Grilled Tex-Mex Stuffed Bell Peppers

I always get hugs and praises when my family smells the fresh aroma of this meal cooking. These are by far the best stuffed peppers I have ever had! I know the process seems long, but if you love a good Mexican rice and Tex-Mex flavors you will not regret making this recipe. I hope you enjoy these Grilled Tex-Mex Stuffed Bell Peppers soon. They are delicious!

Ingredients
6-8 bell peppers (depending on the size), tops cut away and seeds removed
Mexican rice (directions and ingredient list below)
1 lbs. ground beef
3 tomatillos, pureed
juice of 1-2 limes (optional)
2/3 cup colby jack cheese

Ground Beef Seasoning
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cumin
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions Mexican Rice
adapted from Food.com
Ingredients:
6 Campari tomatoes (or any tomato of your choice)
1 small/medium sweet yellow onion
2 medium jalapenos (ribs and seeds removed)
2 cups long grain white rice
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
(I have also used coconut oil)
4 minced garlic cloves
2 cups chicken broth (low sodium)
1/2 cup frozen sweet corn
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced (may add more to your liking)

Directions:
Adjust rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350.
Puree tomatoes and onion in a food processor or blender.
Reserve exactly 2 cups.
(6 Campari tomatoes and 1/2 of a large sweet yellow onion made approximately 2 cups)

Mince jalapenos and garlic, set aside

Place rice in a fine mesh strainer and rinse under cold running water until water runs clear- about 1 1/2 minutes. Shake rice vigorously to remove excess water.This step removes the starch from the rice so it will not stick.

IF YOU OMIT THIS STEP YOUR RICE WILL NOT BE DRY AND FLUFFY.

Heat oil in heavy bottomed oven safe straight sided sauté pan or Dutch oven with tight fitting lid over low-medium heat about 2 minutes. Drop a few rice grains in and if they sizzle you are ready to pour in your rice.
Be careful that the oil doesn't get too hot too fast or the oil will splatter.
Fry rice stirring until rice is light golden and translucent, about 6-8 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium and add minced jalapenos and garlic. Cook, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 1 1/2 minutes.

Stir in broth, pureed mixture, tomato paste, seasonings, salt, and 1/2 cup of frozen sweet corn. Increase heat to medium high, and bring to a boil.

Cover pan and transfer pan to oven to bake until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, 30-35 minutes. Stir well after 15 minutes.

Once rice is done stir in cilantro.

While the rice is cooking, brown and season the ground meat in a frying pan over medium high heat until no longer pink. Drain fat as needed.

Next, puree 3 tomatillos

Start preheating your grill!

When rice is done take out 2 cups of rice and set aside. Add to the remaining rice: cooked and seasoned ground beef, 3 tomatillos (pureed), the juice of 1-2 limes (optional), and 2/3 cup colby jack cheese and mix well. Use the extra 2 cups of rice for leftovers or anyway you see fit!

Now you are ready to stuff your peppers!

Next, lay the stuffed pepper on foil and spray with olive oil. Don't forget the top!



Finally, wrap the entire pepper in foil! I grill my pepper for 15-20 minutes (or until tender) at 400 degrees turning every 5 minutes.

Unwrap and enjoy all the goodness!

Open Faced Italian Sloppy Joes

These Open Faced Italian Sloppy Joes are great for a busy weeknight meal or a fun weekend lunch! These are a huge hit with my family and I would love to share my recipe with you, so let's get started!

What you need:

1 lb ground beef
2-3 garlic cloves minced
1/4 large red onion, chopped finely
1 green pepper, chopped finely
8 oz sliced mushrooms
15 oz tomato sauce
6 oz tomato paste
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp garlic and herb seasoning
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)
1-2 TBS honey
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
A loaf of French bread
8 oz shredded mozzarella
parmesan cheese

Directions:

First, cook ground beef, garlic, onions, and green peppers over medium heat until the beef starts to brown. If your meat is greasy remove the excess grease except 1 TBSP.

 

Next, add your sliced mushrooms and cook for about 5-7 minutes.



You should have a little moisture as the mushrooms are cooking, if not add 1 TBPS or so of water.  Now add tomato sauce, tomato paste, honey and all seasonings. Mix well and return to a simmer.



Now, cut your French bread equally down the middle and remove the middle of the bread creating a bowl inside your French bread halves. Place on a cookie sheet lined with foil.

Finally, fill the French bread with the Sloppy Joe Mixture and sprinkle the tops with shredded mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and a little oregano.

Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is bubbly. Then cut into sections and serve with a nice garden salad with yummy homemade ranch dressing, click here for the recipe.

I hope you and your family enjoy this meal at your dinner table soon!

Carne Guisada Tacos

Carne guisada is Spanish for "stewed meat". This dish is really great for those cool days and when you are looking for something different to prepare. These tacos can be prepared over the stove top or placed in a slow cooker, your choice.  Either way you prepare this dish the outcome is delicious!
This Mexican stewed meat is wonderful served with warmed flour tortillas, over rice, or as a warm stew.



