Chicken Fajita Stuffed Peppers

I was never a fan of stuffed peppers when I was younger. Every stuffed pepper I ever tried was overcooked and under-seasoned. Bell peppers weren't my favorite food to begin with and it didn't help matters any to fill them with bland, grainy ground beef and mushy rice.

In recent years I've come to appreciate bell peppers more. Through Subway I learned that they're delicious on a turkey sandwich or a salad and thanks to Rachael Ray I can now enjoy them in a variety of soups and sauces. Bell peppers are one of Bailey's favorite snacks. She likes them raw and cut into chunks but she will also eat them whole with stem and seeds intact if I don't stop her in time.

Stuffed peppers were still high on my "never gonna make it, ever!" list until a few months ago when I discovered this recipe through one of the blogs I follow. It was as if a switch was flipped in my head and ideas just flooded in... or would that be out? I'm not sure, but either way I was struck by a tsunami of ideas.

The first was:

Look at that! They stuffed the peppers with chicken. I like chicken.

Followed by:

And if I used brown rice and cooked it just under done it wouldn't be as mushy.

And then:

Oh! If I can use chicken, why not substitute a little steak? Make it a steak fajita stuffed pepper! That would be so yummy!

Which of course led to these thoughts:

I bet that Philly steak stuffed pepper with the provolone would be amazing. I could leave out the onions.
Hey, while I'm at it I could do a Philly chicken pepper too.
And I could do them vegetarian too! I wonder if anyone has ever made a broccoli cheddar stuffed pepper...

You can see where this is going. It was like a blogging brainstorm party in my head. My final list totaled over twenty ideas for stuffed peppers, including a roast beef and gravy pepper (shepherd's pie style with mashed potatoes on top) and a chicken Parmesan pepper. Perhaps a few of my ideas were stretching it a bit, but they all sounded tasty to me. Who knows? I might have just thought up a new food trend.

This filling recipe is perfectly balanced. The chicken:rice:other ingredient ratio is just right. There's a little punch of heat from the green chilies in the tomatoes but it's not an overwhelming spiciness. Brown rice stands up nicely without turning mushy. The chicken is a much more pleasant texture than ground beef.

I did adjust a few things. First, I added another whole pepper. The filling recipe made more than enough for the five peppers. I also upped the cheese to two whole cups. There's nothing wrong with cutting down the amount of cheese to a tiny sprinkling on each pepper, but I like cheese... a lot! Especially on anything with chili powder.

I made these with all green peppers the first time but I preferred the flavor of the red, orange, and yellow peppers this time. Since the peppers are the expensive part of this meal I'd say just use what you can find on sale (or beg from your neighbor's garden... guilty!) and get cookin'! Cause these peppers are absolutely deeeee-lish!

Chicken Fajita Stuffed Peppers

Source: Cooking Classy

3/4 cup dry brown rice, cooked
6 medium bell peppers, any color
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb chicken, diced
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice (optional)
3 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
2/3-2 cups monterrey jack or cheddar cheese, shredded (your choice how much you want to use)
sour cream and hot sauce to serve (also optional)

Begin by starting to cook the rice. You can follow the directions on the package but I like to use the pasta method. Just fill a 2-quart pot with water (far more water than the directions call for), bring it to a boil, add the rice and some salt and cook for 45-50 minutes. When the rice is done drain and rinse in a fine mesh strainer.

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.

Take your peppers and slice them all in half.

Remove the ribs and seeds but leave the stem intact.

Place the pepper halves 3-4 at a time in the boiling water and cook for 5 minutes.

After five minutes use a pair of tongs to remove and drain the peppers. Place them on a baking sheet (lined with foil if you remember... I forgot this time).

Meanwhile in a small bowl combine the salt, chili powder, ground cumin, paprika, and pepper.

Once you've finished boiling the peppers pour the water out and place the pot back on the stove. Add the oil and heat on medium-high. Once the oil is hot add the chicken.

Add the seasoning mix and stir to combine.

Add the onion and cook for about 10 minutes, until the onion starts to turn translucent.

Once the onion is mostly cooked add the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the diced tomatoes and green chilies, black beans, and frozen corn.

Stir to combine and cook just until the ingredients are warmed through.

Once the rice is cooked and drained add it and the lime juice and cilantro to the chicken mixture and stir to combine.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Fill each of your prepared peppers with the filling mixture to heaping full.

Sprinkle the cheese over the peppers and bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Remove from the oven when the cheese is brown and bubbly.

Serve warm with sour cream and hot sauce if desired.

Creamy Chicken and Rice

In the summer, when our garden (or in our case our neighbor's garden) is rewarding hard work with the best homegrown vegetables available, I always seem to have a plethora of zucchini. We were brought an entire grocery bag of zucchini twice a week for nearly three weeks. We sauteed them with onions, added them to stir fry, and even turned a whole load of them into many loaves of zucchini bread, but this was probably my favorite use of all.

