Stuffed Bell Peppers

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I grew up eating stuffed peppers and tried several different recipes, but didn’t find one that was just right until I combined a couple of them to create this one.

Ingredients

6-10 Medium to Large Bell Peppers
1/2 cup Water
1 Medium Onion
1 1/2 lbs Ground Beef
2 cans Fire Roasted Tomatoes
2 T Italian Seasoning
2 cups Cooked Brown Rice
2 – 3 cups Shredded Cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place water in the bottom of casserole dish that fits the number of peppers you have. Remove top and seeds from the Bell Peppers. Place upside down in casserole dish.

Microwave for 3 minutes on HIGH. Drain all excess water from casserole dish.

Chop onion into bite size pieces. Brown onion and ground beef together.

Stir in tomatoes and Italian Seasoning.

Stir in rice and 1 cup cheese.

Stuff filling into each pepper.

Bake for 25 minutes. Top each pepper with cheese. Bake additional 5 minutes.

Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Cheese Bites

Cheese Bites

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These tasty cheese bites are inspired by Brazilian Cheese Bread that I was introduced to by my friend who is from Brazil years ago. Then my brother found a great recipe and shared it with me. Then by accident I added too much cheese one of the times. It was a little too dense, but my family love the stretchiness of them. I experimented on the next batch and that is the recipe we have used ever since.

Ingredients

2 Eggs
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 cup Milk
2 1/2 cups Tapioca Flour
6 oz Shredded Cheese (we prefer Mozzarella or mix of Mozzarella and Colby Jack)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combined all ingredients in a blender, pulse until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the blender with a spatula so everything is well blended.

Pour batter into well greased mini-muffin tin, not quite to the top; leave about 1/8 inch from the top.

Pre-cooked Cheese Bites

Bake for 13-18 minutes, until all puffy and lightly browned. Makes approximately 24-48 depending on size of muffin tin.

For crispy bites place on cooling rack.

For soft bites place in an air tight container for 10-15 minutes to steam.

Refrigerate any left over bites. Reheat by covering with a wet paper towel and microwave for 1 to 2 minutes.

 

 

Crust-less Mexican Quiche

Crust-less Mexican Quiche

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Some recipes are product of trial and error others turn out well on the first try. This recipe came about because I had a coupon for free Chorizo. Joseph made me an omelet that was fantastic. Then as we created our weekly meal plan we discussed creating a Mexican Quiche for dinner. We discussed what vegetables we  wanted to try with it.

As it was cooking the smell was fantastic. At was a 5 thumbs up recipe. The flavors got even better as we had the leftovers for breakfast.

Ingredients

2 T Olive Oil
1 cup chopped Onions
8 oz chopped Mushrooms
2 cups chopped Spinach
2-9 oz Pork Chorizo
18 Large Eggs
8 oz Cream Cheese
1 cup Whipping Cream

Optional Toppings:

Avocado
Tomato
Salsa
Shredded Cheese
Sour Cream
Hot Sauce

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Saute onions and mushrooms in olive oil. Remove from the pan and cook the Chorizo. Add back in mushrooms and onions.

Saute and Cooking Prep

In your blender combined, eggs, cream cheese, and whipping cream.

Egg mixture

Line a casserole dish with tinfoil and spray with coconut oil. (15 x 11 for thinner or 9 x 13 for thicker) Combined Chorizo mix and spinach together in the dish. Pour in egg mixture and gentle stir.

Mexican Quiche pre-cooked

Bake for 25-35 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 – 10 minutes. Cut into 12 pieces and top with your favorite toppings. I topped mine with avocados and tomatoes.

Cooked Crust-less Mexican Quiche

 

 

Egg Cups

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Theses tasty bites can be prepared ahead of time and eaten warm or cold. You can also change them up by adding a variety of different vegetables.

Ingredients

16 oz Ham or Turkey Lunch Meat (thinly sliced)
1-2 cups  Vegetables (We love sauteed peppers, mushrooms and onions)
12 Eggs
8 oz Cream Cheese
2 cups Whole Milk or Half and Half

Variation:
stir in 1/2 cup cooked Chorizo with the sauteed vegetables.

