Grandma's Stuffed Pepper

Hello again! Sorry for being MIA this past week or so but life has been pretty crazy with kids going back to school, work, and getting in all those last minute family outings before summer ends. And I also start back up to school with 5 classes starting next week so I think my plate is just about full! LOL! I have cooked a little with some good recipes and some flops but I do think those "flops" are what makes a GREAT recipe in the end...right?!
        
         Well for dinner tonight I made my Grandma's Stuffed Pepper recipe that she used to make a lot when I was younger. Every time I eat this meal I just think of my grandparent's and of the many, many special memories I have of them and with them.  I don't think I can even explain how much they mean to me, influenced my life, and how they really just gave me so much love that I needed and wanted. I was and am truly blessed to have had them in my life. Thank you both. XOXO
   So here is my special memory and all I ask is for you to cook this with love.... :-)

Stuffed Peppers


5 Green Peppers ( I used locally grown...always good to support your local farmers!)
1lb of cooked hamburger meat
small yellow onion chopped
chopped garlic
salt/pepper
olive oil
Worcestershire sauce
dash of hot sauce
2 (8oz) cans of tomato sauce w/Italian herbs
1 can of stewed tomatoes w/Italian herbs
1 cup of cooked rice (I used brown just to be a bit healthier!)
handful of grated Parmesan cheese
mozzarella cheese

Instructions

1.) Preheat oven to 350 F. After you cook your hamburger meat reserve some of the grease and cook the chopped onion and garlic for about 6-7 minutes and then place in a bowl with the cooked meat, cooked rice, salt and pepper (to your tasting), about 3-4 good dashes of the Worcestershire sauce, a good dash of hot sauce, and a handful of the Parmesan cheese. Mix well and then stir in the stewed tomatoes well.

2.)Wash your peppers and cut the tops off and clean out the inside of each one. You may need to even the bottoms to make them able to stand.

3.) Place peppers in a casserole style dish  (a 9x13 is a good size). Now spoon the meat/rice mixture into the peppers. Then sprinkle with the shredded Mozzarella chesse over each pepper.

4.)  Now pour cans of tomato sauce over the top of peppers and all over dish.

5.) Cover with foil and bake for about 35-45 mins.

6.) Enjoy!!

Ps...My grandma (And now I do) made this a whole meal by having them with mashed potatoes drizzled with the tomato sauce over them, and slow cooked green beans. Yummm....

My relationship with food...

This blog may seem confusing to some with all my musings and then food recipes on here. One might think I may have lost my noodle a bit but no I haven’t “officially” lost my noodle, this is just me. I tend to jump from thing to thing, sometimes not finishing one before moving on to the next.  So please bear with me, my stories and my love for food because at times they just really do go together.

                Food was and always has been my comfort in life, as it is for so many.  When I was younger it was my “friend” when times were hard, times that should have never been hard.  Unfortunately it may have felt like a band aid over my heart and mind; it disgraced my body to be something of a mockery to others. A mockery that still lives with me to this day.  I thought I stood up to that though and changed myself, eating habits, and ways of coping. Sad to say it wasn’t the healthiest ways but please remember I was still a kid, a teenager, and the outside of things mattered more than the inside when you are at that age.                

                It is so funny to me how I have so many memories of food when I was a child; my favorites, restaurants, snacks, and so on. But during my teen years I have really none.  It was my enemy then, I think. I used it for survival and that was it. In fact I do kind of remember having to be reminded to eat by my mother on many occasions.  And now really thinking about it I remember it used to make me sick to my stomach for a long time. I was scared to eat for the fear of getting sick in front of my friends, my boyfriend, or even at my job (s). This lasted for quite a few years for me.  I guess I do have more memories than I thought, just not ones of fondness apparently.  What I find more interesting than all of this is when that all turned around for me.

The turning point I think was marriage and motherhood.  Food now became more of a nurturing aspect in my life and with that it became fun again. My trials in the kitchen were enjoyment to me, and seeing the looks on people’s face after they take a bite was a happy fulfillment to me.  Even if it wasn’t a hit, those looks were funny!  I even used my cooking to my advantage at times! Just ask my husband…lol! (I had to snag him some way!)

