Recipe--Breakfast Stuffed Green Peppers

I love cooking.  So much.  I'm at the point where I like to do some meal prep on a Sunday and be pretty well set for breakfast and/or lunch for most of the rest of the week.  It just makes my life easier.  I know I'm getting good food with little repeat effort, so I'm less tempted to eat crappy food.  This week I decided to make stuffed green peppers with a bit of a breakfast hint.  My plan is to get four meals out of this recipe, so adjust accordingly.

Ingredients
2 Bell Peppers
1/2 lb Ground Beef
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Chili Powder, to taste
Garlic Powder, to taste
Onion Powder, to taste
Cumin, to taste
Onion (I used about an 1/8 of an onion, but whatever)
3.5 oz can Green Chiles
Salsa
Hashbrowns  (I used sparingly, like 1/4 cup, because I'm cutting carbs--you do you)
Grated Cheese  (I used cheddar, but whatever would be good)
3 Eggs
1/4 cup Milk
1/4 Tb Flour

Cut the tops off of the bell peppers.  Set the tops aside.  Remove the seeds and whatnot.

Boil the peppers in water for 5 minutes.  Drain.

Meanwhile, dice up the tops of the peppers and the onion.

This might not be a bad time to start the oven.  350 degrees.

Cook up the ground beef.  Add your seasonings.  Add your pepper tops and onion.  Cook until they look good.

If your hashbrowns need any pre-browning (see package for directions), now would be the time to do that.  After cooking, if needed, add to the meat and veggies.

Add your green chiles.  Add your salsa.  (I think you could totally use Rotel, but I had fresh, homemade salsa that I wanted to use OR jalapeños would be a nice addition--the key is use what you like and/or what you have on hand)  Add your grated cheese.  I used approximately a shit-ton of cheddar because I like cheese.

Spray a loaf pan with Pam and put the peppers side by side.

Spoon the mixture in.  If you have extra, just put it in the pan around the peppers.  It's a tasty little bonus.  :)

Mix the milk, eggs, and flour in a separate cup or measuring cup or other receptacle.  Pour on top of the stuffed peppers.  If you added any extra stuffing to the pan, pour a little there too.

OK.  Now...the baking time was where I hit some issues.  I baked covered in aluminum at 350* for 30 minutes.  But the eggs were not done, so I wound up uncovering and adding 10 minute increments for another 30 minutes.  So maybe don't cover them?  Using this as a guideline, just cook them until the egg is set.

Then you can add more cheese on top.  Or not.

Eat up!  Add more salsa or hot sauce or avocado or whatever.

I ate half of one for supper.  My plan is to eat a half at a time throughout the week.  They're nice and savory, so you don't feel limited to eating them at breakfast, which I like.  Especially because I'm more of an eat in the late morning kind of person.


I love tweaking recipes, so if you try any variations, I would love to hear how they work!

A Cocktail & Conversation -- Summer Go-To's

Every other Thursday here at The Broke & The Bookish is A Cocktail Conversation time. One of the TB&TB members will pose a question to 2-3 of the other members of TB&TB crew about books, life, music, etc and then they'll answer and we can converse about it. So grab a cocktail & cozy up for some conversation. It's 5 o'clock somewhere, friends. 

This week we are talking FOOD -- which, besides books, is my favorite thing in life.

This week the question is: 

What is your go-to summer recipe/meal/drink?

  
Jamie says: In the past couple summer's one of our go-to recipes is this healthier, no-mayo potato salad. I love potato salad but I don't particularly love eating mayo so I found this and last year we had to cook for about 30 people during our family vacation one night and it was a HIT. We actually just made it last week to bring to my niece's graduation party. It's so easy to make and it's tasty without being loaded with mayo so I don't feel like I have to miss out on typical ~summer classics~ while still trying to be mindful of what I'm eating.  It's a compromise.

Bridget says: Going to any barbecues this summer? Need to bring a dish? This mac and cheese is always a crowd-pleaser. It's my mother-in-law's recipe and my husband and I make it all the time. It's super easy and super delicious. I never liked mac and cheese until I had this recipe, and once you try it you'll never go back to the boxed stuff ever again!

Daisy says:  One of my favourite things to make is pesto chicken salad, because you can just prepare it at any time and put it in the fridge till you're ready to eat/take it with you if you're bringing food. It's also ridiculously easy to make:
Cook pasta (any pasta, doesn't matter what you choose, it's all good), let it cool off after, add a little bit of olive oil so they don't stick together. Cut up some lettuce and add a bit of rucola (arugala for those in the states), mix in a small bottle of green pesto, add pieces of smoked chicken, pine nuts, add in pasta and TADA DONE! Tastes awesome and you can save leftovers for the next day, maybe next 2 days if it hasn't been sitting out on the table all night. Add tomatoes if you want, not necessary though.
This is always a winner with my friends and family and so easy. You can also switch the smoked chicken with bacon or add mozzarella. This is almost anything goes

Tell us your go-to summer eats!!

Tahleen reviews: "Relish: My Life in the Kitchen" by Lucy Knisley

Title: Relish: My Life in the Kitchen
Author: Lucy Knisley
Publisher: First Second, 2013

Rating: 4.5 stars

Lucy Knisley is the daughter of two gourmands, and as a result grew up around all types of delicious food. In this graphic novel, she tells her story through the foods she's tasted, whether its fresh empanadas, spinach and garlic, Japanese cuisine, her mother's farm-to-table cooking, or just plain old junk food.

It took me a little bit to get into this book, as the amount of text is more than I'm used to for graphic novels, but once I hit my groove I devoured the whole thing. Pun intended.

Knisley has a way of making you crave just what she is describing. During my reading, I wanted to go find a bakery or a gourmet food shop or a cheesemonger, or cook one of her many delicious-sounding recipes inserted throughout the book (I love these, and I love the illustrations included with each step.

Here's one of her recipes! I definitely want to make this.

This is a memoir, yes, and it's a graphic novel. But most of all, it's a love letter to food, and to dining with people you care about. If you at all enjoy the act of eating, I highly recommend this one.

I'm glad this won an Alex Award, because without it I might never have picked this one up!

Disclaimer: I got this book from my local library.