Category: Weekend Meals
Pesto Potato Rolls with a Salt Crust
| August 28, 2011 | Filled under Breads, Sides, Vegetarian or Vegan, Weekend Meals |
Here in the Capital Region of New York, we were lucky to have been spared most of the wrath of Hurricane Irene. While our friends to the south had to scramble around preparing for the worst, all we really did was make sure that we had batteries for the flashlight. Shawn brought my basil plant inside to protect it from the wind, and I noticed that it was huge! I mean, comically large — practically a basil tree. It was clearly time to make pesto.
Since I knew I would be stuck home in the rain all day, I thought it might be nice to bake. I pulled out my copy of Healthy Breads in Five Minutes a Day, thinking I might find a recipe for garlic knots that I could use the pesto in. As I flipped through the pages, a recipe for 100% whole grain rosemary dinner rolls with a salt crust caught my eye. They weren’t like any other potato roll recipes that I’ve seen, which usually call for mashed potatoes to be worked into the dough. Instead, these called for raw potatoes, which soften as they bake but give the rolls a little bit of texture. I knew I had to try them! 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!
Comments