I am so glad to have found this pleasure in food again and glad it is a healthy pleasure in my life. It is hard to look back at those times and actually this blog brought back some I must have buried pretty deep inside, but that needed to come back up and dealt with.  Thank you to those who were my friends through the hard times and thank you for not trying to bring me down like some just because of the way I may have looked. I do hope that those who chose to do and say those mean things you can see as an adult now maybe there was more to the picture then my chubbiness. I was just a kid trying to cope with things the best that I could.   I do forgive though; you were just a child yourself.

XOXO,

Sarah

Summer Refresher! Sweet Tea Vodka mixer...

Okay so I was on Facebook last night and I saw a good friend of mine talking about a great drink she made with sweet tea vodka and it made me think of the drink I make kind of like hers. Thanks Jen! Lol! Well with the weather that I have been having here in St.Louis (HEAT and HUMIDITY!!) nothing would be better than this drink right about now! Just a little advice though...be careful on how much you drink, this one can fool ya!

Sassy Sweet Tea

1 1/2 oz of Jeremiah Sweet Tea Vodka (any will do, this is just my fav)
Lemonade
Fresh made Tea
Sugar
Ice
Sliced lemon

* Take a high ball glass (or even a Mason Jar would look pretty cool ) and rim the glass with sugar. Then fill with ice. Pour vodka in over ice. Then fill glass about 3/4 of glass with Lemonade, then last 1/4 with your tea. Mix, garnish with lemon and enjoy!!

Being a Mom of 4 sometimes I just have to throw a meal together, but not a meal that has the flavors of a TV dinner or nutrition of fast food! So here is a secret of mine...I get a little help from others! ;-) Well the other night I was so busy all day that by the time I got home everyone was hungry and crabby. I had to come up with something quick yet up to my standard of flavors and healthy! So here is what I came up with and it was a hit with my family.  ENJOY!
ps...I would like to thank Harry & David for the great flavor of my dinner! (Remember I said I get a little help sometimes! lol!

Grilled Glazed Chicken

6 chicken thighs with skin

1 jar of Harry & David Pepper Onion Relish

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

Instructions

• Place your chicken on a platter and drizzle the olive oil over them and generously sprinkle the salt and pepper on them. Then let them sit to room temperature.
• Place on grill with medium heat and close lid.
• While the chicken is on grill take the jar of relish and put in a bowl. Then with a fork work the relish to be more smooth and sauce like. It may take a few minutes.
• When the chicken is about done then glaze the chicken with the sauce and grill til chicken is cooked through.

                                            http://www.harryanddavid.com/

Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Salad with a Port Wine Dressing

    So since I have been in the kitchen trying new things out I thought that I would share my recipes with you! Well I went to one of the local farmer’s market this weekend and at almost every stand there were beets.  I thought to myself since I am on the mission of changes and trying new things I must grab a bunch of beets! I was scared because I have never worked with beets besides opening a can (yes I’ll have to say this is a little embarrassing to admit to all my foodie friends, but I have to tell the truth!) After a little research on how to work with these little “diamonds in the rough”, I came up with a recipe for them.   I hope you try it because the time it takes is so worth it! Enjoy!!

Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Salad with a Port Wine Dressing

Roasted Beets

1.      5-6 beets with greens trimmed and washed

2.      Olive Oil

3.      Salt/Pepper

4.      One small shallot , sliced

5.      Rosemary

6.      Two sheets of foil

*Preheat oven to 400*F*

Line a cookie sheet with a piece of foil. Place the washed and trimmed beets on the foil. Generously cover them with the olive oil. Take about a palm full of each spice (salt, pepper, and rosemary) and sprinkle them over the beets. Turn the beets on the foil to make sure all sides are covered. Then take the shallots and toss them in with the beets. Take the last piece of foil and cover the beets. Slightly roll the edges of the foil all around to form a “basket” like shape.  Place in oven and roast for about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on size of beets.  When you can pierce the beets with a fork smoothly then they are done.  Once cooled then peel skin off with a knife and then dice.

*Save the drippings with the shallots for the dressing.

