So, two months ago I made these stuffed peppers for Cucina Fresca. I should probably tell you a little about them, since they were delicious and very easy.

Gather your ingredients: bell peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, onion, garlic, rice, broth, feta cheese, rosemary, oregano…

First off, soak the sun-dried tomatoes in some water for a few minutes. I’m sure there’s a scientific reason for this. Alton Brown probably could tell us why. But I just do it because my mom does it….

In a few minutes, chop ’em up and they’ll look like this!

Meanwhile, saute the onions and garlic.

And cut up your peppers…

Mmm, fresh spices!

Add your ground chicken, feta, sun dried tomatoes, and rice to the pan.

Add everything else to the pan (broth, spices) and let it cook for a bit.

Stuff the peppers, top with feta. Pop in the oven!

Enjoy!!

I bought Jeff a mandoline specifically so we could make waffle fries. And while we were semi-successful, it was not quite up to par.

So we bought another tool that we thought might perfect the process.

This slicer cuts crinkle fries. And, if you rotate the potato as you go, it’ll make you some nice waffle fries, too.

Look at that!

Pretty soon, we were rolling!

And then, my dears, you fry them up!

And you fry up some bacon, for a topping…

And you serve them to a friend who loves potato pile-up.

Oh, you don’t know what potato pile-up is? It was a Sunday night special at our college, where you got a bowl of waffle fries and some piled-up toppings. Cheese, bacon, sour cream, scallions, etc. Afterward, you almost always felt awful. But during? You felt lovely.

She loves us!

Sometimes you need a quick dinner. One that includes veggies, doesn’t make you want to regret what you ate, and maybe something that will give you leftovers. A great option for this is calzone!

Let dough rise, about twenty to thirty minutes.

We use Trader Joe’s doughs if we don’t have any of ours in the freezer. They are delicious and fast!

Take some veggies you like, and chop ’em up.

We used ricotta, mixed with one egg and some herbs. (I swear this is not a Trader Joe’s sponsored post. They just happen to be closest to us!)

Don’t forget the sauce!

Put your veggies in your dough, with some mozzarella cheese, and then your ricotta.

Jeff also likes chicken Parmesan calzone, so we cut up some chicken fingers to put inside!

Fold it over and seal the edges.

About ten minutes later…

Calzone!

Use any leftover dough from sealing your calzones to make mini-pizzas!

To make calzone, you’ll need:

* Pizza dough (Trader Joe’s works great!)

* Ricotta

* An egg

* Mozzarella cheese

* Some veggies

* Any other filling you want

* Pizza sauce for dipping

Directions:

Heat oven to as high as it’ll go. Let dough rise (about twenty to thirty minutes.) Roll out pizza dough. Mix ricotta with one egg, and herbs if desired. Put layer of ricotta, layer of toppings, layer of mozzarella on dough. Fold over top and seal edges using fingers, pastry wheel, or pizza slicer.

Heat for 10-12 minutes. Take out, let rest 5 minutes, cut open, dip in sauce and enjoy!

Last week Melissa and I had dinner planned with a few girlfriends. We needed something gluten free and delicious. I was in the mood for something fast.

Result? Delicious, warm, delightful chicken tacos.

The recipe was once again borrowed from the PW.

Seasoned and delicious chicken.

Add in your green chiles. Something great is in the works.

Fry your tortillas. Pardon the lack of photographic evidence, but we were chatty.

And you can’t blame us for that.

You should make these tacos now. Or when you’re happy. Or sad. Or lonely. Or having company. Or having a party! Or having a lousy day at work. Or…you get the idea. You should have them, then invite me over!!

Waiting with bated breath…

I’ve been looking for easy but delicious weeknight dinners, and I have another to report.

This Rachel Ray Chicken stir fry.

• 3 3/4 cups water
• 2 oranges, zested
• 2 cups jasmine rice, rinsed
• 2 tablespoons canola or safflower oil, 2 turns of the pan
• 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds chicken breast tenders, 2 packages, sliced on an angle into bite-size pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 medium yellow skinned onion, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded, quartered and sliced
• 1 cup shredded carrots, store bought, or 2 medium carrots cut into matchsticks
• 6 scallions, cut on an angle into 2 inch pieces
• 1 cup snow peas, a couple of handfuls

        Satay sauce:

• 4 rounded tablespoonfuls chunky peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons dark soy, Tamari
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1-inch ginger root, peeled and minced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 orange, juiced

I wanted veggies, and meat, and wanted it to be quick. I also didn’t want to use chicken because I feel like we eat a lot of chicken around my house, but upon making it with beef I’m going to go ahead and suggestion chicken. Aren’t you glad I’m the guinea pig for these things?

Here are my veggies. The recipe calls for:

1 medium yellow skinned onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded, quartered and sliced
1 cup shredded carrots, store bought, or 2 medium carrots cut into matchsticks
6 scallions, cut on an angle into 2 inch pieces
1 cup snow peas, a couple of handfuls

Let me tell you something. I hate shredded carrots. I think they are dumb. Why do people insist on putting these in a recipe? Why can’t you let the carrots BE carrots?!