Crock Pot Peppers

Another {meatless} Monday is upon us!  Today's recipe comes from America's favorite entertainer, decorator, gardener, ex-con,  and foodie; Martha Stewart.  This recipe came from the Living magazine, but when I clicked on her website she's featuring a section on going meatless!  Get with the trend people!  Everyone's doing it!  I'll have to check the section for some future dinner inspiration.

On to the recipe of the day.  Greek Stuffed Peppers... made in the crock pot!  I have strong feelings of infatuation for Zac Effron Mr. Crock Pot.  A bit of quick prep in the morning and by the end of the day the house is smelling delicious and you have dinner ready and waiting!  I've always done stuffed peppers in the oven, so I was interested to see how they'd do in the ol' crock. 

There is one very serious stipulation to this recipe: you must find peppers that will sit up in the crock.  I wanted to use red peppers, but the ones at the farmer's market were all really long and skinny... and they wouldn't have stood on their own.  Green peppers it is. 

The greenies were the perfect shape for the crock and stayed together quite nicely... until I tried to take one out.  The sides collapsed and the filling oozed out everywhere. 

Oopsy Daisy!

Drew's "stuffed" pepper mush.

Use care when removing from the crock!

The first bite.

Here's a tip I learned in my Foods class: The first rule of meal planning is "know your audience".  These peppers were tasty, but they had a whole cup of feta cheese in the mix.  Drew isn't a fan of feta.  Duh.  That was a dumb mistake.  He was a trooper and made it through half the pepper.  Oh, the things he does for love!

I loved the way these cooked up and will definitely use the crock pot again for doing stuffed peppers!  However, I would definitely use red or yellow peppers with this recipe if I were to do it again... and I'd find a different filling for Drew's peppers.  Oh!  And about half way through my pepper I decided it was lacking something.  I added some chopped almonds on top for a bit of crunch.  Very nice.

Greek Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

• 4 large bell peppers (mine were huge)
• 1 15-oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup crumbled feta (not if you are Drew)
• 1/2 cup couscous
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Course salt and freshly ground pepper
• Lemon wedges, for serving

Method

• Slice the tops of the peppers off.  Discard stems, ribs, and seeds.  Chop pepper tops and place in a medium bowl.
• Add beans, feta, couscous, scallions (whites), garlic, and oregano to the bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stuff peppers with bean mixture.
• Place peppers upright in crock pot.  Cover and cook on high for 4 hours (I did low for 6 hours). 
• Sprinkle peppers with scallion greens; serve with lemon wedges.

I don't know if the lemon was just supposed to be for show, but I squeezed it on top.  And added chopped almonds.  Delish.

Happy {meatless} Monday!

Local Saturday

I just finished In Defense of Food.  Just another book on what we eat and all that jazz.  You know I like that stuff.  Katy read a book by the same author called Food Rules.  We spent Friday night eating M&M's and chatting about the virtues of healthy eating.  I know, right?

One of the suggestions in the book is to get closer to your food chain by; growing a garden (done!), shopping locally, and visiting a farmer's market.  We decided to put our money where our mouth is by putting down the M&Ms and hitting up our local Saturday morning hot spots... because lord knows I'm not going to be around to hit up the Saturday night hot spots. 

We started out at Homer's for coffee.  Just like Starbucks, with an added boost of charm.  And flavored coffee.  I flipping love flavored coffee!

Mmmm... Pumpkin Spice!

Next up: the Overland Park Farmer's Market.  I always get really overwhelmed at the farmer's market and end up with a random array of produce.  I need to go in with a plan!

I love the farmer's market.  There is so much to look at.  And I'm a sucker for pretty produce.  One farmer was selling purple peppers.  Purple!  Who has ever heard of such a thing. 

Per the usual, I left with way too many veggies and no idea what to do with them.  But I can't pass up a good deal!  For the whopping grand total of $9 I took home 5 tomatoes, 7 peppers (yes, 7), and 3 gigantor zucchini.  It would have been $8, but one of the farmers gave me incorrect change and I was too big of a pansy to say anything.  Such is life.

An apple a day.

After we filled our bags, we walked around downtown OP.  I love it down here.  Such cute shops!  We stopped for a photo-op when we saw a store named Crescent Springs.  Turns out its a magic store... one where the owner doesn't appreciate gals taking pictures and laughing at the window displays.  Too bad we weren't in the market for a new set of tarot cards.




Tools for enlightenment.


Next up: fresh baked bread from Great Harvest Bread.  Katy and I tried out all kinds of baked goods.  While she had good intentions and bought a loaf of whole wheat, I decided on an apple pie pocket.  What?  It was baked fresh, so it was definitely good for me. 

And that there was our morning of supporting the local businesses in our neighborhood.  I tried to talk Katy into further supporting the locals by stopping for Mexican food, but she assured me that 10:30 was way too early for chips & salsa and margaritas.  We'll save that for Saturday night I guess. 

Katy is reading In Defense of Food at the moment and has promised to write a book review guest post!  Get excited!!!

Before

Ari is pretty upset at all the attention that Miss Mya has been getting lately.  He's asked that we focus a bit more blog attention on him.  I thought the best way would be by reminding everyone of the little tiny boy that came to live with us, some three years ago. 

"I may look cute now, but after I'm done eating this toy cat, I will completely take over your life."

We had no idea how much he'd change our lives.  We had no idea how much mud and hair would cover our floors and furniture.  Or how much he'd come to hate the mailman.  Or how he'd never quite understand the concept of fetch.  Or how he would bark incessantly to alert us that he was awake and ready to start his day.  Or how much he would make us laugh.  I picked him for that little spot on his belly.  Best choice ever.