Salad

1.      Fresh Arugula washed and patted dry

2.      Goat cheese

3.      Diced roasted beets

4.      Walnuts *optional*

5.      Port Wine Dressing

Port Wine Dressing

1.      One cup of a dry Port Wine

2.      Two tbsp. of cherry preserves

3.      The drippings from the roasted beets, shallots included.  

4.      Dash of salt and pepper

5.      ¼ cup of balsamic vinegar

6.      3 tbsp. of sugar

7.      ¾ cup of olive oil

Place all ingredients except oil and sugar in a large pan over medium heat. Bring liquid mixture to a slight boil and boil till sauce starts to thicken. (About 5 minutes after boil) While boiling use a whisk to mixture and scrape bottom and sides. At the end of boil add the sugar and whisk.  Once sauce is done and cooled a bit pour sauce into processor and pulse for about a minute. Then pour olive oil slowly in processor while mixing.  Drizzle over salad and ENJOY!!

Loss of Words

Hello everyone! I just want to thank you all again for all the positive feedback I have received for this blog! It still surprises me that there are people even reading it! Lol! And I know that I thanked everyone in my last blog but I will always thank you for it! That is how much I appreciate the positive energy given to me.  It is so needed and appreciated, that’s for sure. So, THANK YOU!!

Truthfully I am having the hardest time writing this blog.  Do you know I tried 3 different ways and none of them felt right to me?  So as I sat here staring at my screen, blaring some Ben Folds, it occurred to me to just write that. Write about this being hard and maybe something will come to me on why I am having trouble.  I mean who really wants to spill their feelings, right? Okay, okay I usually am one who does NOT mind giving my thoughts on anything, so why now? Am I really out of things to say???!! Geez put this one down in the record books!

What I really feel that is going on is that I am working on some things personally and before I can talk about them I have to understand them myself.  I feel so good at my attempt and success at that pride thing, and yes I know it was only once but at my own words to my daughter today when teaching her how to dive, “After you do the very first one, the rest will be a synch!” And I have even been trying new things in the kitchen which is my own therapy and how I love it!! I am also looking into trying to learn the guitar…my poor family! Lol! Oh and I WILL NOT promise to not sing! Just sayin… ;-)

I am on a road to something, may it be a road to feelings of inner peace, and happiness, I can only hope, but it is a road that I look forward to walking.  So thank you for going on this journey with me, it makes a road less travelled on a little less scary when you don’t have to do it alone.  Until next time…

XOXO,

Sarah

Ps…Double post tonight! I just had to add a new recipe I tried this weekend! Enjoy!

Grilled Corn Salsa

So I decided to lighten up my blog a bit after those two last posts! Haha! If you remember I love to cook AND eat!! So here is a recipe I came up with one night to put on our grilled tilapia, and my hubby LOVES it! It really is so easy and tasty! Enjoy!!

Ingredients

2 ears of corn

Small red onion

Red pepper

Olive oil

Salt/Pepper

Apple Cider Vinegar

Dash of Sugar

Grill
1.) Take 2 ears of corn (remove husks and clean) and drizzle olive oil over them.

2.) Then salt and pepper them all over and throw them on a medium heat grill and shut the lid.

3. While those grill for about 15-20 mins you can chop up a small red onion, and 1 red pepper,

4.) When the corn is done you let cool and then shave corn off of ear into bowl.

5.) In bowl with corn you add onion and pepper, then give a good coat of olive oil and 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar, then a shake of salt, pepper, and sugar.

*If you like a good kick then add a pinch of red pepper flakes, or even a small hot pepper.

6.) Mix together and then cover and put in fridge to marinate for at least 4 hrs- 24 hrs. Mixing here and there til needed.

A lesson learned...

Thank you everyone for all your praises on this blog! It still is pretty scary for me to open up like this publicly but I am, as I said in the first blog, working on overcoming my insecurities.  Isn’t it so funny how life can really put you in a spot? I mean a spot that is so uncomfortable and is the last place you want to be but a place that you NEED to be.  The irony of life can be quite comical sometimes huh?

    Yesterday we found out about the passing of a parent to someone who is in our lives almost daily. Unfortunately this person has really brought on some very upsetting situations and LOTS of negative energy on my family this past year. Please know that I am not here to name names or bring up private and personal information of others. I am just here to express my thoughts on this situation. With that being said, remember in my last post I stated (even swore!) that I was going to work on my pride getting in the way of certain life situations? Well finding out about this death is really putting this to test! 

