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Cooking, Recipe and Food Blog

Stuffed Peppers

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This recipe has many variations from all over the world: Mexican, European, American, Indian and Mediterranean, but more often than not the peppers are stuffed with minced beef, rice and herbs. To make a vegetarian dish, just remove the meat and it will still be delicious. It can be served as a side dish or as the main course. All the flavors from the meat and spices infuse together during the cooking process, resulting in a healthy and delectable dish.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

3 cups water

2 green bell peppers

2 red bell peppers

2 yellow bell peppers

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes

2 cans (8 ounces) tomato sauce

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef or chuck

1 1/2 cups cooked long-grain rice

1/2 cup shredded mild Cheddar cheese

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Wash the rice and cook n a pot or sauce pan with 2 cups of water. Let it boil. After, reduce heat and cover. Cook it for 15-20 minutes or until the rice is fluffy.

In a skillet fry the beef until evenly browned. Add Worcestershire sauce and season with salt and pepper.

Wash the bell peppers and slice off the top. Discard tops, seeds and membranes. Arrange them in a baking dish. Leave a minimal space, so that the peppers will not topple over. You may cut the bottoms if necessary to make it stand upright.

In a pan, heat olive oil and melt the butter; sauté the garlic and onion.  Mix in the beef, cooked rice, tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, pine nuts, salt and pepper.  Remove from heat and stir in the egg.

With a spoon, place the rice mixture in the peppers. Pour the remaining tomato sauce on the peppers and top with cheese.

Bake the peppers for 1 hour until peppers are tender. Serve warm.

Photo Courtesy Of: effekt!

Lamb and Vegetable Pilau

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This is one of my all-time favourite meals. I’ve forgotten the amount of times that I’ve gone to my parents house, and just smelt this being cooked in the kitchen, can just feel the Saliva build up.

Pilau

Soft, flavoursome meat, with crunchy Cauliflower and tender rice, this dish is one of the first things I learnt to cook – and I still can’t get it to taste like my Moms!

To serve 4-6
2tbsp Oil
1 Large Leek, trimmed and Sliced
½ Red Pepper, deseeded and chopped
1/2tsp Ground Cardamom
6oz Cooked Lamb Cubes
1tsp Paprika
½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
4oz dry Rice
3/4pint Vegetable Stock or Water
½ a Cauliflower, cut into Small Florets

1.       Heat the oil in a large pan, and cook the Leek and Red Pepper for two minutes until they are soft, but not brown.

2.       Add the Cardamom, Paprika, Cinnamon and Rice, then gradually blend in the stock (or water)

3.       Bring the mixture to the boil, before adding the Lamb and Cauliflower, and season with Salt and Pepper to taste.

4.       Simmer for at least ten minutes, stirring frequently until the rice is cooked, and most of the liquid is absorbed, and serve straight away.

This dish is quite filling, the quantities that are listed provide enough to feed a family of four quite easily, but there is enough to feed six if required – just add a small amount more Rice and Lamb to the mixture (i.e., two to three tablespoons more Rice, and four or five more cubes of Lamb per person extra)

Photo Courtesy of: WordRidden

Steak with Pineapple Salsa

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The thin slices of Steak, with a fresh, fruity Salsa accompaniment create a range of flavours and textures that you don’t see very often, but create a dish suitable for such a wide range of tastes and preferences.

Steak and Pineapple Salsa

Using Fresh Pineapple instead of Canned will help the flavours blend easier and better, but make sure you don’t leave any of the skin or core in, or these pieces will become quite tough and hard.

To Serve2
2 cups of Peeled, Cored and Chopped Fresh Pineapple
300grams Mandarin Orange Sections, Drained
½ Cup Chopped Red or Green Sweet Peppers
1/3 Cup Picante Sauce
350grams Beef Flank or Boneless Sirloin Steak, cut ½ Inch thick
½ tsp Chilli Powder
1tbsp Olive Oil
6 Cups Mixed Salad Greens

1.       For the Salsa, mix the Pineapple, Mandarin Oranges, Sweet Peppers and Picante Sauce in a blender, before setting aside for at least an hour to allow flavours to mix

2.       Trim the fat from the Steak, and slice across the grain in the Meat, and sprinkle the Steaks with Chilli Powder.

3.       In a large pan, cook half of the steak over a medium-hot heat for around five minutes, before cooking the other half of the meat.

4.       Arrange on the plate, with the Steak on top of the Salad Leaves and Salsa over the top of the Steak.

This meal goes very well as part of a larger spread – very nice with a fresh made Potato Salad, Cous Cous or as part of a picnic meal.

Photo Courtesy of: Galant

Beef with Chilli and Black Bean Sauce

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Beef with Black Bean SauceSince we’re getting all Christmas-y, here’s a completely non-related dish guaranteed to get you in the mood for festivities!

Okay, so it’s not exactly a Turkey Dinner, with all the trimmings, but it’s a very nice treat – especially with a nice, thick, sticky sauce…mmm! Serve with fresh cooked rice or noodles

To Serve 4
600g Beef Fillet, cleaned of any fibres, cut into thin slices
1/3 Cup Oil
2tbsp Spring Onions
2tbsp Dry Sherry or Dry Vermouth
1tsp Salt
1tsp Sugar
½ Red Pepper, cut into thin strips
1 small Red Onion, thinly sliced
1 heaped tbsp Ginger, cut into thin strips
3 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
2tbsp Dry Sherry, or dry white wine
2tbsp Black Bean Sauce, from a jar
1tbsp Vinegar
1/2tsp Sesame Oil
2 large red Chilli Peppers, cut into diagonal pieces

1.       Mix the Meat with two tablespoons of the Sherry (or Vermouth), Salt and Sugar, and keep covered in the fridge for thirty minutes.
2.       In a large, heavy pan or wok, heat some of the oil until very hot, and fry half the Meat for thirty seconds, and then repeat with the other half of the meat.
3.       Fry the Onion, Ginger and Garlic for thirty seconds, before adding the Meat back to the Wok, with the remaining Sherry and stir until warmed through.
4.       Add the Black Bean sauce, Sugar, Soy Sauce, Vinegar and Sesame Oil to the pan, and continue cooking for another minute.
5.       Finally add the Chilli Peppers and Pepper to the pan, and continue stirring for another thirty seconds, before serving.

