Wild Rice Stuffed Peppers

These wild rice stuffed peppers were a hit at our house last week. 

They were filling, tasty and easy to make. 

While they made a great meal on their own, I couldn’t help but think how great they would taste on Thanksgiving Day as a side dish. 

Yum-o.  `

Wild Rice Stuffed Peppers – Inspired by Kate in the Kitchen

Ingredients

• 4 medium red bell peppers
• 1 C uncooked wild rice
• 1 (14 oz) can Great White Northern Beans, rinsed & drained
• 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 – 2 C fresh spinach
• 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 T minced onion
• 2 oz. shredded cheese, Mozzarella preferred
• 4-5 T Parmesan cheese

Directions

Begin by preparing your wild rice; first rinse the grains, then add water as recommended on the package.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and simmer until rice is tender (usually about 50 minutes).  I made my wild rice 1 day ahead of time, which make the prep for this dinner so easy. 

Meanwhile, slice open the bell peppers and remove the core.  Place the peppers cut-side down on a cookie sheet lined with tinfoil and lightly sprayed with olive oil. 

Bake the peppers for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.  You want the peppers to begin to soften and roast, but don’t want to burn them. 

Remove from the oven. 

*Note: if you are in a hurry, broil the peppers for 5 minutes, then turn your oven down to 400 and get ready to fill the peppers.  Just watch carefully so they don’t burn! 

While the peppers roast, heat a little olive oil with the minced onion and garlic; toast until fragrant.  Then, add the wild rice, diced tomatoes and great white northern beans. 

Add in spinach.  You can use frozen here too, 1 small package (about 7 oz) should be perfect.  Season with parsley if desired.  Heat until warmed. 

Stir in 2 oz. shredded Mozzarella cheese and/or cheddar cheese. 

Carefully, flip over the peppers so that the cut side is up.  Using a cookie scoop, plop 1-2 scoops of the filling into each bell pepper. 

Top with Parmesan cheese. 

Return to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted, and the bell peppers are tender. 

Serve warm. 

Enjoy!

Leftovers reheat well too. 

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Roasted Vegetable Summer Salad

For my grandparent’s 65th Wedding Anniversary all the grandkids brought side dishes.  I decided it was high time to create a new pasta salad. 

I roasted up a whole bunch of veggies because, let’s face it, roasted veggies taste amazing.  And, I can actually eat them when they are roasted. 

Then, I tossed them in some pasta cooked in chicken broth, marinated with some olive oil, garlic, onion, and herbs. 

The result was a delicious salad – perfect served hot or cold. 

Roasted Vegetable Summer Salad

Ingredients

• 2 C chicken broth
• 2 1/2 C small shaped pasta
• 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. minced onion
• 4 C water
• 1 C chopped broccoli florets (fresh or frozen)
• 2 C baby carrots
• 2 medium red bell peppers
• 1 medium zucchini
• 8 oz. baby bella mushrooms
• 4-6 oz. cherry tomatoes (optional)
• 1 can (~15 oz) Great White Northern Beans, rinsed & drained
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1 tsp. oregano
• Olive oil

Directions

Place 2 1/2 C small pasta (we used rings, but small shells would work well too) in a large stockpot.  Add 2 C chicken broth (should be enough to nearly cover the pasta; if not, top off with water).  Sprinkle in up to 1/2 tsp. minced garlic and 1 tsp. minced onion.  Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.  Once the pasta has absorbed most of the liquid (about 3 minutes of boiling), add in the 4 C of water and continue cooking according to package directions.  Drain. 

Meanwhile, chop up your veggies.  Chop the bell peppers into 1-inch pieces, zucchini into quarters, and mushrooms into quarters.  Halve the cherry tomatoes, if using (I highly recommend doing so!).  Note – it the carrots are thick “baby carrots”, slice them in half lengthwise. 

Arrange the veggies on a large cookie sheet lined with a piece of foil coated lightly in olive oil.  Spritz with additional olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper, basil and oregano. 

Roast at 450 for 30-45 minutes until crisp tender and nicely roasted.  Stir occasionally during this time and, if you are using frozen broccoli, you may need to remove the broccoli sooner than the other veggies. 

When pasta is ready and veggies are done, stir them together.  Mist lightly with olive oil to maintain moistness.  Season with additional salt, pepper, basil, & oregano.

Stir in white beans and garnish with dried parsley, if desired. 

Serve warm or chilled. 

This makes a great stand-alone salad, but would also be delicious with chicken either in the salad or along side it.  Grilled chicken would be even better!  Enjoy!

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Fajita Pie with Tortilla Crust

For those of you long-time readers of Finding Joy in My Kitchen, this fajita pie recipe likely comes as a surprise.  We don’t eat a lot of Mexican-type foods here as Frog Prince is not a big fan of cilantro, salsa or black beans. 

But, all that aside, Frog Prince enjoyed this dinner quite a bit. 