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease 24 count muffin tin. Line each cup with two slices of meat. Prepare your vegetables and place inside the lunch meat cups. In a blender combined eggs, cream cheese and milk. Blend until smooth. Pour egg mixture over the vegetables. Bake for 30 – 45 minutes until the eggs are fully cooked. (Toothpick comes out clean with no liquid). Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove from pan so it they don’t start sticking. Store in a air tight container for up to 7 days. Serve warm or cold.

 

Peppermint Crunch Cookies

Peppermint Crunch Cookies

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Several years ago I found Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips in the Holiday baking section and decided to give them a try. The first batch I just used them in the chocolate chip cookie recipe I grew up making. They where okay, but I knew I could improve them. The next time I made them they where good warm but too crunchy once they cooled. The third time was the charm.

Ingredients

3/4 cup Butter Flavored Shortening
3/4 cup Salted Butter
1 cup Brown Sugar
2 cups Granulated Sugar
1/4 cup Sour Cream
4 Eggs
1 T Pure Vanilla
2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
5 cups Flour
2-10 oz Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips (You can substituent Andes Mints chopped up)

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Cream together shortening, butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Stir in sour cream, eggs, vanilla, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix completely before stirring in flour. Once flour is completely incorporated stir in baking chips.

Scope 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inch balls on the the tray leaving plenty of room for them to spread out while baking. Bake for 6 1/2 minutes for 1/2 inch to up to 10 minutes for 1 1/2 inch balls until golden brown.

Star Anise Wild Orange Shortbread

Star Anise Wild Orange Shortbread Cookies

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Joseph’s family traditionally had Walkers Shortbread for Christmas. Our kids look forward to them every year.

When I was in High School I had a friend who traditionally made Shortbread in November for Christmas, so I have always been intimidated to try it. I can’t believe I didn’t research it until now.

Shortbread is generally associated with and originated in Scotland, but due to its popularity it is also made in the remainder of the United Kingdom, and similar biscuits are also made in Denmark, Ireland and Sweden. The Scottish version is the best-known, and Walkers Shortbread is Scotland’s largest food exporter.

According to The History of Scottish Shortbread – Historic UK, “The story of shortbread begins with the medieval “biscuit bread”. Any leftover dough from bread making was dried out in a low oven until it hardened into a type of rusk: the word “biscuit” means “twice cooked”. Gradually the yeast in the bread was replaced by butter, and biscuit bread developed into shortbread.”

After researching I decided to play around and the results are a pleasant twist.

Ingredients

1 lb Unsalted Butter Softened
1 12/ cups Powdered Sugar
10-15 drops doTerra Wild Orange Essential Oil (1 tsp Orange LorAnn Candy Oil)
4-5 drops doTerra Star Anise Essential Oil (1/4 tsp Anise LorAnn Candy Oil)
5 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Cream together butter, powdered sugar, and oils. Add in flour 1/2 cup at a time. The last cup and 1/2 you will need to knead in by hand.

Mixing Shortbread

Dust a pastry sheet with powder sugar. Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick.

Rolling out shortbread

Cut out dough. Traditionally it is cut in circles, rectangles, or squares. You may poke holes with a fork for decoration. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown on the edges.

Short Bread Baking

Easy Peppermint Bark

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I love chocolate! Dark Chocolate, Semi-Semi Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Brewed Chocolate aka Choffy, and White Chocolate. (Yes, I know it’s not REALLY Chocolate) I also really like Mint Chocolate which is where Peppermint Bark fits in. The funny thing about it is that I only think about Peppermint Bark at Christmas because that is when you can get Candy Canes.

Ingredients

14 oz Hershey’s Special Dark
12 oz Dark Chocolate Chips
8 to 12 drops doTerra Peppermint Essential Oil
24 oz White Chocolate Chips
1 1/2 cups Crushed Candy Canes (I use my food processor or blender)

Directions

Lay out a large piece of aluminium foil on a large sheet pan or 2 cookie sheets. In a microwave safe glass or ceramic bowl melt the dark chocolate on half power in the microwave melt the dark chocolate for 2 minutes and stir. Return to the microwave on half power for 1 minute and stir. Repeat until smooth. Stir in peppermint essential oil. (12 drops for a very strong flavor. I usually do 10 drops.)