Photo Courtesy of: Avlxyz

Swordfish with Peppers in a White Wine Sauce

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SwordfishItalian Sophistication served up on a single plate. The contrast of colours, textures, tastes and simplicity of this dish make it a superb dinner party dish. It’s all about timing – if the fish is cooked for too long, or too high a heat, the textures and tastes may spoil, so you have to be really careful with it.

Try to get all the ingredients as fresh as possible – for the fish, try to avoid frozen if possible. If you can’t help it, make sure that it is thoroughly defrosted first, and closer to room temperature.

To Serve 8

2kg of Swordfish in 8 fillets, boneless and skinless

1/3 cup Olive Oil

1 Medium Onion, sliced

3 Orange or Yellow Peppers, cut into thin slices

2 Medium Tomatoes

2 or 3 cups of White Wine

1 tsp Oregano

½ Lemon, Juiced

1 tsp Demerara or White Sugar

½ Cup Light Raisins

½ Cup Pine Nuts

½ Cup Parsley, finely chopped

1.       Make a cross on the bottom of the Tomatoes, and place them in a pan of boiling water for thirty seconds. Drain from the pan, and cool under a running tap, peeling the skins and removing the seeds. Cut the flesh into cubes.

2.       Heat a non-stick frying pan up without any oil in, and add the Pine Nuts, stirring until they start to brown, at which time place them on a plate.

3.       Wash and dry the pieces of Fish, and lightly flour them.

4.       Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large shallow pan, or large deep frying pan, and brown the fish off, half at a time. You may need to add some more oil half-way through.

5.       Wipe the pan with some kitchen paper, and add two more tablespoons of oil before sautéing the Onions and Peppers on a low heat until they begin to soften – around ten minutes.

6.       Add the tomatoes to the pan, and turn up the heat. Continue stirring for five more minutes.

7.       To the pan, add the Wine, Oregano, Raisins, Sugar, Lemon Juice and Parsley, seasoning to taste. Allow to boil for around three or four minutes, and then return the Fish to the pan to heat with the rest of the sauce.

8.       Add the Pine Nuts and serve!

Photo Courtesy of: Melvin Schlubman

Garden Vegetable Spaghetti with Feta Cheese and Basil

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All it takes to make this dish is twenty minutes of your time, plus a few basic ingredients – nothing that would be out of place in a kitchen. As well as being very quick and easy to make, it’s also very healthy, and easy to adjust to whatever vegetables are in season at that time.

Garden Vegetables

You could serve this dish either warm or cold, with some fresh Garlic Bread, as part of a Summer Picnic or with a home-made Mint Sauce. Experiment with using roasted Vegetables – lightly charring the Peppers adds a different texture to the meal, and the warmth of the Tomatoes will make this dish very tempting.

To serve 4

400g Spaghetti

1 Red Pepper

1 Yellow Pepper

75g Peas

125g Young Leaf Spinach

150g Baby Tomatoes

2 tbsp Olive Oil

125g Feta Cheese

Bunch of Basil, roughly chopped (or ripped)

1.       Cook the pasta for eight minutes in a pan of boiling water, stirring occasionally.

2.       Slice the Red and Yellow Peppers, and add these to the pan, along with the Peas, bringing the pan back to the boil and simmer for a further two minutes

3.       Drain the mix into a colander, and set aside

4.       Cut the Tomatoes in half, and add these and Spinach in the pan for a minute, before removing the pan from the heat.

5.       Tip the Spaghetti and drained vegetables back into the pan then add the olive oil and mix lightly. Put the lid on, and let it stand for a minute.

6.       Lightly toss the vegetables and Spaghetti, before adding the Feta Cheese and Chopped Basil, and tossing again gently.

Photo courtesy of: Greenfaerietree

Italian Chicken Legs

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A delight for the eyes and a treat for the other senses, this dish is very easy to make, requiring very little work to prepare.

chicken legs

So easy to make, that you can get the children involved, but make sure you watch out when using the knives, hot liquids and the hot pots and pans.

To serve 4

4 Chicken Legs

1 tbsp Sunflower Oil

2 Onions

1 Red or Yellow Pepper

250g Mushrooms

400g Can Chopped Tomatoes

1 tsp Dried Mixed Herbs

300ml Chicken Stock

1tbsp Cornflour

400g Wild Rice

1.       Brown the chicken legs in the oil in a large pan. Remove the legs and set aside, keeping the oil in the pan.

2.       Finely chop the Onion, slice and de-seed the Pepper, and slice the Mushroom. Cook over a medium heat for five minutes

3.       Add the Chicken back into the pan, as well as the Chopped Tomatoes.

4.       To the pan, add the Mixed Herbs and Chicken stock, bring to the boil, before covering and simmering gently for forty minutes.

5.       Mix the 1 tbsp Cornflour with 2 tbsp Water until smooth, and add to the pan, until the sauce thickens up and boils.

6.       Cook the rice according to the packet instructions, and serve.

Photo Courtesy of: FotoosVanRobin