Category: Beef, Lamb, and Pork
Sauerbraten Meatballs & The Food-Lovers Cleanse
| January 31, 2012 | Filled under Beef, Lamb, and Pork, German, Quick Weeknight Meals, Reviews |
I’m alive! January has been an insane month, and I’ve been running around like crazy doing what feels like twenty million things at a time. Because of that, dinners have not been very exciting lately. I do have fun recipes planned though and will post them as soon as I have the time to work out a few last details and type them up. Think soba noodles with sautéed chicken and roast mushrooms, cornmeal crusted tofu with quick ratatouille, and a buffalo chicken chili that I’ll try my hardest share before the game this weekend.
In the meantime, how do sauerbraten meatballs sound? Sauerbraten is a great dish – a little bit sweet, a little bit spicy, and extremely rich – but it takes days to make. I’ve figured out a way to replicate the flavors in a quick stovetop sauce that’s delicious served over meatballs for a delicious and easy twist on the original. Read More
Jambalaya-Stuffed Peppers
| April 13, 2011 | Filled under Beef, Lamb, and Pork, Fish and Seafood, Weekend Meals |
Lesson learned: If you find yourself adding Tablespoons full of cayenne pepper to recipes and you still don’t think they’re spicy enough, buy some new pepper! A million apologies to the few people who recently emailed me that recipes were far too spicy – I realized that my cayenne was ancient! I bought a new jar and wow, what a difference. I’ve adjusted the amount that my recipes call for more appropriate levels. With that said, I do like things pretty hot so if you have a lower tolerance you might want to use even less.
Now that that’s out of the way… I’ve been on a stuffed peppers kick lately — after not making them for over a year, we’ve had them for dinner twice in as many weeks. My favorite version so far has been these Jambalaya-Stuffed Peppers – instead of putting peppers in the jambalaya, I put the jambalaya in the peppers!
What I loved most about these was the built-in portion control. One of these little guys left me feeling pretty full, but I know that had it not been for the pepper I could easily have polished off at least twice as much jambalaya (and gone back for more!). Of course, the fact that they tasted pretty awesome didn’t hurt either.
Want a quicker version? These jambalaya-stuffed peppers take a little longer to prepare than I typically like to spend on a weeknight meal, but they’re absolutely worth it. Plus they make great leftovers! If you’re really pressed for time though, there are a few shortcuts that you can take: 1) Use instant rice, which will shave about 20 minutes off the time the jambalaya simmers; and 2) Start cooking the unstuffed peppers while you prepare the jambalaya filling (yay multitasking!). Cook the peppers for 15 minutes on their own, then 15 minutes once they’re stuffed. Just keep in mind that although these methods will dinner on the table faster, the flavors won’t have as much time to meld.
Jambalaya-Stuffed Peppers
Prep time: 10 Minutes; Total time: 1 Hour.
Serves: 4
- 1 link Andouille Sausage, diced
- 1/4 cup Onion, diced
- 1 clove Garlic, minced
- 1 stalk Celery, diced
- 1 Tbs Flour
- 1 Tbs Oregano
- 1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
- 1 tsp Thyme
- 2 Plum Tomatoes, diced
- 1.5 cups Chicken Stock
- 3 dashed Tabasco
- 1/2 cup Brown Rice
- 1/2 cup diced Okra
- 1/4 lb. shrimp, chopped
- 4 Bell Peppers*
Preheat oven to 350F.
Set heavy pot over high heat Add the Andouille and cook for several minutes, to allow the outside to brown. Add the onion, celery, and garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes to allow them to soften. Stir in the flour, oregano, cayenne, and thyme and cook for 1 minute.
Immediately add in the tomatoes, chicken stock, Tabasco, rice, and okra. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 25 minutes or until rice is cooked through. Stir in the shrimp and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
Prepare your peppers by cutting off the top and removing the seeds, creating. Fill each pepper with one quarter of the jambalaya, then place in a baking dish. Repeat with remaining peppers. Pout 1/2 cup of water in the bottom of the dish. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
Serve with additional Tabasco, if desired.
*I really enjoyed this recipe with the green peppers, but I like green peppers a lot. Shawn prefers red peppers, which are a little less harsh. Feel free to use whatever color you like best!
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