In fact, he said I could make it again, even with the black beans! 

Even better - this dinner was so simple to put together and it was in the oven in less than 10 minutes! 

I need more go-to dinners like this one for nights that just don’t work out as planned.  Having this one on the list is a nice change from our traditional rice cooker mac and cheese, or quick spaghetti. 

Hope you find this dinner quick and enjoyable too. 

Fajita Pie with Tortilla Crust – Adapted from My Biscuits are Burning

Ingredients

• 1 (10-inch) burrito sized tortilla; or 2-3 fajita sized tortillas
• 1 medium bell pepper, orange, red or yellow
• 1/2 medium green bell pepper
• 1 T minced onion
• 1 medium tomato
• 1/2 C black beans
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 4 oz. cheddar cheese
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 C white whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 C milk
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 1/4 C finely chopped spinach

Directions

Begin by lining the bottom of a lightly-greased 9-inch pie plate with your tortilla(s).  If you have smaller sized tortillas, just use 2-3, torn in half to fill the bottom of the pie plate and slightly up the sides. 

Finely chop 1 medium bell pepper (colored), 1/2 medium green bell pepper, and 1 medium tomato. 

Toss with 1 T minced onion and some pepper. 

Add in 2 oz of cheddar cheese, shredded.  Stir well.

Spread the mixture on the bottom of the tortilla-covered pie plate. 

Arrange black beans over the top. 

Sprinkle with paprika and chili powder. 

In the same bowl, mix together 3/4 C white whole wheat flour with 1 tsp. baking powder.  Stir well.  Then, add in 1 C milk and 2 eggs.  Whisk well until blended.  Add salt and pepper, a few dashes of each. 

Add in finely chopped spinach. 

Carefully pour the milk mixture over the veggies in the pie plate. 

Top with remaining 2 oz of cheddar cheese, shredded. 

Bake at 450 for 25-27 minutes until center is set and cheese is browned. 

Allow the tortilla pie to sit for 5 minutes before serving. 

Serve with salsa, if desired. 

Enjoy!

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Vegetables with Alfredo Sauce

Looking for a way to increase your vegetable consumption?  How about veggies smothered in Alfredo sauce? 

Arguably, this might minimize the health benefits of the vegetables, right? 

Not with this Alfredo sauce. 

The base: Great White Northern (or Cannellini) Beans. 

Seriously. 

Give it a try. 

Vegetables with Alfredo Sauce – Adapted from Finding Joy in My Kitchen

Ingredients

• 2 C whole wheat penne pasta
• 1 (14 oz) can Great White Northern or Cannellini Beans, drained
• 3 medium bell peppers, red, orange or yellow, diced
• 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
• 6 stalks of asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 C milk
• 1/4 C Parmesan cheese
• salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

Begin by boiling the pasta according to package directions.  Drain and set aside. 

Meanwhile, sauté the bell peppers, mushrooms, asparagus and garlic in a skillet until crisp tender – about 10 minutes.  If you normally need to use some olive oil to sauté, do that here. 

Using a blender, puree your rinsed white beans, adding up to 1/4 C milk to help create a smooth sauce.  Season with salt and pepper. 

Pour the sauce over the cooked and drained pasta.  Add 1/4 C Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper. 

Stir well until the sauce covers all the pasta. 

Pour the veggies into the pasta mixture and stir to combine. 

Serve warm, topped with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired. 

You could easily add cooked, diced chicken or Italian sausage to this dinner! 

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Zucchini, Carrot & Black Bean Rice

One of my all-time favorite meals is a whole wheat tortilla filled with zucchini, carrots and black beans.  You can find that recipe here. 

There is just something about shredded carrots and zucchini sautéed together with delicious black beans and a hint of cheddar cheese.  Yum, yum, yum. 

This time, I added these veggies to brown rice.

The result was a delicious dinner and the leftovers in my lunch were even better!

Zucchini, Carrot and Black Bean Rice

Ingredients

• 2 C brown rice
• 1 C chicken broth
• 1 C water
• 1 tsp. minced onion
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 medium zucchini, quartered
• 4 oz. mushrooms, quartered
• 2 medium carrots, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp. olive oil  
• 1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
• Shredded cheese for garnish (e.g., cheddar, Parmesan)

Directions

Begin by cooking the 2 C rice in 1 C chicken broth and 1 C water along with 1 tsp. minced onion.  Cook according to package directions. 

Meanwhile, sauté the carrots in 1/2 tsp. olive oil for 3-4 minutes. 

Toss in the quartered zucchini and mushrooms.  Cook for 5-7 minutes until veggies are crisp-tender and the liquid from the mushrooms is evaporated.

Add in the black beans. 

Then, when the rice is ready, pour in the hot rice to the skillet. 

Garnish on the top with some shredded cheese.  I used a little bit of cheddar and some Parmesan. 

Serve warm. 

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