The recipe didn't call for zucchini, just carrots and onion in the way of vegetables. But I already had some extra zucchini already grated from the zucchini bread and thought, why not? It made a fantastic addition, but if you don't have any zucchini this dish would still be wonderful without it.

It's no secret how fond I am of rice. Perhaps because it's such a rare treat for me. I usually like rice on the side of Tex-Mex dishes and with Asian inspired meals but this is really more like an Italian risotto. It's a creamy mixture of chicken, vegetables, aromatic Jasmine rice, and Parmesan cheese. This is another one-pot meal, limiting clean up and coming together in less than an hour. I might not use chicken thighs next time as I found it difficult to remove the fat and I don't think the dish would lose any flavor if the thighs were swapped for breast meat. If you're looking for a bit more green you could add some fresh baby spinach leaves, chopped asparagus, or even some steamed broccoli.

I skipped the wine that the recipe calls for. I know it would have probably added some depth but I knew Nana would prefer it without so I just substituted extra chicken broth in place of the wine. Maybe next time I'll run by the liquor store and grab a bottle of good dry white.

The flavors of this dish are homey and fresh. It's sure to be a crowd pleaser in almost any home.

Creamy Chicken and Rice

Source: Natasha's Kitchen

1/4 cup olive oil
4 Tbsp butter, divided
1 medium onion, diced
2 large carrots, grated
1 medium zucchini, grated
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 bay leaves
1 cup dry white wine
5 cups chicken broth, heated
2 cups Jasmine or other medium-grain rice
1 head garlic
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, plus more for serving

*If you have a dutch oven, use it. You'll get more flavor from all of the ingredients and the whole dish will cook more evenly.

I didn't have a dutch oven available so I used a large soup pot instead.

Begin by heating the olive oil and 2 Tbsp of the butter over medium-high heat.

When the butter has melted add the onion, carrots, zucchini, and 1 tsp of the salt. Cook until the vegetables have softened, stirring frequently to prevent sticking or burning. This will take about 8-10 minutes.

Once the vegetables are soft add the chicken pieces and season them with the remaining salt and pepper. Cook until the chicken is lightly browned on all sides. I'm sorry for all the steam in the picture, this was the best shot I got out of ten.

Add the bay leaves, increase the heat to high, and pour in your wine. Cook the wine down, scraping the delicious browned bits from the bottom of the pot as you go.

Cut the head of garlic so that all of the cloves are open but still attached. Set it aside for a minute.

Once the wine has mostly evaporated pour in the hot chicken broth and stir in the rice. Then place the head of garlic cut side down in the liquid.

Bring to a boil and then reduce to low. Cover and let it simmer for about 15 minutes, until the rice is fully cooked.

While it's cooking go outside and find a bunny. Okay, that's just me, but there were dozens of bunnies at Nana's house this summer and they weren't even afraid of us so we got pretty close to some of them. Can you find the bunny? He's kind of camouflaged here.

Once the rice is cooked remove the garlic. At this point you can either toss it in the trash or push a few of the cloves out, mash them up, and mix them into the rice. I chose to use about 4 cloves because I like garlic. Add the remaining butter and stir until it melts in. Now stir in the parsley and Parmesan until the dish is creamy.

Serve immediately to prevent the rice from turning to mush.

Add some extra fresh grated Parmesan or chopped parsley if desired.

Seasoned Oven-Baked Brown Rice

During the SNAP challenge I shared with you my favorite way to cook brown rice. It is still my favorite way to cook brown rice, but I have jazzed it up a bit in this recipe. I've made it twice for Nana and twice it has disappeared! This is my new favorite rice to serve as a side dish.

Perfect Brown Rice in the Oven

I'll admit I make some of the worst rice you've ever eaten. It comes out too sticky and starchy or it doesn't cook through and turns out crunchy or it runs out of liquid and sticks and burns on the bottom of the pot. I know the directions say you should cover it and not stir it but I worry that it will stick so I take the lid off and then the steam escapes and the liquid all evaporates too fast and I can't seem to get the stove temperature right so if I leave the lid on tight the water boils over... it's really just a horrible mess.

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I've found another winner from Budget Bytes. Tonight's meal was filling, satisfying, and delicious. Oh, and did I mention it was cheap? Every recipe posted on Budget Bytes shows the total cost. Once I've tried a few more of the recipes I'm thinking of having a Budget Bytes week each month, choosing cost effective meals to keep the grocery bill down.

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Crock Pot Chicken Teriyaki

Oh, crock pot, how I love you! It's so nice to be able to do other things while you slow cook a meal for my family. Things like baking bread for my bestest friend. Even better, things like coloring and playing play-doh with my beautiful little girl.

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Ya know what I don't love? I don't love driving to pick up Chinese takeout.  I don't  love calling to order Chinese takeout.  I don't love paying for Chinese takeout.

Folks, I may have found a way to have Chinese takeout without having Chinese takeout.  You can make it at home, and it is amazing, and easy!

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