Marty, Author at What the Forks for Dinner?

Autumn Couscous Stuffed Peppers

Autumn Couscous Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed Peppers are a dish found in different forms, and with different names all around the world. Here in the good old USA, they are typically stuffed with a ground beef rice mixture with a tomato base. Recipes are all different, but most involve removing the seeds and membranes from the pepper, then boiling them, stuffing them, and baking them again, covered with cheese…….and they are great!

So, how do you improve on a good thing …….you make it better…….Autumn Couscous Stuffed Peppers!

We had a bumper crop of green peppers at the end of the gardening season……..beautiful shiny green and really large. They begged to be made into stuffed peppers.

Now, I suppose I could have made my good old Betty Crocker Cookbook recipe, but with the leaves changing and that smell of autumn in the air, why not try something……. autumny.

I’m am a huge fan of pearl couscous, and am lucky that our grocery store carries it in the frozen section……yeah! But for this recipe if you don’t have that luxury or you can’t find the pearl type, the regular kind will work just as well. The couscous was my sub for rice.

For veggies, I picked flavors I associate with fall……..fennel,squash,cranberries,and sage…….they blended with the couscous beautifully. Cooking all of it with chicken broth (if you want a total vegetarian dish you can use vegetable broth) and a touch of apple cider vinegar, gave it all a nice glazed quality.

Now, that whole boiling the pepper thing……..not so much. It makes them mushy in my opinion, and there is really no need to go to all that trouble. Just stuff them, and cover them with foil, it steams them instead.

Since the “stuffing” was not saucy, it needed a sauce…….my new favorite sauce…….Creamy Cauliflower Sauce. The only change I made was to use shallot instead of garlic. It was sooooo yummy over these Autumn Couscous Stuffed Peppers. I keep trying to think of ways to use this tasty sauce!

When I started this dish, it was not my intent to make it vegetarian, it just sorta happened. Lucky for all you vegetarians out there…..wait a minute, also lucky for those who are not………and if you are not, maybe after you try this dish you will be……….

Autumn Couscous Stuffed Peppers

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Author: Marty Boyd
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Yield: 4 1x
Category: Main Dish
Method: Bake
Cuisine: American

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Ingredients

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2 cups cooked pearl couscous
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 shallot, diced, about 2 tablespoons
1 fennel bulb, diced, about 1 cup
2 ½ cups butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced
2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
¾ cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup pine nuts toasted
1 ½ cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
kosher salt and pepper
2 large green peppers cut in half lengthwise
Creamy Cauliflower Sauce

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Instructions

Heat coconut oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add the shallot and cook for 1 minute, stirring often. Add diced fennel and cook for another 5 minutes or until fennel softens. Add butternut squash, sage, cranberries, chicken broth, and cider vinegar and cook for 15 minutes or until butternut squash has softened and almost all of the liquid has cooked down. Season with kosher salt and pepper. Add couscous and pine nut to the mixture in the skillet. Stir to combine.
In a baking dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, place the green pepper halves. Stuff the peppers with the the couscous mixture. Cover with tin foil and bake in a 375* oven for 30-35 minutes.
To serve,place one pepper half on plate or in a shallow bowl and top with Creamy Cauliflower Sauce and garnish with chopped sage leaves if desired.

Notes

Pre time does not include making the Creamy Cauliflower Sauce

Keywords: couscous, fennel, butternut squash, cauliflower sauce

Spicy Chia Chicken Meatball Pasta

Spicy Chia Chicken Meatball Pasta

That’s a spicy meatball…….Spicy Chia Chicken Meatball Pasta.
If you have been reading our blog you know this, Tim loves spicy food, and I love to use ground chicken….in any way possible. So, how could I go wrong with these spicy meatballs, well I really couldn’t, and on top of that they are healthy!

Now, healthy does not always mean low calorie, the ingredients in this dish are nutrient dense, so please do not freak out when you see the calories at the end.
In our last post, we talked about the benefits of chia seeds and how we used them in Raspberry Chia Smoothie. So, in this recipe the chia seeds, are mixed with water to make a binder for the meatballs……so no eggs needed. I will admit that the chia water mixture does not look appetizing but it worked great in the meatballs.
Adding rolled oats and coconut oil added to the nutritional value. We all know the benefits of rolled oats as a grain but, I am a huge fan of coconut oil…… Studies have shown that intake of coconut oil can help our bodies mount resistance to both viruses and bacteria that can cause illness. Even more, it also can help to fight off yeast, fungus, and candida.

