Stuffed Bell Peppers

What's better than Stuffed Bell Peppers? Nothing! I love them! However, I hate Stuffed Bell Peppers-prep! I hate boiling the peppers before I stuff them. I don't know why. I think its because I hate to cook food so I can cook food. I like to cook food so I can eat food. Pasta falls into the same category. Uuugh!

I am also trying to be more open-minded about crock pots. People love the dang things. Crock-pots cook things to death and then I don't like it. So, I have been trying to figure this out. My decision is most things are cooked too long in the crock-pot.

All this being said, I have come up with a super-easy, fairly healthy, inexpensive recipe for Stuffed Bell Peppers. It is so easy that the kids can do most of it with an adult kitchen helper. 

One large can white meat chicken, drained and shredded

One cup of salsa

4 oz. Pepper Jack cheese

One bag Old El Paso Mexican Rice, prepared according to package directions

One can of Black Beans, rinsed and drained

Five bell peppers, tops removed, seeds and membranes removed

Spray a 6 quart crock pot with non stick cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, add the rinsed beans, cheese, salsa, chicken and rice and stir together. The mix will seem a little dry. Don't worry about it. It will not be dry after it cooks. Now fill your peppers. I use my very clean hands and scoop the mixture in, pressing it in firmly. You can place the tops back on your peppers or leave them off. Either way works great. At this point you are ready to cook your peppers. They will need to cook on low for 4-6 hours. Remember all your ingredients are pre-cooked, so you are just melding the flavors and steaming your peppers to the desired softness. Some of you will want your peppers super soft and smashy, you leave them in for the full six hours. They were plenty soft for me after four hours.

Most important, enjoy them with your family and friends. Let the kids bask in the glory of having "made it myself" and you don't have to stress alone in the kitchen, go eat together on the patio. Enjoy! 

For my mom's birthday last year I hosted a dessert buffet. It was so fun and much easier than a meal to pull off. I made these bars and have made them several times since then as per request. They have a very full flavor but a nice fine texture. You could change the apricot to any flavor preserves and the almond extract to vanilla or another flavor and customize these bars for any taste.

Apricot Almond Squares

1 pkg. (18.25 oz.) yellow cake mix with pudding

8 TBSP. butter, melted

½ cup finely chopped almonds (with skins or blanched)

1 1/3 cups apricot preserves (12 oz. jar)

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, room temperature

¼ cup sugar

2 TBSP. all-purpose flour

½ tsp. almond extract

1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 pan with Pam. Place the cake mix, melted butter and almonds in a mixing bowl. Blend well. Mixture will be crumbly. Reserve one cup for topping. Press the rest of mixture in the pan, making sure it reaches all the sides. Spread the preserves over the crust. For the filling, place the cream cheese in the same mixing bowl and beat until creamy. Add sugar, flour, almond extract and egg. Beat for 1-2 minutes. Spread mixture over the preserves and scatter the reserved crumb mixture over the top. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes and cut into 24 bars.

I found this in a cookbook but can't remember which one. Sorry to whoever made this recipe. You rock!

Spicy Southwest Soup

This is a fast, easy soup that I made to lighten up my Taco Soup. Sadly for the saddle bags, I added the Velveeta and loaded it up but the tastebuds were VERY thankful! So, make a batch while the nights are still cool.

Southwest Soup

2 cans black beans, undrained

1 can whole kernel corn, undrained

2 cans Rotel tomatoes, undrained

1 can Fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained

1 lb. shredded, cooked chicken

1 packet white chicken chili seasoning mix

16 oz. package Velveeta, cubed

Combine all ingredients, except Velveeta and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add Velveeta, stirring until well-blended. Serve with Fritos. If it is too spicy, stir in a little sour cream.

Enjoy! Enjoy!

Best Bread Pudding

Okay, better late than never I hope because this post didn't make it before Mardi Gras.

I love bread pudding! It is wonderful. We make it at church and this is that recipe with a few changes. I make it very basic without raisins. You can add raisins, craisins, chocolate chips, cinnamon chips or toffee chips. You can top it with hard sauce, soft sauce, ice cream; vanilla or rum raisin, caramel sauce or chocolate syrup. It is so easy and very versatile. Bread pudding should be in every one's recipe box.

Bread Pudding

1 (10 oz.) loaf French bread, torn into 1 inch pieces

4 cups whole milk, cold

2 cups sugar

4 Tablespoons butter, melted (not margarine)

3 eggs

2 Tablespoons vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans

1 teaspoon each-cinnamon and nutmeg

Combine all ingredients. Mixture should be very moist but not soupy. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Place into an UNheated oven. Bake at 350 degrees until top is golden brown (approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes). Serve with Hard Sauce or ice cream.

Hard Sauce

½ cup whiskey or rum

1 cup sugar

1 stick butter

¼ cup water

Combine in a saucepan and cook until mixture comes to a boil. If you want more of a rum flavor, add the rum after you remove the mixture from the heat.

Enjoy! Enjoy!