Ingredients:
adapted from- HEB ShowTime
serves 8
2 pounds of beef stew meat
salt and pepper
olive oil
2 cups of Pico de Gallo, see my recipe below
6 TBS flour
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
3 cups chicken broth
1- 4 oz can green chilies

Pico de Gallo
4 roma tomatoes, chopped
1  jalapeño, seeded and chopped (add seeds if you want more spice)
2-3 garlic cloves minced (depending on the size of your garlic cloves and taste)
1/2 sweet yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (or to taste)
juice of 1 lime or lemon
kosher salt and ground pepper (to taste)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Mix all ingredients together and enjoy the freshness and the aroma of all these wonderful Mexican flavors!
Makes approximately 2 cups.

Directions:
Season beef with salt and pepper. Heat 2 TBS of oil in a large skillet over medium -high heat. Brown beef and transfer browned beef to slow cooker. Add more oil to the same skillet and then add pico de gallo and cook for about 3 minutes. Then add flour and seasonings and combine well.
Slowly add broth to skillet while constantly stirring. Bring to a boil and stir until thickened slightly. Add green chilies and then pour mixture over beef and cook 4-6 hours or until beef is tender.

You can also prepare this beef mixture on the stove top. After browning meat and preparing the mixture, simmer for about an hour and a half, or until beef is tender. Stir occasionally, to prevent sticking. I have prepared this dish both on the stove top and in the slow cooker and both are delicious. Serve with warmed flour tortillas, over rice, or as a warm stew. Garnish with pico de gallo, avocados, and sour cream.

Enjoy!

Must Try Monday {Philly Cheese Steak}

 

Hi everyone, hope you had a fabulous weekend!
Welcome to Must Try Monday!
Starting today and every Monday I am going to feature a
Must Try Recipe from my Pinterest board and let you know what I think!

Today I am featuring Philly Cheese Steaks Sandwiches from
Christine is Cooking

This is mine

and this is the picture and recipe I pinned!

Click here for Christine's full recipe.

What I did differently and my thoughts!
When making a new recipe I always Google other recipes and see what everyone else is doing!
I am a Texas girl and have never been to Philly, therefore have never had an "authentic" Philly Cheese Steak sandwich. After doing a little research I found many people use thinly sliced sautéed rib eye for an authentic meat choice. For the cheese option many people use cheese whiz or provolone. Once I read the original recipe I knew I wanted to change the meat option to rib eye.

- I thinly sliced approximately 2 lbs of rib eye.
- I did not add green peppers, onions, or mushrooms to the crock pot.
- I did use 32 oz of beef broth
(I think this was too much broth!
Next time I will only cover the the meat.)
- I did not use a packet of good seasonings. Instead I added a 1 tsp of garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder and salt and pepper to taste.
- 6 slices provolone cheese
- Italian dressing
- 6 hoagie rolls
 
I added the steak, broth, and seasonings to the crockpot and cooked for 8 hours on low. I thinly sliced bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms and sautéed them until tender. I preheated the oven to 400 and added steak, cheese, and bell pepper mixture to each hoagie roll and placed in the oven until cheese was melted and bubbly. Then topped off each sandwich with a little Italian dressing and served with chips. This was a nice and easy dinner option that I will be trying again.
Although I do not think I will cook the meat in the crockpot but rather sauté the steak next time.

Hope you enjoy this review and I would definitely recommend this Philly Cheesesteak for a 
family dinner night.

Crock Pot Beef Tips & Rice

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I am now finding a new love for my crockpot!
I do love cooking on my stove, but I am learning that the
crockpot is a fun tool to use too!
It needs a little respect now and then :)
I threw this together last week and it turned out wonderful.
This is a delicious meal everyone will enjoy!

2.5 lbs. beef chuck shoulder roast
2 cups beef broth
1/4 cup flour
3 TBS worcestershire sauce
2 TBS red wine vinegar
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
salt and pepper to taste ( I use about 1/2 tsp of each)
1 green and red bell pepper
1 small sweet onion
rice of your choice
(I cooked my rice in a separate pan, and
I use a mixture of white and brown)

First cut roast into approximately 1 inch chunks and place in
crock pot.

In a small mixing bowl add 1 cup of broth and 1/4 cup of flour and whisk until a smooth consistency. Then in a small sauce pan heat the additional 1 cup of beef broth over medium heat just until it steams, not boiling! Turn beef broth on low heat, slowly add the beef broth flour mixture and whisk constantly until thickened. Remove gravy from heat and add more beef broth as needed to reach your desired consistency. It is ok If there is a few lumps. The gravy will thin out as it cooks in the crock pot.

Add beef gravy, worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, and
seasonings to crockpot and combine well.

Cook for 6-8 hours.

Sauté red peppers, green peppers, and sweet onion in about 2 TBS of butter over medium heat until tender.

