Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

I was creeping on Pinterest the other day for some yummy new
dinner ideas. It seems Spring is taking forever to get here, and it's really getting me down. When you have four very distinct seasons, you tend to have four very distinct eating habits as well. I am craving for salad, in season fruit and veggies and simple dinners. Simple, bright color, fresh dinners.

So I decided to just come up with my own version of a stuffed pepper meal! Quinoa is one of my favorite things to eat in the summer, mostly I like it cold, but this is a great way to eat it hot.

For this recipe, you can use quinoa, or a mix of quinoa and brown rice, or whatever rice you like really! I had this mix of organic quinoa rice mix in my cupboard so I decided to use it.

Here is what you will need:

3 cups cooked quinoa (or quinoa/rice mix)
1 can black beans or a can of mixed beans (washed and drained)
1 cup corn (frozen or canned)
1/2 cup shredded cheese (1/4 cup for mix and 1/4 cup for topping) use more if you like things cheesy!
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cilantro
sprinkle of chilli flakes (optional)
salt and pepper
6 bell peppers

Here is what you will do:

Slice the top off each pepper and remove seeds. Wash peppers and use a paper towel to dry the inside. A little water left on the outside will help the peppers cook nicely.

Mix all of your ingredients together, with 1/4 cup (or more if you like) of the cheese. Once it is all mixed, stuff each of the peppers tightly. Place peppers upright in a casserole dish and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. This will vary depending on how you like your peppers cooked. Do you like them a little crunchy or nice and oven roasted? Really you just need the filling to be hot and peppers cooked to your liking.

For the last 5 minutes of cooking time, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top until melted. And enjoy! This is a complete meal!

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner is served! Let me know if you tried it, or made any changes!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Tannis

 

Card Class and Homemade Donuts

There are two things I love, creating cards, and baking for other people!

Tonight, my ladies got both. They made 10 cards that I designed, and they were treated to donuts! Homemade, baked donuts, so no guilt was involved!

Take a look at the cards I made for them to duplicate....

 

 

 

I love when these ladies come over because we always laugh and have a good time. Over the years, I have gotten to know them, and I am thankful for their friendship!

Now lets talk about the donuts shall we? I don't normally make donuts, well because donuts are just evil, greasy goodness bad for you little things. Well we know all baking is, but really now, donuts just have that yummy factor, where you can't really have just one! Enter the invention of the baked donut! Wow.

I grew up on donuts. My mom always made donuts, I think every week or two! So when I bought my Baby Cakes donut maker, I thought I would venture a bit and test a few recipes. I haven't gotten very far. This summer, my girl and I made pumpkin donuts for the farmers market and then I let the donut maker sit in the cupboard. Until today when I dusted it off and made two batches. One chocolate, one vanilla.

Lets just say, we enjoyed them and they were gobbled up in no time! While they may not be as great as the deep fried donuts you can buy, these babies here, well you can have 3 or 4 and I'm sure it equals the fat and caloric content of one of those deep fried ones! Don't hold me to it, but it's my story and I'm sticking to it!

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Tannis

 

Balsamic Salad Dressing

It's said that even small changes make a difference. One of the changes I am committed to making is in my salad dressings, sauces, and rubs. I don't know why I buy them at the grocery store when it is so easy to make your own. I suppose it's also easy to have them on hand in the fridge and cupboard for lazy days.

It bothers me that most salad dressings are full of ingredients I can't pronounce, high in sugar and most condiments have preservatives.

As I journey through making my own, I want to share as many of the recipes with you that I can. I am starting today with my favorite salad dressing. It's actually not my recipe, my friend Dana gave it to me. I especially love this salad dressing with spinach salad, of any kind! Today I was dreaming of spring, so our salad had fruit and nuts in it.



Balsamic Salad Dressing

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp. Agave nectar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 small clove garlic
3 1/2 tbsp. olive oil

Mix together in a small mason jar and shake vigorously. Dressing can be kept in the fridge for a week to 10 days. Actually you can keep it longer, but the garlic gets stronger, and frankly, it will be gone before a week is up because it is so yummy!

 I hope that you will try it and let me know if you liked it! Thanks for stopping by!

Tannis

                                                                                                                                                                     

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