Spread evenly on to the aluminium foil. Place in the

In a microwave safe glass or ceramic bowl melt the dark chocolate on half power in the microwave melt the white chocolate for 2 minutes and stir. Return to the microwave on half power for 1 minute and stir. Repeat until smooth. Stir in 3/4 cup of peppermint candy cane pieces.

Carefully drizzly over the chocolate layer as evenly as possible and smooth out evenly. Sprinkle remaining peppermint candy cane pieces over the white chocolate evenly.

Allow to harden completely before breaking up in to pieces.

On the Hook Fish and Chips

On The Hook Food Truck

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Since our trip to England in 2001 we have been looking for good Fish and Chips. About a month ago we saw the On The Hook Food Truck in the parking lot of a store we where shopping at. We decided that we would come back and get some for our dinner, but by 5 pm when we went back they were gone. So since the we have been following them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/OnTheHookFishAndChips/ and watching their website https://onthehookfishandchips.com/.

Today was the day we their truck returned to our area. The parking lot was full and we waited in line for 30 minutes to order and another 40 minutes to get our order. It was well worth the wait. The chips were beer battered, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The Cod was also beer battered perfectly. It was crispy on the outside and tender and fluffy on the inside.

On the Hook was developed by two young University of Wyoming engineering students in May 2016, On the Hook Fish and Chips has evolved from two students with connections to a multi-truck enterprise serving hundreds of thousands in all of Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, and Utah.

The menu is pretty small most of the time it is just Line-Caught Wild Alaskan Cod Fish and Chips which is 3 pieces of hand-dipped Wild Alaskan Cod, beer battered fries, and our house made tartar sauce and sriracha mayo. You can add additional piece for an additional fee. Prices for the Fish and Chips are not posted anywhere, but I am sure that is because the cost of the fish fluctuates with each shipment.

Their Alaskan Cod is caught using hook and line which means that each fish is brought aboard individually and immediately headed, gutted, and flash frozen to perfectly preserve the fresh caught quality and tenderness. Their original recipe beer batter was created by the founders over months by experimenting and fine tuning while they were in college. Batter was not the only thing they created from scratch, they created signature dipping sauces are included with every meal.

Our family enjoyed every bite. Clearly by the lines we are not the only ones who enjoy it. Get there early or you might just miss out.

Here is what a Wyoming News Reported had to say about On the Hook Fish & Chips.

 

Follow them on Facebook to see when they will be in your area.

Ore-Ida Just Crack an Egg

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My girls leave for high school at 6 am, so preparing a healthy breakfast can be a challenge. They were often just doing protein smoothly because they are fast. So when I see the these in the Ore-Ida Just Crack an Egg in meat/cheese section of the store and thought I would give them a try. This is an unsolicited, unpaid review.

Ore-Ida Just Crack an Egg

I found two varieties at our local Winco. The All American Scramble has 3 packages inside, Potatoes, Sharp Cheese, and Uncured Bacon. The Denver Scrambler also has 3 packages, Applewood Smoked Ham, Mild Cheddar, and a package with Potatoes, Green Peppers, and Onions.

They are simple to make. Remove the bags, crack an egg, scramble it and stir in the contents from the packages, and microwave.

My family love vegetables so they prefer the Denver Scramble. So if you need a quick healthy breakfast we highly recommend giving Ore-Ida Just Crack an Egg a try.Nutrition Facts

Hot Meat & Cheese Sliders

Hot Meat and Cheese Sliders

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These are an easy quick meal. We like to change it up with different meats and cheeses. Ham & Swiss, Roast Beef & Cheddar, Turkey and Munster.

Ingredients

18 – 24 King Hawaiian Rolls
1 – 2 lb Meat (Depending on how thick you like your sandwich)
1/2 – 1 lb sliced cheese
4 – 8 T Honey Mustard (We love Sweet Baby Rays)
1/2 cup Butter
1 tsp Minced Garlic
1 T Dehydrated Onions

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350. Slice Rolls, spread honey mustard on one half of each roll. Cover with meat and cheese. Put the top on. Melt the butter and add garlic and onions.  Brush butter mixture on top of each roll. Bake for 10-15 minutes until hot and the garlic and onions are browning.

Slider Assembly

Sliders