Stuffed Peppers

Now that we are in March, I am dreaming about warm weather, gardening, and fresh vegetables. It doesn't help that I am going through old photos, reminiscing about last summer. The hubby instead wants to spend tonight catching up on the Walking Dead. Needless to say, these photos are a lot nicer to look at that than exploding guts and rotting corpses on television.

Spring/Summer 2012

First CSA bundle

Pickled jalapenos

Yoshi and his ball

Carrot on the run

Eggplant bounty

We received many varieties of peppers and squash from the CSA last year and grew some in our garden as well. I made this one night when my fridge was overflowing with veggies. I can't wait for the CSA to start again come Springtime.

Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients
4 large peppers (red or green) or patty pan squash, tops and seeds removed
1 lb ground turkey or beef
1 onion, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 cup of cooked rice
1 8oz can of tomato sauce
1/2 tsp of cumin or to taste
salt and pepper, to  taste
small bunch of beet greens, chopped, or greens of your choice
large handful of cilantro, chopped
feta cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Roast peppers for 15 minutes. If roasting patty pan squash, roast for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and set aside.
Saute ground meat, onions, jalapeno and garlic until cooked. Add tomatoes, rice and tomato sauce.  Add cumin, salt and pepper. Add beet greens and cook until wilted. Remove from heat. Add cilantro. Stuff peppers with meat filling. Sprinkle top of peppers with feta. Cook in oven for 5 minutes.

Salmon Nicoise Salad

Last month, I had a few girlfriends over for Galentine's Day. I decided to make tomato basil soup followed by salmon nicoise salad. This was an easy meal that didn't require too much work. I am sure you could make the sauce ahead of time. It came out yummy and I will definitely be making again.

Getting the salmon ready

While I finished prepping, Yoshi entertained the ladies. We had a great time chatting and sipping wine.

Yoshi and our friend Andrea

Salmon Nicoise Salad

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs of salmon fillets, skin removed

For the sauce:

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp mayonnaise

4-5 tbsp lemon juice

large bunch of  parsley, chopped fine

2-3 green onions, chopped

small bunch of dill, chopped fine

salt and pepper

roasted red potatoes

green beans, sauteed in olive oil with minced garlic, salt and pepper

mixed greens, dressed in your favorite balsamic vinaigrette

boiled eggs, sliced

red onion, sliced thin

capers
cherry tomatoes

pitted kalamata olives

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce. Add to the top of the salmon. Cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven. Assemble plate with potatoes, green beans, mixed greens, eggs, red onion, capers and olives. Top with salmon fillet and enjoy :)