Bell peppers in general are loaded with lot’s of nutrients, such as vitamin C, thiamine, vitamin B6, beta carotene, and pholic acid.  They also contain a large amount of phytochemicals that have exceptional antioxidant activity.   Now after researching I learned that RED bell peppers contain lycopene which is a carotene that helps to protect against cancer and heart disease, according to this link here.  Please enjoy!

For more red curry recipes, click here. 

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 lb. pork tenderloin, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into 3-inch pieces
• ¾ lb. cremini mushrooms, quartered
• 1 tbsp. red curry paste
• 1-1/4 cup, lite coconut milk
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1-large can tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tbsp. yogurt per serving, spooned on top (optional)

In a large non-stick frying pan, heat your oil to a medium heat.   Add your onion, stirring often until slightly softened.  Add your garlic and continue stirring for about 2 minutes.  Add your pork, and continue cooking until lightly browned.  Add the bell peppers, mushrooms, and curry paste (making sure your curry paste is well combined).  Continue stirring until mushrooms and bell peppers are slightly limp.  Add your soy sauce, reduce heat to medium low and cook for another 2 minutes.  Add your coconut milk, bring to a boil, and simmer until the sauce has reduced and thickened, about 5 minutes.

Lastly, add the tomatoes and cilantro, stirring to combine, and continue simmering for another 5 minutes before serving.

Serves: 4

Total time: 60 minutes

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I used Poblano peppers, a large dark green chili with thick walls, perfect for stuffing.  The time consuming element of this recipe was preparing the chilis for stuffing, they need to be evenly blackened and blistered.  You then place the chilis in a sealed bag for about 20 minutes to steam.  This allows the skin to peel off very easily.  My stuffing consisted of tender yukon golds that were mixed with cheese.  Please enjoy!

For more chili rellenos recipes, click here.

• 6 Poblano Chiles
• 2 medium size Yukon gold potatoes
• 1 cup cream cheese
• 2 cups “Sargento”, shredded montery jack, cheddar, queso quesadilla, and asadero cheese
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup flour, mixed with ¼ tsp. each, salt and pepper
• Corn oil

With a sharp knife, make a slit down one side of each Chile.  Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat, add Chiles to pan, cooking long enough for your skins to blister (turning frequently).  Place the Chiles in a strong airtight bag and allow to steam for about 20 minutes.  Remove Chiles from bag and peel off the skins.  Carefully remove the seeds through the slits with a small spoon.  Set aside.

Cut your potatoes into 1-inch pieces.  Boil potatoes on a low simmer until barely tender, drain immediately, cooling for about 5 minutes.  Meanwhile in a medium bowl mix together your cheeses, add your potatoes, salt, and pepper, and combine thoroughly being careful not to mash your potatoes.  Fill each Chile with potato/cheese mixture and set aside on a plate.  Cover with saran wrap and place in refrigerator for at least one hour.

Separate your yolks and whites into separate bowls.  Beat your whites to firm peaks.  Beat your yolks for about 1 minute, fold in your whites.  Pour egg mixture into a plate large enough for dipping.  On another large plate place your seasoned flour.  Remove your Chiles from the refrigerator, remove your saran wrap and let sit for about 15 minutes, bringing your Chiles to room temperature.  Heat a non-stick pan with enough oil to coat pan generously.  Bring heat to medium-high to high heat, your temperature should be about 375 degrees.  Coat your Chile in flour, then into your egg mixture.  Fry Chiles on each side for about 2 minutes until golden brown.  Serve immediately.      

Serves: 6

Total time: 2 hours

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If you have not tried smoked paprika, you really should.  It has a deep smokey and slightly sweet flavor, that is not at all like the regular paprika that has almost no flavor.  Smoked paprika is made in spain from smoked, ground pimiento peppers.  There are varying intensities, from sweet to mild (dulce), to medium (agridulce), and to hot (picante), according to this link here.  I found the start of this recipe from my Sunset magazine, but changed it up, to fit our own taste buds.  Please enjoy!

Click here to find more recipes using smoked paprika. 

• 1 lb. chicken breasts tenders, cut into bite size pieces
• 4 tbsp. olive oil
• 3 small tomatoes, diced
• 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced, including greens
• ½ jalapeno seeded and diced
• ½ lime juiced

Chicken rub:

• 1 tbsp. smoked paprika
• 1 tsp. each salt, garlic powder, and cumin
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes

Avocado/cream sauce:

• 2 ripe avocados
• ½ cup sour cream
• ½ cup cilantro chopped
• ½ jalapeno seeded and diced
• ½ lime juiced
• Salt and pepper to taste

4 Medium size white corn tortillas
4 cheese mexican blend (sargento)
Spring mix, cabbage or lettuce of your choice

Place your chicken in a plastic bag, pour rub ingredients over and shake vigorously coating chicken completely.  Place in refrigerator for at least one hour.  Prepare tomatoes and onions and set aside.  In a medium size bowl add avocado, sour cream, cilantro, jalapeno, and lime juice.  Mash the avocado and mix ingredients completely, adding salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside in your refrigerator.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  After your chicken has marinated for at least one hour, in a large non-stick pan heat your olive to a medium heat, add your chicken stirring to coat with the oil, then sauté chicken until slightly crispy and cooked through, about 5 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, onions, and lime juice to the chicken, stirring to combine.  Cook an additional 3-4 minutes until tomatoes and onions are slightly limp.  Place your tortillas in foil, and heat in oven for about 5 minutes.  To serve spoon chicken mixture into warmed tortilla, top with cheese, avocado cream sauce and spring mix.  Serve immediately.  