Coconut oil can also positively affect our hormones for thyroid and blood-sugar control. People who take coconut oil also tend to have improvements in how they handle blood sugar, since coconut can help improve insulin use within the body. Coconut oil can boost thyroid function helping to increase metabolism, energy, and endurance. It increases digestion and helps to absorb fat-soluble vitamins.
Use coconut oil in cooking, as it can stand heat making it a better option. I also use it to remove makeup and as a skin moisturizer. Before anyone curls their lip, thinking I double dip, I have two jars……one for the kitchen and one for the bathroom……….. That was a long lesson.

The meatballs are baked and can be made ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator or freezer until you make the pasta. Keep some in the freezer, so you can whip this up at a moment’s notice. Speaking of the pasta, how easy can boiling pasta, using some of the pasta water and just a small amount of half and half for the sauce be? Even the novice cook can do this to perfection. So, all of you who say “I can’t really cook”, give it a try, the result will amaze you!

A touch of lemon zest, parmesan cheese, and parsley to garnish and you have a beautiful healthy spicy delicious meal. Spicy Chia Chicken Meatball Pasta!

Spicy Chia Chicken Meatball Pasta

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Author: Adapted from the Chia Cookbook by Janie Hoffman
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 4 1x
Category: Pasta
Method: Bake
Cuisine: American

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Ingredients

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1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup water
1 pound ground chicken
3/4 cup rolled (old-fashioned) oats
1/3 cup green onions minced
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
12 ounces whole grain linguine, spaghetti or angel hair pasta
1/3 cup half-and-half
Juice and zest of 1 large lemon
2 tablespoons fresh basil or parsley chopped as garnish.

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Instructions

n a small bowl, whisk together the chia seeds and water and let stand for about 20 minutes. (Makes 3/4 cup extra-thick chia gel.)
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
In a large bowl, combine the chia gel, ground chicken, oats, onion, 1/4 cup of the cheese, 2 tablespoons of the coconut oil, the parsley, oregano, garlic, 1 teaspoon of the salt, 1/2 teaspoon of the black pepper, and the red pepper flakes. When evenly combined, firmly form mixture into 20 meatballs (I use an ice cream scoop so they are all equal). Place on parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake in 400* oven for 20-30 minutes until meatballs are totally cooked through. Keep warm in a 175* oven while making the pasta.
Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain the pasta, reserving 3/4 cup pasta cooking water.
Bring the half-and-half, the remaining 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, and reserved pasta water to a boil over high heat in a large saucepan. Add the drained pasta and toss to combine. Add the lemon juice and toss to combine. Add the remaining 1/3 cup of cheese, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper and toss to combine.
Transfer the linguine to four large pasta bowls. Top each five of chicken meatballs, sprinkle with basil/parsley and lemon zest, and serve.

Keywords: chia seeds, ground chicken, pasta, meatballs, spicy

Raspberry Chia Smoothie

Raspberry Chia Smoothie

We all have those mornings when it is next to impossible to eat a good breakfast……..ah yeah ……like every morning.

A grab and go breakfast is on just about everyones list. So, if you are gonna grab and go…….grab tasty and nutritious when you go……Raspberry Chia Smoothie!!!!

Tim and I have these almost every work day morning as we are running out the door. They are easy to prepare and extra healthy with the chia seeds.

So, you know whats next……a lesson……CHIA SEEDS……Chia is an edible seed that comes from a desert plant……..not a fuzzy hair growing Christmas gift that nobody wants………….Nutty-tasting whole-grain chia seeds are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, and they have among the highest antioxidant activity of any whole food….. even more than fresh blueberries. Another advantage of chia seeds being so rich in antioxidants is the seeds won’t deteriorate and can be stored for long periods without becoming rancid. And they do good stuff for the body, like keeping blood pressure and blood sugar under control.

The chia seeds you get in a Chia Pet have not been approved as food by the FDA, so get yours from a health food store, grocery store or order online.

As always, if you have any health concerns or take medications it’s best to consult your Doctor before adding Chia Seeds to you daily regime. OK lesson over 🙂

Now, for the really good part…….the smoothie tastes like a raspberry shake…….no lie! They are cold and thick, with the sweet taste of raspberries and a hint of banana.

Good part number two…….you can use any fruit you like. Raspberries not your thing, use strawberries,blueberries, mango, pineapple, blackberries………

I either buy frozen oragnic fruit or freeze my own. We have it down to an art….so I have yet to try this, but on Pinterest you can find out how to make smoothie packs so all you have to do is throw them in the blender with the almond milk……even easier.

So, if you are looking for that healthy grab and go breakfast with the added nutritional value of the chia seed, make a Raspberry Chia Smoothie before you rush out the door!