Enough with the parm. Bring on the feta.

I made these a few weeks back and posted them to the other weird blog. Slowly moving things over to this one. The REAL blog.
A blog for readers.
A blog for people who want a written play-by-play of the cooking action, not just photos.
A blog for those who, maybe, don't get shit out of just seeing pics and need words.

This? Is for you. Well, if you like bell peppers. If you don't then best you wait on the next one as the bell pepper is the superstar in tonight's entry. Check this noise out.

You need:

~ 4 bell peppers. Green or red. Or orange. Or maybe yellow if so inclined, you rebel.
~ 1.5 lbs ground turkey
~ 1 can diced tomatoes
~ 3 green onions, diced
~ 2 stalks celery, diced
~ 1 tbsp coconut oil (or use olive oil if you're not a fan of coconuts.)

*Random fact: Coconut oil can also be eaten by the spoonful and yes, I've tried it. Often, actually.*

Moving right along! You also need:

~ 2 tsp minced garlic (I used the pre-minced-jar stuff you can find at any grocery.
~ 2 tbsp tomato paste
~ 2 tsp EACH of dried oregano, dried basil, and salt
~ 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

The-how-to:

Turn the oven on to 350. Slice off the tops of each pepper and remove the seeds. Warm up the oil in medium heat in a large skillet, then saute' your onion and celery for about 5 minutes, until soft-ish, then throw the garlic in for another minute or so. Keep stirring.

Turn the heat to high. Add the tomato paste and mush it around, combining well with the onions, celery and garlic. Cook for three minutes, stirring continuously. I know, so much stirring! But it's worth it.

Then add the ground turkey to this same pan until it is browned; this takes around six minutes. Throw in the tomatoes, salt, basil, and oregano. Mix well then reduce your dish to a simmer for about 15-20 minutes, until sauce reduces and isn’t sloppy/runny, otherwise it will just leak out of your peppers in the heat. Yick!

Place each pepper on a tin foil-lined baking sheet, then fill each HALFWAY with your turkey mixture. Throw in a good amount of the feta, then top off with more mix, and then....hello...more feta, of course.

Once all peppers have been filled, make a tent of foil overtop, and seal around the pan edges. Bake those babies for 30 minutes. That's it! Done and done. You will be surprised at how much stuffing each one holds, and that one is a meal. Well, maybe add a salad. Or some garlic toast.

The reheats are awesome too. Just beware, if you have a wonky microwave like mine the peppers might start to burn (not kidding), yet the turkey centre stays cool, so you might want to just scoop the guts out before nuking.

Get cooking,

Stace.

Source, via Pinterest: http://www.eatliverun.com/turkey-and-feta-stuffed-peppers/

It doesn't get much more Irish...

...than the potato.

When I was younger and someone would ask "OK. You can eat only one thing for the rest of your life. What do you choose?" My answer was always mashed potatoes. I could eat that stuff by the basin-full. IF they were done right, mind you. Too dry? No thanks. Too lumpy? I'll pass, but good on you for trying. Your efforts do not go unnoticed. *Hint: Add cream cheese.

Now as an adult I definitely still love my mashed potatoes, but have matured (heh, that was fun to say,) to other varieties of potato preparation. Tonight's dinner was simple and involved parm, as did yesterday's dinner. I have a container of it that is on the verge of it's expiry date so I'm doing what I can because throwing out food actually makes me feel unwell. Not even kidding; I get itchy-like. My food conscience has a bit of a meltdown, which is why I usually grocery shop for only one or two meals at a time rather than risk tossing food that's gone off.

I should have my own express aisle at the shops. Or the cashier's could at least make the effort to ask my name when they see my face so often. Anyhow, I digress.

Back to the potato! Again, all measurements approximate.
Preheat your oven to 425.

~ Depending on how many you are feeding, use 1/2-to-full bag of mini potatoes. I used the little yellow ones tonight but you can use any. The wee purple ones are always a good time.
~ 1/4 cup shaker parmesan cheese
~ Couple tablespoons of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
~ 1 tablespoon dried basil
~ 1 tablespoon dried oregano
~ 1 tablespoon Montreal Steak Spice (What?! Yeah. Bet you didn't see that one coming.)