Makes:  4 medium burritos

Total time: 90 minutes

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Arborio rice, a short grain rice that is firm and chewy, is most commonly used in cooking risotto.  Arborio rice is named after the town of Arborio in Italy, where it is grown.  My english peas fresh and sweet, were purchased from my friend Lynda’s produce stand in Half Moon Bay, called the “Farmer’s Daughter”.  The chef that created this very delicious risotto is Maria Hines, from “TilthRestaurant”  in Seattle Washington.  Please enjoy!

Check out this link here for other risotto recipes from inmamaskitchen.com

• 1 bunch green onions
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• ¼ cup butter, cut into pieces
• 2 cups fresh or frozen petite English peas
• 2 cups pea vine leaves
• ¼ freshly grated parmesan chees
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• ½ tsp freshly cracked pepper
• ½ tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Trim green onions and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Bake until slightly browned and crisp, about 10-13 minutes.  Set aside to cool, then chop into 1-inch pieces. 

In a medium sauce pan, heat oil to medium heat.  Add shallot and garlic, sauté for about 1 minute.  Stir in wine; cook stirring constantly, 4 minutes or until wine is almost evaporated.  Add rice.  Cook stirring constantly, 1 minute.  Add ½ cup broth.  Cook stirring constantly, until broth is absorbed.  Repeat procedure, ½ cup at a time.  Total cooking time is about 20-25 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients, serve immediately.

Serves: 4

Total time: 60 minutes

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Also, please check out this recipe for the “Glazed Smoked Ham” that we have been feasting on, it was by far the best ham we have ever done.  Tyler Florence from the foodnetwork created it, no wonder it was so good!

For more stuffed bell pepper recipes, click here. 

• 2 large green bell peppers
• 1 ½ cups ground cooked ham
• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1 small can tomato sauce
• 3 slices cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a large pot bring water to boiling.  Prepare your bell peppers for par-boiling; slice top of bell peppers, removing seeds and white pith from the inside.  Place your bell peppers into the boiling water, and boil until just barely tender, about 4 minutes.  Remove immediately, set aside and let cool.  In a large bowl combine ground ham, cooked brown rice, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, fresh ground pepper, and ¾ of the can of tomato sauce.  Take 1 piece of your cheddar cheese and chop into very small pieces, add to your ham mixture  and combine thoroughly.

In a medium casserole dish, spread bottom with 1 tbsp. tomato sauce and a little olive oil to lightly coat.  When bell peppers have cooled enough to handle fill tightly with your ham mixture, place in your casserole dish and pour remaining tomato sauce over your stuffed bell peppers.  Cover loosely with foil and bake in oven for about 20 minutes or until heated through.  Remove foil, top with 1 slice of cheddar cheese and continue baking until cheese is melted.  Serve immediately.     

Serves: 2

Total time: 60 minutes

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For more recipes with pablano peppers, click here. 

• 1 large Poblano pepper
• 2 chicken breasts
• ¼ tsp. onion salt
• ¼ tsp. cumin
• Freshly ground pepper
• 4 tbsp. vegetable oil, divided
• 1 large handful fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 cup half and half
• 2 shallots finely chopped
• 2 large portabellas, chopped
• 2 slices jalapeno pepper cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place your poblano pepper on a skewer.  Char entire Pablano over an open flame on your gas stove.  Set aside to cool.  Meanwhile, pound chicken breasts to ½ inch thickness, sprinkle with onion salt, and cumin, set aside.  Roughly chop portabellas, and shallots, set aside.  Peel cooled poblano to remove all of the charred skin, remove stem, seeds, and roughly chop.  To a blender add the poblano pepper, cilantro, and half and half.  Blend completely, and set aside.  

In a large oven proof non-stick pan heat 2 tbsp. of the vegetable oil to medium heat, and brown portabellas and shallots.  Set aside.  To your pan add the remaining oil, heat to medium, saute chicken breasts to a nice golden brown, about 4 minutes each side.  Turn the heat on your pan down to low and add the portabellas, shallots, and pablano white sauce.  Lightly stir to combine.  Once your pablano white sauce is heated through, place the jalapeno cheese on each chicken breasts.  Place in oven until jalapeno cheese has just melted.  Serve immediately with cilantro rice, spooning your pablano white sauce over both the chicken and rice, YUM!

Serves: 2

Total time: 45 minutes

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Cod with it’s mild flavor is a popular dish that is low in fat.  Cod also contains a good source of vitamin B12, B6, and niacin that can have great cardiovascular benefits, especially for women.  Check out this link here to learn more about the benefits of cod.  Please enjoy!

