Taco Night

I can't believe I just took a picture of a taco, but anyway. We had soft tacos for dinner and watermelon on the side. I used Morning Star crumbles instead of ground beef. My husband is working late and the girls will eat whatever I do.

These were good and very easy. It also didn't heat up the kitchen. Perfect for a hot August day here in humid Virginia.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Green Bell Peppers stuffed with Baby Portabella Mushrooms, Wild and White Rice with Mashed Red potatoes (skin on some of them).

The baby LOVED it. He did not eat any green pepper (I was afraid of him gagging even if I cut them small) and I couldn't feed him fast enough. He kept saying MA! NUM NUM! and then he'd get a bite in his mouth and say MMMmmmmm.

My 9 year old ate 2 of the stuffed bell peppers. Wowza!

I know some ppl would say rice + potatoes = too many carbs but I like to put a bite of mashed potatoes on the bite of stuffed bell pepper. I grew up with the "traditional" side for our stuffed bell peppers being mashed potatoes and it's one of those things I can't seem to find something that I think goes better with the dish. So, there ya have it... blame my mother. ;)

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Green Bell Peppers

Baby Portabella Mushrooms

Wild Rice

White (or brown) Rice

Onion Diced

Garlic Minced

Cheese

Egg (or egg replacer)

Tomato Diced

Kosher Salt

Preheat oven to 350F (177 C)

Cook rice (in separate pots) according to package directions.

Boil a large pot of water.

Cut the tops off the bell peppers and rinse out the seeds. Sprinkle some kosher salt on the inside of the peppers and place in boiling water for about 5 minutes. Remove and place on a papper towel open side down to drain.

Saute the Onions, Garlic and mushrooms in butter or olive oil until the onions are soft. Mix Egg, Cheese, Rices and onion/garlic/mushroom mixture in a bowl. Stuff the bell peppers with the mixture. Place in 13x9 pan and bake at 350 until heated through. Usually I leave them in the oven until I'm done cooking the mashed potatoes, so about 30 minutes.

Take them out of the oven and top with the diced tomato. Enjoy!

Summer Veggies

Tonight we had baked chicken, cherry tomatoes, cucumber salad and corn on the cob. The vegetables are all from my in-laws' garden. Nice of them to share, huh?

All I did to the chicken was sprinkle some chicken/rib rub on it and bake it at 375 for about 30 minutes. The cucumber salad is just a dill/vinegar/mayo based dressing with vidalia onions and thinly sliced cucumbers.

The girls ate the majority of the meal. Cate really loved the corn and Emma had to turn it into an art project before she could eat it. My husband fussed a little because the chicken wasn't fried.

For dessert, I made preacher cookies and yes, I'll feed them to my
kids.

"I Hate Cucumbers!" Cucumber Salad

INGREDIENTS

* 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
* 2 teaspoons white sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
* 1/4 cup mayonnaise
* 5 cucumbers, scored and thinly sliced
* 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
* 1/2 red onion, chopped
* salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

Stir together vinegar, sugar, pepper, and dill in a large bowl until the sugar has dissolved. Stir in the mayonnaise until smooth, then add cucumbers, celery, and red onion until evenly coated with the dressing. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Season to taste with salt and stir once again before serving.

Preacher Cookies

INGREDIENTS

* 1/2 cup butter
* 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
* 2 cups white sugar
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 3 cups quick cooking oats
* 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix butter or margarine, cocoa, sugar, milk, and salt together in saucepan. Boil for 3 minutes.
2. Beat in oatmeal, peanut butter and vanilla. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper. Allow to cool and harden.

(both of these recipes came from allrecipes.com

Italian Feast

Salad
Lasagna
Fruit with Cool Whip

Tonights dinner not only fed my family of four but also my in-laws whom I invited to dine with us. I even doubled the recipe and made lasagna and salad for a friend who has just brought her new baby home.

This meal was really simple and we still have leftovers. I used the recipe on a box of lasagna pasta and spiced it up with some extra garlic, green peppers, basil and onion.