From Our Kitchen - Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

I've been trying to knock out some of the recipes I've saved onto Pinterest recently.  I have an ever-growing list of things I want to try.  Some of them are more involved and time-consuming than others, but I rounded up a few that looked like quick and delicious weeknight meals.  This was the first I tried, and while we didn't love it, I'm still sharing it anyway.

I am more of a pepper-and-onions kind of person than Jesse, so when I saw this recipe I didn't think he would go for it.  I knew eating the whole pepper along with the filling would mean consuming a large amount of pepper in each bite, which I thought I would like. I was wrong. It was too over-whelmingly peppery that I didn't even finish my first one. I ate only half the pepper, and dumped the filling out of a second to even things out. My sweet husband, who doesn't care for peppers, finished the whole thing. Bless him.

So why would I even share this?
1) The filling is so yummy I ate it alone for lunch the next day. It's packed with flavor and texture!  I packed up our leftover that day by dumping out the filling for the remaining peppers and dicing up only one pepper to add into the mix. So, with all that said, I would make this recipe again but as a side dish this way.  So, if you are a pepper person try this as is; if not, make only the filling and add in one diced pepper. The pepper does bring in good flavor that blends with the others.

2) This recipe calls for quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) - which I have never cooked, nor eaten before this. But it's been all the rage in food-land for a while now, and I've been interested in trying it. I like that this recipe was packed with a variety of other flavors, in case I wasn't too fond of quinoa. Why quinoa and what is it? It cooks like a grain, like rice, but it's technically a seed. Many recipes use it as a healthier alternative for rice because it has nearly double the protein content and a lot more fiber, while remaining lower in carbs. (Quinoa is higher in fat, but it's of the unsaturated variety which is "good" fat that can help lower cholesterol.) Quinoa is a little pricey, but it's nutrition benefits make it worth it in my opinion, especially to sub for rice every once in a while.

Let's cook!

First, you will need 3 cups of cooked quinoa. If you were as unfamiliar as I was, read how to cook quinoa HERE. Sources I read varied, but I can attest that it more than doubles when cooked. I cooked 1.5 cups hoping for an even 3, but wound up with at least 5 cups of cooked. Cook up however much decides to cook, then scoop 3 cups into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

Once you have your quinoa, take six bell peppers (whichever colors you prefer; I think the red and orange are a little sweeter and work well for this recipe).  Cut off their tops and spoon out their seeds. Line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper and sit them inside.

Into your mixing bowl with the quinoa, add your green chilies, whole kernel corn, black beans, diced tomatoes, pepper jack cheese, cilantro, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Now give that all a toss to distribute everything evenly.

Scoop the filling into each of your peppers, then top with a little shredded cheese. Bake until the peppers are soft and the cheese has melted on top (about 30 minutes).

If you are making this as a side dish without filling the peppers, either chop up one raw pepper and through it in, as is. Or saute them before adding in, if you prefer.
(Original recipe found HERE @ damndelicious.net)

I used my leftover quinoa in a soup a few days later, and it was delicious! Maybe I will share that soon, too.

From Our Kitchen - Sour Cream Pound Cake

My entire life I can remember my mom making pound cake. Her mom made pound cake; she makes pound cake. It is one of her go-to desserts to bring to family get-togethers or church events. Pound cake is pretty much a staple at any Southern dessert table, and my mom's doesn't let anyone down. Just one piece is often not enough.  Don't worry about needing ice cream, or strawberries, or anything else to go with this cake. It's perfect just the way it is. (That is most likely due to the quantity of butter and sugar... but we won't think about that too hard.)  My mom gave be a beautiful bundt pan for Christmas, and I figured it would be appropriate to break it in with her best recipe! Plus, a good Southern woman should know how to make one, after all.

Click HERE for the printable recipe.

First, you will want to preheat your oven to 275 degrees. Low and slow for this deliciously moist cake. Also, grease and flour your bundt pan. I used a generic version of Baker's Joy, which is an oil spray that has flour in it. I chose this method because my pan it nonstick; it might be best to actually grease and flour other pans to be safe and avoid any sticking.

Separate your eggs, and set each aside.  (I put my whites into my stand mixer's bowl, because those will be used first.)

