'll just eat without peppers.

And finally...here's a little funny from my cooking adventures today.

Apparently this pepper was a very willing participant!lol

So many words come to mind: gross, funny, creepy, artsy.

*I found this recipe after randomly landing on this post from A Hundred Affections' 30 of My Most Favorite Whole 30 Recipes. Let me know if you find another good one there!

Rabbit Food Sandwich a.k.a. Smashed Chickpea & Avocado Salad Sandwich Spread

Did you know that the USDA no longer uses the "Food Pyramid" as a guide and instead uses the "My Plate" reference? Until this post, I didn't. Here is the plate for dietary recommendations for adults:

Whenever I try to feed my husband fresh vegetables, he says, "That's not food; that's what food eats!" or "That's rabbit food!" I haven't given up, though, and when I saw this recipe (like egg salad, but without eggs or mayo), I thought it would be a great way to beef up a neglected portion of Mr.4444's diet.

Outside of hummus, I've not eaten chickpeas much, and Mr.4444 never even eats hummus when it's an appetizer, so I didn't let him see what the ingredients in this recipe were when I was preparing it. His verdict, "It's a really great sandwich, Hon!" (It also makes a great dip!)

For a simple, no-nonsense, printable version of this recipe, click here.

Ingredients:

1 large, ripe avocado

1 15-oz can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

Juice from one lime

1/4 cup freshly-chopped cilantro

Salt and pepper to taste

Bread (of course)

Sandwich toppings of your choice, such as lettuce/spinach, tomatoes, alfalfa sprouts, etc.

FYI, I ended up using a different bread than that in the photo, simply because I realized I had half a loaf of other bread to use first. I've never had the "Sprouted Grains," bread, and I'm hoping it's good!

First, drain and rinse the garbanzo beans. The recipe recommended removing the skins, which until that moment I hadn't realized existed! Who knew garbanzo beans had skins?! I did this in the colander, in the sink, gently rubbing them to reveal the skins. Full-disclosure: The original recipe says that it takes ten minutes to prep, but this part of the prep took me ten minutes!

Pretty interesting!

There's only a subtle difference between garbanzo beans with or without skin, but I agree that this recipe is better without that added texture.

(Skinned on the left, unskinned on the right)

I was so distracted by my new garbanzo-skin knowledge that I failed to read the directions that said to drain them, rinse them, and then lay them on a paper towel to dry them. I did this after my de-skinning in the colander process and learned that the gentle rubbing with a paper towel sloughs the skins off, too. (I had missed some!)

Place all of the ingredients in a flat-bottomed bowl 

and smash with a potato masher until you have the desired texture. (If you missed any skins, they'll appear during this process.)

Looks just like guacamole, doesn't it?!

Assemble your sandwich

 and enjoy!

I really liked the cilantro and lime juice flavors in this sandwich! It was a nice, 

guilt-free alternative to mayo, and the texture was nice.

 I'm not sure rabbits enjoy limes, but I actually did think that rabbits would love this sandwich, too.

Too bad there wasn't any extra (Makes 3-4 sandwiches).

California Quinoa Salad

On a recent trip to Minneapolis, I was thrilled to visit Whole Foods, the deli of which is always a highlight of my visit, as I love their salads. (I also love that they let you sample them.) On that particular visit, I fell in love with their California Quinoa salad, made with red quinoa, veggies and fruits and some type of light dressing that tasted guilt-free. Sadly, though, the guilt returned when I saw the price sticker on the pound-and-a-half container when I got it home--$13! I resigned myself to not buying it again (which is easy, since we don't have a Whole Foods where I live) and just enjoying the salad. Then I remembered Pinterest! This recipe is inspired by this pin and this pin.

For a no-nonsense version of this recipe, click here. For the nutrition facts, scroll to the bottom of this post.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups of vegetable broth (or water)
2 cups uncooked quinoa (I used red; it's pretty!)

1/2 cup dried fruit of your choosing [I switched the pictured raisins out (too old) for Door County cranberries. You could use cherries, too.]

First, put the broth, quinoa, and dried fruit in a saucepan and heat it to boiling over medium heat.

By the way, I didn't have any broth and didn't want to use plain water, so I made my own broth! (So exciting!) All you have to do is throw some veggies (any, really) into a pot of water, season it with salt and pepper, bring it to a boil and simmer for at least an hour, then strain it.

And now, back to our show!  Once the quinoa mixture is boiling, lower the heat and cook (covered) 15-20 minutes or until the water has been absorbed. To be completely honest, after 20 minutes, my quinoa was still a little soupy, but I liked its texture, so I just drained it and moved on.)

While that's cooking, prep the rest of the delicious, healthy ingredients:

2 mangos, peeled and diced (I only used one, but will use two next time.)
1 red pepper, diced
1/4 cup finely-chopped red onion
1 cup shelled edamame
3 tablespoons finely-chopped cilantro
1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup sliced almonds (I just chopped mine.)
2 limes (zest and juice)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 orange, peeled, skin removed, and diced (This will be my addition next time.)

Don't let the coconut scare you; I couldn't even taste it.

Do yourself a favor and zest the limes before you cut and juice them! (I forgot.)

To me, the mixture looked like Christmas candy of some kind. Yum...

When the quinoa mixture is somewhat cooled, mix everything together, and voila!

While typing this, I decided I would add another mango and maybe an orange, 

because I have a sweet tooth, but it was delicious, all the same, 

and I'll definitely be making this again.

Serve warm or cold.

Makes about three quarts.

Believe it or not, I had no clue how to cut a mango, 

so I found this video, which made it seem simple.

(Keyword: seem)

P.S. Guessing that this recipe makes 14 cups (one cup per serving), 

I analyzed it via SparkPeople and got the following result:

Banana Almond Chocolate Chip "Ice Cream"

I have a new, favorite treat.

It tastes surprizingly like ice cream, but it's much less guilt-producing!

Who knew that sliced, frozen bananas, when blended, tasted like ice cream?!

My friend Colleen's son did; that's who! (Thanks for sharing, Colleen!)

This is an excellent way to use up bananas you can't otherwise find a use for.

I have a freezer full of frozen bananas I've never gotten around to using.

Not anymore, though!

I mix the following in my Nutribullet, but I'm sure a blender would work, too.

1 sliced banana, frozen
1 tablespoon almond butter
1 1/2 teaspoons flaxseed
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 1/2 teaspoons of chocolate chips

Blend it all up and enjoy with a spoon or straw. Delicious!!

In addition to the nutritional information below (which I gleaned from My Fitness Pal), add 78 calories for the chocolate chips.

The same amount of ice cream would be at least 450 calories 

and contain 75% of the recommended daily allowance for fat calories.