Sometimes I get these weird cravings and this time it was for stuffed peppers. I know I’m driven to something when it just randomly pops into my head and I can’t get it out. I was trying to think of where I might have seen this to have it be in my brain, but I can honestly say this came out of nowhere. Yes it is June but a typical June at that here in Seattle. We have some fabulous days (see Pizza on the Barbee) where it is warm and beautiful and some not-so fabulous days where it’s typical cool and rainy. Definitely not bbq weather, at least for me. Bring on the comfort food I say! It was paired with a basic orange and pecan salad which gave us a little taste of summer. Needless to say it turned out great. I’m planning on making this for one of my clients very soon!

Stuffed Red Peppers

1lb ground beef, or ground turkey, or ground chicken. I used beef.

1 medium yellow onion chopped

1/2 c diced scallions + extra for garnish

3 cloves chopped garlic

1 t salt

1/2 t pepper

1 t garlic powder

1 T. beef bouillon granules

1/2 c sour cream

1 c. cooked rice

1 c. canned diced tomatoes drained

1T. Soy Sauce

1 c. HOT water

4 bell peppers (any color really) but the red gave it a southwest flavor

Preheat oven to 350. Cut bell peppers in half keeping stems intact. Remove seeds and white membrane with a regular table spoon. Lay pepper halves in a shallow casserole dish. In a large frying pan, saute ground beef, onion, scallions, garlic, salt, pepper, garlic powder, beef bouillon. (If you want some heat add 1/2 t. Cayenne pepper). Drain off ALL fat once mixture is cooked. Remove from heat and add diced tomatoes, rice, soy sauce, and sour cream. Do not cook at all as sour cream will curdle. Liberally spoon mixture into peppers. In a measuring cup combine HOT water with 1 more tablespoon of beef bouillon until dissolved. Pour into bottom of casserole dish. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle cheddar cheese on top of peppers. Bake 10 more minutes. Garnish with leftover chopped scallions and serve.

All I can say is hooray…. The rain went away and it was a perfect evening to throw some homemade pizza’s on the bbq. Pizza is my son’s absolute favorite food and when I make homemade pizza he’s usually got dibs on about half of it, or 1 individual sized (see photo). My hubby was traveling today so I thought it would be fun to make pizza’s with the kids as our evening activity and because it’s so muggy today (I feel like I’m back in the midwest) what better place to cook them than on our bbq. It’s no fun to be in my kitchen with the oven on. Pizza is SOOOOO easy and it tastes much better than pretty much any pizza you can order in, or buy from the store. One side note though…. The best pizza in the world comes from Chicago (where I grew up) and I haven’t been able to compete at that level yet, but I will keep trying. I had some help with my pizza from a certain 4 year old so I had some shape issues transferring it from the pan to the grill. That’s why there are 2 photos.

If you have a bread machine make the pizza dough in it. I made a 2lb loaf of pizza dough which was as follows and took 1:40. A 2lb loaf will make 3 good sized pizzas or 6-8 individual size.

1 1/3 c room temp water

1 t. sugar or honey

2 t. salt

2 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4 c. Bread Flour (I like High Gluten flour)

2 1/4 t. Bread Machine Yeast

Holly’s Pizza Toppings:

1/4 lb sweet pork italian sausage (out of the casing), sauteed in a little EVOO

1/2 sweet yellow onion thinly sliced and sauteed until carmelized

12 slices of GOOD pepperoni

2-3 T Ricotta cheese

1/2 c. marinara (jarred is fine just use Newman’s or something else organic)

Dash of Salt and Pepper

As much Mozzarella cheese as you like.

Remove dough and cut in half or 1/4 depending on what size pizza you want. Form into whatever shape you want as long as it’s semi even in depth with the edges a little thicker to hold the toppings. Make sure you don’t tear the dough when shaping, that means it’s too thin. Place on lightly oiled cookie sheet to add remaining toppings. Spread with sauce, then meat, then spoon very small teaspoons of ricotta in mounds all over pizza. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and a little oregano depending on how well your sauce is seasoned. Top with Mozzarella and lastly add onions.

You want your BBQ to be at about 350-375 and to cook the pizza with the lid closed. The easiest thing is to leave the pizza on the cookie sheet and put right on the bbq rack for the first 5-10 minutes until the crust is crispy enough to move without making a mess. Then transfer (gently) the pizza to the rack on the grill and cook another 10 minutes or until the pizza is done.

On another note: The pizza I made for myself was probably equivalent to a large at a restaurant and all ingredients cost me about $7 to make this and I buy the best ingredients at my local market, so it’s not only better tasting but WAY better for your wallet too!

Hope you get a chance to try it. And if you have any revisions or new things you try that you like I’d love to hear about them. Now I’m pondering what kind of pizza would be good for breakfast!!! Hmmmm I might be onto something, and I’ll do anything to get my son to eat more!

Enjoy!

It’s time to unveil the BBQ and get the backyard ready. My kids will be playing in their sandbox or on their swingset while we entertain and bathe in our wonderful weather with our friends and family. We’ll have a ton of kids running around, filthy as can be, but there is honestly nothing better than sitting on the back deck having some drinks and enjoying a wonderful meal in the great outdoors.

As you’ll get to know me and find out. I became a personal chef by accident. I’d been searching for a way that I could give back and do something I was passionate about. I’m a kindhearted person who loves people and caring for them. Those qualities tied with my utter passion for food (more on that later) led me to this choice of profession. How am I passionate about food you ask? Well ever since I was little I have LOVED eating. Well into my adulthood that trend has continued and in my mind, there is no better thing than a really good meal. It’s something I have very high expectations for. Most of my life (especially when I was pregnant with my children) has centered around the next meal. What, where, when etc etc etc. I’ve eaten some really weird stuff (ever heard of haggis?) in some really weird places, but nothing has stopped my sense of adventure when it comes to food.

In this blog I’ll be sharing recipes for everyday people in hopes of getting families back to the dinner table. I’m always amazed, on the rare occasion that I go out to eat with my family, at the number of people who will wait in line for an hour and pay ridiculous amounts of money for a mediocre meal. I mean who has that kind of time anyway. I certainly don’t, and I think in 1 hour I could have easily prepared a wholesome healthy and delish meal for my family to eat in our PJ’s at home. I wouldn’t have had to schlep a bunch of extra food and 2 kids who might have a meltdown thus resulting in my food getting cold, to some drafty restaurant that serves who knows what to me and passes it off as a steak. (There are very good restaurants out there, so I’m not referring to all restaurants…. but you have to agree there are a lot of really bad ones too!)  Anyway, I hope you’ll enjoy my blog and check back for recipes I’ll be sharing.