Serve beef tips and gravy over a bed of rice and top with
sautéed peppers and onions.
Salt and pepper to taste or sprinkle Tony’s Original Creole Seasoning in place of salt for a little more spice!

Enjoy :)

Easy Beef Stroganoff

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This dinner is a simple and tasty dinner option on a busy day.
Here is my fast homemade spin on this classic dish!

1lbs. ground hamburger meat
2- 12oz cream of mushroom (I use Pacific Organic)
1/2-3/4 cup of low sodium chicken broth or beef broth
(either one works well)
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp of garlic and herb seasoning
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dry parsley flakes
1/3 cup of sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
shredded parmesan
1 package of  extra broad egg noodles
(such as No Yolks)

Brown hamburger meat in a large skillet.
If needed, drain grease from hamburger meat.
Then add cream of mushroom, Worcestershire sauce, and seasonings to the skillet.
Slowly add broth until your desired consistency bring to a simmer for about 5-10 min. Then add sour cream and mix well.

Serve over extra board egg noodles, top with
shredded parmesan, and serve with steamed veggies!

Hope you enjoy this quick and easy dinner option
at your dinner table tonight!
It beats the box stuff if you know what I mean :)

Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Egg Roll Stir Fry

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This recipe is something my mom made when I was growing up. It was always a big hit and still is today in my kitchen.  Basically, Egg Roll Stir Fry is the inside of an egg roll without the crispy wrap, so it can be considered a healthy alternative to the fried egg roll!
I want to share this fun recipe with you so lets get started…

What you need:

1 lbs. of ground beef, pork, or chicken (I use beef)
1 head of cabbage (on the smaller side)
You can also add bok choy (optional)
3-4 medium carrots
1/4 onion chopped finely
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 heaping tsp of fresh grated ginger
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 TBS oil (sesame or vegetable)
4-5 TBS low sodium soy sauce
2 TBS rice vinegar
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

First, shred cabbage with a serrated knife. It is important to cut the cabbage with a serrated knife because it will shred the cabbage.

I apologize for the blurry picture :(

Next, chop bok choy. Then place cabbage and bok choy in a large mixing bowl. Shred the carrots with a vegetable peeler and toss well.

Then brown your ground meat with
finely diced onions and minced garlic. Drain grease from meat if needed.

As you can see below, you fill the pan full of cabbage, bok choy and carrots. Now you add fresh grated ginger, oil, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic powder and ground black pepper.

If you have to split the mixture because you do not have a large sauté pan or wok, half the cabbage mixture, ground meat, ginger, oil, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic powder, and black pepper between batches.

Once you have everything in the pan toss with tongs until coated evenly. Cover and cook over medium heat until cabbage has wilted, toss occasionally!

If you ever have any questions about my recipes or instructions please contact me.

I hope you and your family enjoys this recipe as much as my family does!

Thank you for stopping by
and
have a wonderful, blessed day!

-Audra

Dutch Oven Sweet Chili Meatballs

This recipe has moved to Cherishedbliss.com, click here for the full recipe!

Also great served as dinner with
garlic mash potatoes and sweet corn on the cob

or

served on top of wild rice with steamed green beans! 

Hamburger Veggie Soup

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This recipe has been moved to Cherishedbliss.com, click here for the full recipe!

Audra's Lasagna

  This is my version of traditional lasagna. I recently prepared a pan of this lasagna for my sister and her family while they were moving in to their new home.

I realized this recipe was blog worthy when she called me the next day and

told me my brother-in-law woke up thinking about how good the lasagna was the night before!

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family does!

 

 

1lb ground beef
2 TBS olive oil
1 small purple onion chopped fine
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can tomato paste
1- 15 oz can tomato sauce
1- 15 oz can diced tomato
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. marjoram
1 tsp. garlic & herb
¼ tsp. red pepper
1 ½ tsp. sugar
salt and pepper to taste
15 oz ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 package of oven ready lasagna noodles
I recommend
(Barilla Flat Egg Lasagna 9oz Box)
½ lbs - 1 lbs. shredded mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese

Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil and remove from pan then fry beef in the remaining oil. If your beef is fatty drain the grease. In a large pan add tomato paste, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, onion, garlic, sugar, all herbs, salt and pepper.

Add meat to mixture. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes.

While the sauce is simmering beat an egg in a medium bowl. Then 
add ricotta cheese and add a sprinkle of all herbs and mix well.

Now you are ready to put your lasagna together!
Place a small amount of sauce (so the lasagna noodles do not touch the bottom of the pan) in a greased 9 x 13 casserole dish. Spread layers of noodles, ricotta cheese, sauce, and mozzarella cheese for 3 layers. Pour the remaining sauce over the last layer of noodles. 

Sprinkle the top of the lasagna with mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, and oregano. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes covered with foil. Then remove foil for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.

Call the family to the table and enjoy a wonderful family meal made by you! Serve with fresh steamed green beans, salad, and French bread. Enjoy :)