Sift your flour and baking soda together in a bowl, and set aside as well.

Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and beat (with the whisk attachment) until stiff peaks form, then set these aside.  I was so excited about this part, because I have never down this before. (I still would like to conquer making and baking a meringue.)

(Check out this adorable apron, handmade by my wonderful mother-in-law! Her stitching is perfect!)

Next, cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla together until well blended.

Then add one egg yolk at a time, mixing well after each. You will see the mixture begin to turn it's classic bright yellow.

After your egg yolks have all been added and mixed, your will have a nice, thick batter.

Next, fold your egg whites into the mixture.  This part made me a little nervous. I didn't want to undo all the fluffing I did to my egg whites.  To do this, add 1/4 to 1/3 of the whites to the batter, cut down the middle of the bowl with your spatula, scraping underneath the whites, scoop through the batter, up the side of the bowl, and dump batter up and over the whites in the center of the bowl. Turn the bowl and continue until the whites somewhat incorporated. Add another portion of the whites and continue folding; repeat until all are incorporated.
(Apparently I was so concerned about this step I didn't stop to take a picture.)

Now you are ready to fill your pan and bake. The batter is still fairly thick, so I evened out the top with my spatula.

Now you wait. With grand anticipation. Because sweet, buttery glory is on its way.
After and hour and a half, check with a toothpick to see if it's cooked through. Let it cool ~30 minutes in the pan, then flip and remove it. Cool the cake on a rack.  Try to resist the urge to eat it while it's still burning hot.
Now, the very best part is the crumbly top that crackles as the cake rises while it cooks. If you are planning to put this on a cake stand, I suggest you leave this part and do not cut it off to make it perfectly even, as you might layer cakes. Unless you want to keep the best part for yourself. In that case I wouldn't judge you too much.  ;)

And there you have it! Mix, bake, eat, and enjoy!

From Our Kitchen - Apple Pie, Y'all!

Remember all those apples from this day?  What I forgot to tell you then was that we picked a total of 75 apples! Then we divided that up between the 3 couples.  So what did I do with 25 apples?  Made apple pie!.... twice.  Once was for the Pumpkin Carving party.  Then I was begged into making another to share with my friend Erika.  (How dare she!)  But that meant Jesse and I got to eat a couple more slices two.

Here's what I did. And I promise it was delicious.  Some said it was the best apple pie of their life.  Now, it could have been due to the fresh-from-the-farm apples, but I'll take the flattery. ;)

But first, let's have a chat about apple pie.  It's quite an important topic, or at least has been in our relationship. Apple pie is Jesse's favorite dessert. But not just any ole apple pie. Not one from the deli of the grocery store. And definitely not those in the little sleeves from McDonald's (do they still have those?!). It takes a homemade, made-from-scratch apple pie to please this man. I learned this early on in our relationship and slaved away over a few of them while trying to woo him.  My step-dad thought I was going to lose fingers over sliced apples once.
After preparing my very first pie, and bringing it to him with a huge smile on my face, I'm sure he said it was delicious, but he had to tell me that the next time I made one I should slice the apples really thin, just like.... his mom does it!  Ladies, when your mother-in-law is a good cook, you gotta step up your game!  Lesson learned: always consult the mama.  So I did, and she told me about this thing known as a mandolin slicer.  It really does make all the difference for the pie. Thinly sliced apples lay flatter against each other and make it easier to cut with your fork and eat. It also lets you pack in lots of apples, and we like more apples and less "sauce". And now you know our secret!

This is not Marilyn's actual recipe, but for this pie I combined a crust and filling recipe, mostly adapted for my pantry.  There is also method to this madness, which I learn the first go-round.
Click HERE for the recipe I used (and to print it).

Anything that begins with two sticks of butter is likely to be tasty, so go ahead and cube those two sticks, then put it back into the refrigerator. (This was the moment that my beloved camera died a sad and sudden death. I think I had a couple of pictures of...butter... but I've been too lazy to get them off the card. I grabbed my phone to take the rest of the pictures, so excuse the quality. These events will not effect the taste of your pie.)

