Bell Peppers Stuffed with Salsa, Rice & Beans (Crockpot)

4 large bell peppers
2 ½ cups cooked brown rice
15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup tomato salsa
3 scallions, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
15 oz. can crushed tomatoes
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon sugar

Cut the tops off the bell peppers, save for later use, and remove and discard the seeds and membranes. Arrange the peppers upright in a 5 ½ - 6 quart slow cooker.
(My Crock Pot is only 4 quarts and they turned out fine.)
In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the rice, beans, salsa, and scallions and season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
Fill the prepared peppers evenly with rice mixture, packing it lightly. Replace the pepper tops. In the same mixing bowl, combine the tomatoes, cumin, oregano and sugar and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Pour over and around the peppers in the slow cooker.
Cover and cook on Low for 4 hours, until peppers are fork-tender but still hold their shape.
Serve hot.

Note: Adapted from a recipe from the book titled: Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker

Fish with a groovy lime salsa

The other day I bought Notebook, one of my favorite magazines. It had a free bag of goodies and included in it was the December 2008/January 2009 issue of delicious. (another fave) I've made a couple of the recipes out of it that I want to share. The first is this delicious fish recipe ... I, of course, modified it, so here is that modified version ...

You will need :
Olive oil
Firm White Fish Fillets (two big ones served the four of us nicely)
1 lime
coconut (see note below)
1 avocado
fresh ginger, grated (to taste)
1 cup fresh coriander (cilantro)
splash fish sauce
1 tsp sugar

I like to try the recipe as close to the way it is the first time I try it. This recipe called for fresh coconut and since I live in a tropical paradise and can buy coconut fresh, I went for it. Don't think I'll do it again. I googled how to open a coconut, thought it look pretty easy, gave it a go but couldn't do it. Luckily Rory's got skillz and he got the coconut open ! The recipe said to grate 80g !! I never weighed it, I just grated til I could grate no more ! And I still had almost a whole coconut left ! ha ha. So yeah ... next time, I'm going to try using desicated coconut ! But ... you do what you like !!!

How you make it:

Segment and chop the lime. Try to catch the juice, or have another lime handy to use a bit of the juice (depending on how limey you want this). Mix with chopped avocado, corander leaves, ginger, fish sauce and sugar. Set aside. (this is quite a tart salsa ... mmmmmm !)

Heat a bit of olive oil in a large non-stick fry pan ( I used a grill pan ) over high heat. Season fish with salt and pepper. Cook til fish is cooked through. Should only take a few minutes each side.

Serve fish on steamed rice and with salsa on top ....

I also roasted cauliflower and asparagus with a whole heap of garlic and olive oil. Mmmmmm !

You may wonder if our kids eat all these meals I cook ?

They sure do.
For some things ( like the lime salsa ) that I think they won't be excited about,
I only give them a small helping.
I wrote about how we taught our kids to eat, if you're interested.

PS. we had leftovers of the salsa. i ate it the next night on mexican chicken. mmmmmm !!

Mediterranean Rice Salad

From The American Vegetarian Cookbook

Salad:

1 cup white or brown basmati or long grain brown rice

2 to 2 ½ cups water, depending on rice

1 teaspoon sunflower oil

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 to 3 cups sliced zucchini

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

8 cups Butter or Red lettuce, in ¼ inch slivers

4 cups coarsely chopped spinach, or 2 cups arugula and 2 cups spinach

1 cup alfalfa or sunflower sprouts

½ cup sliced pimento-stuffed green olives (my favorite) or 1/3 cup slivered sun-dried tomatoes

¼ cup chopped fresh basil, or 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint (optional)

Ground rock salt to taste (optional)

Dressing:

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 large garlic clove, pressed

½ to 1 teaspoon honey (optional)

½ teaspoon dried chervil

¼ teaspoon dried mint

½ teaspoon dried thyme

1/8 teaspoon dried tarragon

½ teaspoon Dijon-style mustard

½ teaspoon ground rock salt or salt free seasoning

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place rice in a medium saucepan. If using basmati rice, add 2 cups of water and 1 teaspoon sunflower oil. If using brown rice, add 2 ¼ cups water and 1 teaspoon sunflower oil. Bring to a boil, stir once, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes for white basmati rice and 40 minutes for brown rice. Remove basmati rice from heat and fluff with fork; do not lift cover of brown rice for an additional 10 minutes, but do remove from heat.

(You could also skip this step entirely, by cooking your rice in a rice cooker if you have one. That’s what I do!)

While rice is cooking, heat oil in a large skillet or wok. Add zucchini, basil, and oregano and sauté, stirring frequently (add 1 to 2 tablespoons water to prevent scorching) over medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes, or until zucchini is just tender; do not over cook or it will fall apart in salad.

Measure dressing ingredients into blender and blend until creamy.

Add slivered and chopped greens to salad bowl with dressing. Add rice and zucchini, toss well. Fold in sprouts, olives or sun-dried tomatoes and fresh herbs. Adjust seasonings. You may need to add a dash more salt, since no salt was added to the rice during cooking.

Salmon, Brown Rice, and Spinach

This was a YUMMY meal!!!

Rory's Salmon Marinade (adapted)

1/2 cup Soy Sauce

2 teaspoons horseradish

1 teaspoon wasabi

2 Tablespoons pressed garlic

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

4 4-oz Salmon steaks

Thoroughly combine all but salmon in ziplock bag. Add Salmon. Marinate in fridge throughout day.

Place Salmon grill, skin side down (grill on high). Grill exactly 3 minutes, then flip. Grill exactly 3 more minutes then remove and serve.

Reduce the remaining marinade on stove top. Cook enough brown rice for 4 people. Serve marinade over rice to add yummy flavor.

Sesame Stir-Braised Spinach (from BestLife - 8 food you should eat every day)

Heat 4 cloves of minced garlic (we added more...of course! and left the garlic in larger minced pieces) and 1 teaspoon sesame oil in skillet. Add 2 Tablespoons water and bag of fresh baby spinach. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Drain. Add 1 teaspoon soy sauce and 1 Tablespoon sesame seeds.

Serve!