COOKING WITH PAOLA & KIMBERLY: STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS OUR WAY

WELCOME, welcome friends!

Kimberly and I are so excited to show you how to make one of my family recipes.

We will each be taking turns every other week cooking different recipes that we love. 

This week is my turn and our very first cooking post, yikes!!! 

  My recipes tend to be a little complicated since my family cooks everything from scratch. MMM lucky husband of mine! I used to cook this way and spent a couple of hours cooking dinner every night. Not any more, this girl is now a MOMMY and there is no time for cooking from scratch! Only on special occasions, of course.  So with the help of my good friend Kimberly, I have learned to simplify and become more creative. 

Please keep in mind that we have tweaked all of our recipes a little..... ok maybe a lot, making them healthier and easier to cook. Needless to say, my husband is American and even though he loves my cooking, I had to accommodate my recipes to his palate. Kimberly has it a little more easy, they both cook together. Aw how romantic!! So if you make it my peppers and don't like it......Blame it on my hubby! LOL

Ok enough words and more action!! Are you ready?

We are going to show you how to make this recipe step by step to simplify the process.

Drums rolling..................................Lets get started!

STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS

This recipe is delicious and a very  light recipe that you can make at home with ingredients that you already have in your refrigerator. Very affordable! Please don't ask me to count the calories, I never do, but I guarantee you that is healthy and very filling. WARNING........ the first time I made these peppers, Kimberly stuffed her face! She said they were so good! I hope that's a good sign. 

Serving for 6 people ( 2 stuffed pepper per person)

INGREDIENTS

• 15 Idaho potatoes ( Washed with soap and hot water to get rid of the dirt, do not remove or peel the skin off)
• 3 cups milk
• 1/2 cup of butter
• Tsp black pepper
• Salt
• 1 Whole Rotisserie Chicken
• 12 Green peppers 
• 1 Yellow Onion
• 1 Red Pepper
• 1 1/2 tbsp of Garlic 
• Raisins to taste
• 2 tbsp of EVOO
• 1 can of enchilada sauce
• Mexican shredded cheese

PREPARATION

STEP 1: POTATOES 

In a large pot, boil the potatoes in water with salt. You can tell when the potatoes are ready when they get soft and tender. ( Hint: While they are boiling try cutting through one with a knife, if the knife cuts the potatoes with no effort, like butter, then your potatoes are ready). I boiled mine on high heat for about 20 minutes.

You are probably wondering, why do you leave the skin on the potatoes? Because of their nutritional value. Leaving the skin intact will prevent from all the nutrients to remain, which have a tendency to escape during cooking. Here are some of the daily value (DV) percentages that a medium-sized potato may contain, based on a daily caloric intake of 2,000 calories.

The nutritional information for total fat, cholesterol, and sodium are not included as their values are all 0!

Vitamin C: 45% of DV
Potassium: 18% of DV
Vitamin B6: 10% of DV
Total Carbohydrates: 9% of DV
Iron: 6% of DV
Foliate: 6% of DV
Magnesium: 6% of DV
Zinc: 2% of DVProtein: 2% of DV

Are you surprised? 

 

Once the potatoes are completely cooked, drain the water and put them in a separate bowl to mash up ( yes we are making mashed potatoes). Mash the potatoes, the milk, the butter and salt. Keep mashing until the potatoes become creamy. Set aside to use later.

 

Don't forget, taste your food to make sure it is not too salty or just to make sure it taste scrumptious!

That's a big bite! I like to joke around and Kimberly thought I was really going to put the whole think in my mouth! Gotcha!

We thought that it would be nice to take a picture of the ingredients we used, just in case you don't know what brand to buy. This will make your shopping so much easier.
YOU ARE WELCOME, I know..... we are very kind!

STEP 2: ROTISSERIE CHICKEN

Remove the skin from your chicken, shred.  Set aside to use later. 

We like Costco's roasted chicken, they are big, fresh and have NO ADDED HORMONES OR STEROIDS

You can use your hands or this tool. I bought it at Pampered Chef and I absolutely love it.
I can shred everything from veggies to meat with it! Highly recommended! 

STEP 3: GREEN BELL PEPPERS PREPARATION 

Try choosing big peppers that can stand up straight to fill. Like this one. Make sure that they look healthy, no mold on the skin, no cuts and no soft areas.

Cut the top of the pepper and remove the core the middle area where all the seeds are located.

Wash with the inside and remove all remaining seeds.
The peppers should look clean in the inside so you can stuff them. 

This is how clean they should look

Carefully boil the peppers in water with salt for about 5 minutes.

This process is very important as the skin of a green pepper is hard and the taste is tart. When you boil them in water with salt in will not only soften the skin a little but it will get rid of that tart taste, trust me, it makes a huge difference.

Important note: DO NOT OVER BOIL YOUR PEPPERS! If they get too soggy they will disintegrate and you cant stuff them.  We just need to soften them up a little to the touch.
You can always reduce the time you boil them.



After they boil, place them in a colander to remove them from the water and immediately place them on a non greased cooking pan, and let them cool down.

Important note: Be careful when you drain the water, the vapor may burn you. Also please do not let them sit on top of each other, the vapor will make them break and soften.

This is how your peppers should look like after cooling and boiling. 

While the peppers are cooling, you can now prepare all of the other ingredients for the stuffing. 

STEP4: STUFFING

This are the ingredients that I like using for the stuffing. I find that buying minced garlic will save you a lot of time and will keep your hand smelling like garlic all day! 

Cut up the onion and red pepper in small pieces

Sauté the onion in olive oil until brown.
 Once they are brown, add the red peppers, 1/8 tsp of salt, garlic and sauté all together for 2 minutes. 

Now add raisins to your taste and cook for 1 more minute. Set aside to use later.

I really like adding raising to this recipe. The combination of salt, a little spicy and the sweet make it irresistible. Its a combination of flavors that will make you want MORE! 

  

Step 4: MIX ALL THE INGREDIENTS!!! 

In a large boil, or in a pot mix together the potatoes, chicken, sautéd veggies and raisins. 

TIME TO STUFF YOUR PEPPERS< YAY! 

I like to start by stuffing them with shredded cheese

Add the stuffing and fill all the way to the top

Add some more cheese, lots of cheese, and pour some some enchilada sauce on top to taste.

Note: Enchilada sauces come hot, medium or mild.
I like using the mild, which is not spicy at all, just in case one of my guests doesn't like spicy food.  

Ready to bake!!!! Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and bake for 20 minutes uncovered.

YUMMY!!! Look at these scrumptious stuffed peppers!
The chef looks very happy and my kitchen smells like heaven!!!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! 

Decorate your plate. My mother always taught me that decorating your plates makes a huge difference on how it tastes. If it looks appealing to your eyes, it will taste great in your tummy!

I like to serve my peppers with a delicious smoothie that consists of passion fruit, papaya, mango and strawberry. I also make a yummy garden salad with my homemade balsamic lime vinaigrette!

We are all done and the food is warm and ready for my hubby when he gets home.

Here's another one of my moms silly sayings, but they are all true!

The way to a man's heart is through his stomach, in other words, if you want a man to love you, feed him well! 


Happy cooking everyone and see you next time. And don't forget to let us know how your dish turned out. We are so excited to hear from you.

CHEERS and many HUGS and KISSES