Measure out your flour, sugar, and salt for your pie crust.  This time I made a revelation: I threw all of this into my stand mixer, turned it on "stir," and added the butter several pieces at a time. Just like when you use a pastry blender (which I don't have, which is why I was improvising) you want the dough to go from powdery to tiny, little pea-sized clumps. Once the butter is all cut into the flour mixture, add a couple of tablespoons of ice water, one at a time until the dough starts to stick together.  Be careful not to over-do it here, especially with the mixer which works fast. The less you mix it, the flakier your crust will be. Once it just begins to hold, stop mixing, and dump it onto your work surface. (I like using this silicone mat. It's like a Silpat, but from Aldi. Aka - cheaper. You're supposed to be able to bake on them, but that seems a little weird to me. Moving on...)

Divide your dough into two, and pat into rounds. Wrap them in plastic-wrap and pop them in the fridge to keep chilled.

Now work on your apples. Use a mandolin slicer, or just a knife and more patience than I have, and cut up your apples. It will probably take about 8 mid to large-sized apples to fill out your pie.  I didn't have any lemon juice to toss mine with, so I tried to work extra fast. This is also the time you add all of your sugar and spices to the apples, tossing to coat each slice.  Some recipes call for letting the apples sit in this sugar mixture for some time to let more juices flow. I prefer to keep on going without this step, mostly because by this point I can't wait to get the thing into the oven, because the sooner it's in, the sooner it's out and I can eat a slice. Plus it turns out just right with plenty of juice/moisture.

Next up, roll out your bottom crust. You may need to let it sit out a bit to warm up if you've made it ahead of time and it's really cold.  I like to smush the edges to keep the shape round as I roll, like this:

Once you've roll to size, flour the top surface and roll it up on your rolling pin (dusting the bottom of the crust with flour as you pull it off the counter).  Then drape it into your pie dish.

Dump in your apples. Smile because you're almost done, and this is going to be amazing.

Roll out your top crust, and roll it up onto your rolling pin, like before.

Top your pie with crust, and trim any excessive edges.  Leave about an inch all the way around so you can tuck the top crust under the bottom crust, and pinch them together. Make the edge as pretty as you want. I used a fork to press and seal all the way around.  At this point I realized that I did not add the additional tabs of butter on top of the apples that was in the recipe I was following.  After a slight moment of panic I decided that the two stick of butter in the crust would suffice, and it was true! No butter was missed, and we saved a few calories, right?

Brush the top with egg wash, cut a few small slits, sprinkle with a little sugar, and pop it in the oven.

And there you have it!  Glorious apple pie. Deliciousness that taste like Fall.  And your house smells all cinnamony (unless your pie dripped into the bottom of the stove and burned.... yep. Prevent that by putting an aluminum foil lined cookie sheet on the rack below - next time, next time). And enjoy! With a scoop of vanilla ice cream, of course. Can't forget that!

What's your favorite pie to make?  Or your favorite pie to eat during the Fall?

From Our Kitchen - Red Wine Steak & Mushrooms

It's been a little while since I've tried a new recipe or meal. I've been in a cooking slump, mostly due to the lack of time to spend in the kitchen. We really wish we had a grill, especially during the summer months. I've thought about getting some kind of indoor grill-like cooking surface. We found this pan at TJMaxx, and put it to use that same night:

It's a cast iron pan with an enamel coating on the outside. It is VERY heavy, and has this extra piece to press down on top of foods (not sure how useful that will be). 

We picked up some beef at Publix. Now, I'm not a huge beef fan. It can be fatty, which to me is gross. And then there are cuts that can't be cooked quickly or they will wind up tough. So, I have a hard time picking out a piece of beef, and I'm not going to by an expensive cut of sirloin (or whatever) to cook in the pan - it just ain't right. This piece of flat iron steak seemed marbled enough to stay tender and thin enough to cook evenly and through in the pan.

Here's the line up of seasonings we used. The herbs on the right were Herbs de'Provence, or some kind of blend of Italian herbs. It would have been best to marinate so that the steak could absorb more of the flavor, but this was dinner on the fly.

I soaked each side in wine and soy sauce, then shook the Lawry's and herbs on top and rubbed them in, then threw it in the pan.