For some very popular cod recipes from RecipeZaar, click here.

• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tbsp. flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 2 tbsp. minced shallots
• ½ tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 thin piece prosciutto, minced
• 1 tbsp. flour
• 2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Salt to taste
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp. canola oil
• 4-7 oz. fresh cod fillets
• Lemon wedges for garnish

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Stir together first 10 ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.  Heat oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium heat.  Season the cod with salt and pepper.  Cook in skillet for 4 minutes.  Turn fillets over and cook for 1 minute.  Spoon 1 tbsp. butter mixture over the top of each fillet; place skillet in oven, and bake for 2 minutes or until fish is cooked through.  Add any remaining butter to pan, and let melt, stirring with juices in pan.  Spoon over fish and serve immediately with lemon wedges.

Serves: 4

Total time: 30 minutes

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For more indian curry recipes, click here.

• 1-1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 8 oz. cremini mushrooms, quartered
• 1 lb. spinach
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• ½ tsp. each turmeric, and cayenne
• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 2-inch piece, fresh ginger, minced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp. each ground coriander, and cumin
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1-14oz. can diced tomatoes with juice
• ½ cup chicken broth
• ½ bunch cilantro, chopped
• ¼ lemon, juiced
• Plain yogurt (1 heaping spoonful, per serving)

In a large soup pot, add your olive oil and heat to medium.  Add your mushrooms and onions and cook until onions are soft, and mushrooms are lightly browned, stirring often, about 8-10 minutes.  Add turmeric, cayenne, ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin, and salt.  Stir completely and cook for 2 minutes, add chicken and cook stirring often for about 8-10 minutes until chicken is no longer pink on the outside.  Add chopped tomatoes and simmer covered for about 10 minutes.  Add chicken broth and simmer for another 5 minutes, uncovered.  Add spinach by handfuls stirring as you go and continue simmering until spinach is wilted completely, being careful not to overcook.  Stir in cilantro and lemon juice, simmering for another few minutes.  Serve in large soup bowls with basmati rice, and a heaping spoonful of yogurt.   

Serves: 4

Total time: 60 minutes

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For more Ziti recipes, click here. 

• 4 tsp. plus 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 lb. sweet Italian sausage
• 1 eggplant cut into ½” cubes
• 1 sweet yellow onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ cup dry red wine
• 1-28oz. can crushed plum tomatoes, juice included
• 5 oz. ziti, cooked al dente
• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
• ½ cup rinsed chopped kalamata olives
• 2 ½ cups shredded mozzarella
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ½ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a 10” nonstick pan over medium heat, add 2 tsp. olive oil and brown sausage to nice golden brown, drain on paper towels.  Add 2 tsp. olive to your pan over medium heat and brown eggplant for 6 minutes until slightly soft.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Add 1 tbsp. olive oil and brown onion over medium heat until soft; add garlic and cook 1 minute.  Add wine, increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits.  Cook 3 minutes, add tomatoes with juices, simmer 10 minutes.

Add sausage, pasta, basil, olives, 2 cups mozzarella, and tomato sauce to bowl with eggplant; stir to combine.  Season with salt and pepper.  Transfer back to your nonstick pan (or casserole dish).  Sprinkle with ½ cup mozzarella, and fresh grated parmesan.  Cover, bake 25 minutes.  uncover, broil at 500 degrees for 5 minutes.

Serves: 6

Total time: 60 minutes

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This recipe was found by my husband, he was in the mood for something different and comforting.  Beef-Wheat Balls were so good, I could not stop ranting about how yummy they were for the next three days, and I can’t wait to have it again.  Bulgar is a grain from Turkey,that is made from several different types of wheat.  It’s flavor and texture were perfectly suited for the beef in these meatballs.  Ground turkey would be really good too, in fact any ground meat would be great, pick your pleasure.  I love walnuts and to these meatballs, it added a nice nutty crunch that made the meatballs kind of elegant, I thought.  We served these meatballs over hot buttered farfalle noodles with fresh parsley.  This would be a great dish to serve guests during the winter time, and to bring to a potluck as well.  Please enjoy!

Our source for this recipe is an old old issue of a Sunset cookbook (1978), titled “Recipes for ground beef”.  For more meatball recipes click here.

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• ¾ cup quick cooking cracked wheat (bulgar)
• ½ cup finely chopped onion
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. minced parsley
• ¼ tsp. each thyme and marjoram leaves
• 1/8 tsp. basil leaves
• 2 tbsp. chopped walnuts
• 2 cans (10 1/2 oz. each) condensed beef bouillon
• 2 soup cans water
• 1 ½ cups sour cream with chives
• Hot buttered noodles or rice

Mix together ground beef, cracked wheat, onion, salt, parsley, thyme, marjoram, basil, and nuts.  Roll into balls the size of small walnuts.  In a large kettle, bring to a boil the beef bouillon and water; drop in meatballs, cover and simmer until balls rise to the top (about 15 minutes).  Remove meatballs from broth and mix them with sour cream; reserve broth for other uses.  Serve meatballs over hot buttered noodles or rice.

Serves:  4

Total time:  60 minutes

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