Wash your taters and halve each, then toss them in a big bowl. Pour the oil over top and and roll about (the potatoes, not yourself. Or both, I don't care. Just finish the prep.) Then shake the spices over the potatoes, and toss again to evenly coat. I use a wooden spoon for this because it doesn't slice into or smush the potatoes. They may grow in dirt, but these ain't no "50 Shades Of" dirt-ay vegetables. Be gentle.

Spread them out on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes, flip them around a bit, then bake for about another 10 minutes until they are a lovely shade of golden brown.

Dig in! I loves me some vinegar so I added a bit of that, but feel free to eat them au natural, or maybe with some ketchup. Or sweet n' sour. Or hoisin. Or....oh man, so many options. And I can't throw out any credit to a site on this one as I *GASP* came up with it myself. Oh, the progress being made in my kitchen is truly outstanding! (The next one will be from Pinterest, for sure. Don't fret.)

Get cooking,
Stace.

I'm still here! Swearsies!

You know what happens when you create a blog on two different sites?

You forget the password to one of them. Until now! I am going to axe the other (microblogging is a total yawn. Hello? What is the point?), and get back on track here.

So with that, here is what tonight's gorgeous meal looked like. Simple yet oh-so-satisfying. I spent the day doing yardwork and though my toes and fingernails were all shades of green when I was done, that didn't deter me from wanting a giant salad to go with my chicken.

Chicken. Yes.

If you say you don't eat it, then you are totally missing out. Kind of like those who don't eat bacon. What?! That's a discussion for another time though. A discussion of YOU'RE WRONG and then it's over. Heh.

When chicken is done right, it is moist and delicious. Dee-lish-eee-us. I made these breasts in just twenty minutes. By the time I finished washing and slicing the cukes and mushrooms for the salad, the oven dinged and I was chowing down.

Now it's time to share! Please note I didn't measure, just sorta eyeballed the amounts into the bowls. So cut me some slack; add more or less as you see fit, the amounts are approximate. Here's what I did:

~ 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
~ 2 tablespoons Kraft Garlic BBQ sauce
~ A splash of Trader Joe's Steak Sauce
~ 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
~ Dash each of salt and freshly ground black pepper
~ 1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning
~ 1/4 cup panko
~ 1/4 cup parmesan cheese (the shelf-stable kind. I'm broke and can't afford fresh stuff. C'mon.)

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Take your sauces, cumin, S&P and combine in one bowl. We'll call this the wet bowl. Sounds ew, but you get it. Take your italian seasoning, panko, and parm and combine in a second bowl. Guess what this one is? Yes! The dry bowl! Wow, you catch on quick.

Now, with each chicken breast, dip and coat in the wet bowl and then coat it with the goods from the dry bowl, pressing all that breading goodness into the meat so it's well covered. When your oven is ready to roll, put a wire rack on top of a baking sheet, add a quick zap of cooking spray on the wires, then lay your chickens.

Heh. Lay your chickens.

Set your timer for 20 minutes, take them out of the oven, let rest for 5 minutes, then get to nom-noming. A glass of white wine and a good book are often my dinner companions.

This recipe was adapted to my own thang from one found here: http://www.food.com/recipe/parmesan-panko-crusted-chicken-497865 (gotta give cred, yo.)

Stay tuned for more entries....I promise I won't wait weeks this time before the next.

Get cooking,
Stace.

Entry Numero Uno.

I had a blog once. Many years ago when I lived on Vancouver Island. I can’t recall what I named it, what site it was on, or when I last used it, so what better excuse than that to start anew since who knows where the hell it is now. Amiright?

Cooking is fun. Baking too. However when you are running solo, it’s awfully easy to just grab the popcorn popper and melt some coconut oil (that shtuff is magic) instead of finding proteins and veggies that require some manner of preparation.

So I thought perhaps if I document my attempts in the kitchen, then I will hold myself more accountable to properly preparing my meals…while at the same time sharing recipes with any fellow wannabe home chefs. And where better to find recipes to try than on Pinterest! Ah, that site. How it can suck hours and hours from your life and yet still be oddly fullfilling.

Off we go! I hope you enjoy…nom-nom.

*NOTE: Although I found these recipes on Pinterest, the original site that it linked to obviously deserves the credit so I will include that on each entry…so you can try it too!*