 Here’s a little background on how my pride can at times really run my mind, heart, and soul.  Having the amount of pride that I do makes me very protective of my family, even sometimes makes it hard for me to forgive and especially forget.  Do you know how much those ill feelings I hold in me really just eat up my soul? But how can I forgive someone who has done and said some really despiteful things to people I love and myself? Hmmm…can you sense my mind and heart’s battle?  There have been times I have been told that I just need to swallow my pride for the sake of peace. Okay, for me to swallow this lump of pride it makes me feel like when you are swimming and you accidently swallow a bunch of pool water and it goes down the wrong tube! That instant feeling of no air along with the water burning in your throat and stomach! Man I hate that feeling!  BUT… what happens right after you swallow that water? You cough (ok maybe HACK!) a few times, spit some water out, then voila! All better!! No death or trip to the hospital or anything like that right? So maybe I need to take that approach and apply it to my situation.

Losing a parent is a total and utter heartbreaking event in one’s life. I am SO blessed that I have both my parents alive, in my life, and healthy! I just love them so much and can’t even think of the day they are not here.  So when I heard of this person’s loss it hit home to me. With all my anger, hurt, frustration, and (yep you know it) my pride I felt towards this person why was I feeling all this sadness for them?  Okay well I am human and I am really a kind person who cares about others. So I tried to write it off last night at just that.  Why then did I wake up early this morning thinking about this person with worry on how they are feeling? I think my heart was telling my mind something and it was something important…swallow your pride and reach out with an open heart.

  And that is exactly what I did.  I swallowed my pride. Even though I knew it would hurt for a moment and feel suffocating I just told myself that with a few coughs and hacks I can and will get through it. Obviously I made it and do not deserve any praise for it because that was what had to be done.  I can walk away with this life lesson though:

·         Sometimes life just doesn’t revolve around me and I may need to swallow that silly pride and reach out with an open, sincere heart. (Wow! What a great lesson I needed to learn!)

 My thoughts and prayers are with this person in their time of sorrow and I would like to thank God for my parents, their health, and my time with them.  Until next time…

XOXO,

Sarah

Birthday Resolutions

Welcome to my blog! It is a little scary for me to put myself out there because I never wanted to be in a position to be judged. My whole life I always wanted to be a part of many clubs and even some sports but my insecurities always stopped me from even just trying.  I remember a time when I was about 11 and I talked my mom into signing me up for tennis lessons. Man was I so excited! I can’t remember if I was more excited just for the cute outfits that came with these lessons or if the excitement was for the sport itself.  Truthfully I think it was more for the outfits then the lessons but hey at least I was willing to put myself out there, right?! Well that was until I met the “mean girl”. Surprisingly I don’t remember her name, but I actually don’t even think I had a chance to even get her name before she targeted her bully eyes on me. Well that was the last of those lessons and yes I waved the white flag and quit.

                After turning 33 a few days ago I decided no more waving white flags. This is the year that I am going to own who I am and try to work on my negatives and uplift my positive qualities (maybe even add few more of those positives!) and what a better way to do all this then REALLY put myself out there with this blog, right? Haha! So I have a lot of emotional baggage that I have to sort through and put away to help me overcome my negatives that really inhibit me from living a simple and peaceful life.  I am on my way there and the journey hasn’t been that easy.  There were even some negatives that I didn’t realize I even had until they were pointed out. But during this hard and sometimes sad journey I have caught a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel, and boy is it beautiful!  I was given one life to live, did you hear me?! ONE LIFE!!  Okay it may have taken me 33 years to really get that but at least I got it and I plan to embrace it to my best ability.

                As I was thinking about my new way of life I thought that the best way to work through things is by making a list of all things that need improvement (maybe even a few that just need to disappear completely!) and the things that I am proud of.  Boy this project ended up being harder than I thought! I mean you have to give me a little break, I am Irish and very prideful so to list my negatives is like admitting I am wrong, not something I like to do or be!!  Wait! There’s something I CAN put on my list: 

1.)    I tend to let my pride get in the way of many things!

Ok see that’s a beginning right? It is starting to occur to me this list might take me a bit longer but I figured that I would start working on what I have down already.  So on to my pride.  Truthfully I am afraid this might be the hardest and take me the longest but nothing good comes easy, right?

Well I decided to include a new item of my list on each blog otherwise this one post would probably go down in history as the longest post ever!  And until my next post I do solemnly swear to work on my superabundance of pride to my best ability! Until then just remember that you were given the gift of life, one life, and live it to your fullest!

XOXO,

Sarah