Hodge Podge

I believe that this fall has been busier than any before. It seems like I haven’t done nearly as much cooking as I would like, but, this is THE week of food and I’m pumped. Thanksgiving, naturally, is my favorite holiday. I am looking forward to all the delicious items that will be hitting my tongue Thursday and for many days that follow. This will be my first Thanksgiving where I will be contributing my own dishes to the feast. So far I am planning on preparing my green beans and cranberry compote. My mom and nana are awesome cooks so they will be doing the majority of the “big” cooking. My nana, a sassy yet loving woman, still loves to do big holiday meals and I love it. I hope I am like that one day too.

This past week we were preparing for our Young Life weekend camp. We had a bunch of stuff going on at night so we ate out some nights and ate in some nights. Typically we don’t really eat out a lot. We had some awesome girls (shout out Becky & Courtney) over Monday night for dinner. We had my favorite risotto, grilled chicken, and green beans. That was all good, but dessert was the star of the meal. We had chocolate lava cakes. One reason why dessert rocked is because, let’s be honest, I did not bake it. We all know how that probably would have turned out. The second reason it was awesome is because Courtney made it. The last reason it rocked is because it oozed chocolate. You can't go wrong with that.

I also made a tilapia dinner this week that I have made and posted about before. It was as good the second time as it was the first.

One night husband made his spaghetti. As I’ve mentioned before, he usually sticks to making his spaghetti during the winter and I make mine in the summer. I thought that it was one of his best pots ever. He won’t allow me to disclose the recipe, so sorry, but there is a picture!

When I was uploading food pictures tonight I found a picture of couscous stuffed peppers. I don’t remember when I made them, but it’s a great and simple recipe. What I like about it is that it’s a dish that takes only a little bit of prep time. The rest of the time is spent cooking. So, if you don’t have a lot of time to spend making dinner, but have time to let it just bake in the oven, this a good option for you. For this recipe you need 2-4 bell peppers. I prefer red and yellow, but it’s really whatever you like. Cut the tops off and hallow them out, taking out the seeds. Preheat the oven to 400. In a pan, brown up about a pound (maybe a little less depending on how many peppers you are making). While the meat is working, prepare ½ to 1 cup of couscous. Once the meat has browned, drain it and combine with the couscous. To the meat mixture, you add 2-3 scallions, sliced. I then add in parmesan cheese. The original recipe (Real Simple) calls for feta cheese and apricots, but I have adapted to suit my non-cheese and apricot-loving husband (yes, he eats parmesan). I also add in a few of my own favorite herbs and seasonings. I usually will add a hit of dried basil and parsley, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Once you have mixed in the scallions, cheese, and your preferred seasonings, spoon the mixture into the peppers. Then, bake the peppers for 45 to 50 minutes in a covered dish.

So, that's it for now. Santa, if you're reading, I really want that new Nikon camera for Christmas so I can take better pictures of my food. Thanks.