After several minutes I flipped it over, and was a little excited to see those "grill lines." Now, of course it doesn't give the same flavor as a real, outdoor charcoal grill, but it is a step up from a flat pan which just lets the meat steam in its own juices. I also added some mushrooms to the pan, with a little butter and wine.

This is where things got weird. I stood in front of the rice aisle trying to find a mix, like rice pilaf or something. I saw this quinoa and brown rice mix, but did not realize it was pre-cooked until I was trying to determine how long to cook it, and the package said to rip open the top and a tablespoon of water and microwave for 90 seconds. WHAT?! So I took the suggestion in fine print and warmed it up in a skillet. It was a little disturbing to think that this rice had been cooked who knows how long ago, packaged, and sat on a shelf. I like the combination of quinoa and brown rice, but I won't be buying this again. I'd rather cook my own.

Tada! A quick and yummy meal for dinner! The steak was tender, and had good flavor (which could have been better by marinating). I would probably try cooking this cut of meat again- maybe with different seasoning, like a lime marinade (to replicate my favorite Urban Cookhouse dish...hmmm).

What are your favorite cuts of steak/beef to cook indoors?

From Our Kitchen - Lasagna Cups

I found this recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Kevin&Amanda, who I came across long ago through recipe hunting. They are actually Auburn alumni, and even more ironically, they got married at the same park in Auburn that we did. I discovered that while searching to see ways other people may have decorated it, and I happened upon their wedding pictures which is how their blog began. Anyway, you can hop over there to see all of her beautiful pictures of foods and her amazing travels, along with free font designs if you're interested in that. You can find her original post about these lasagna cups HERE, but I'm also going to do a step by step cook-through below.
We like pasta dishes around here. They make an easy, filling dinner for a busy week day. Plus they are usually cheesy (which I love) and often involve garlic bread (which I also love). Not the most nutritious,  but we won't go there.
I've had this recipe "pinned" for a while and finally made it a couple of weeks ago... and then again this week. But that's the great thing about this recipe - the meat mixture makes 4 batches, so it's even easier and quicker to make the second... third... and forth time!

MINI LASAGNA CUPS --------here we go!:
(very slightly adapted from Kevin&Amanda)
Click HERE for my printable recipe version!

First, brown your ground beef and pork, then divide it into four portions. You will only use one portion for this recipe. Bag and freeze the other three for another round of these cups or for other sauces/meals.

Take one portion and add your pasta sauce to it. For the record I should state that for pasta dishes I'm not the biggest fan of jarred sauce.  I guess my palate was spoiled with a mama who always made her spaghetti sauce! But for this recipe, you probably won't want to make a whole batch of sauce to only use one cup of it. I chose a roasted garlic infused sauce to add another punch of flavor since the meat is not seasoned very much.

While the meat is browning, you can prep other things. Spray a muffin tin - I used my Misto (mentioned in THIS post)!

Scoop out your ricotta cheese and mix in Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.

Also, go ahead and shred the cheese of your choice.

Now you're ready to assemble!
You will make two layers of each ingredient. The easiest way for me to do this without running out at the end was to divide my meat and cheeses into two parts in their corresponding bowls, and I knew I could only use half for each layer.

Start by placing a wonton in each cup, pressing it down to make a well to fill.

Then add a spoonful of ricotta...

then a spoonful of meat mixture.

Sprinkle on a little cheese, and you're ready to do it all over again!

Place another wonton wrapper on top, giving them a firm press to make another pocket to fill. Don't worry, these won't overflow. Add more ricotta..

..then meat and cheese. Now they are ready to go into the oven for 10-15 minutes - really just until the cheese melts and the tips of the wontons are golden. Use this time to make a side, like our salad we had!

Did I mention how easy this is? You can wait until your husband walks in the door from work to start this meal, and he can even take a (quick) nap while you're whipping up supper! Jesse has this part down pat:

Close-up shot so you can see all the ooey-gooey-goodness of these lasagna cups:

Note: Wonton wrappers can usually be found in most supermarkets near the produce section. My package looked like this, and had enough wrappers to make 2 recipes of these cups. They are the perfect size for placing in a muffin tin without having to cut them down to size.

This recipe is definitely going into our regular rotations!  I'm excited that the last several new recipes I've tried have been successful and delicious enough to make again and again.