Stuffed Bell Pepper

I am in the middle of packing and selling stuffs which we won't be able to carry to India (as we are moving from U.S to India). I am not doing much of cooking these days as I am busy with all other stuffs. I have couple of things in my draft. Let me tell you what I meant by draft. I usually get blank look from people when I say I have couple of stuffs in my draft. As an obsessive food blogger I usually take pictures of what I cook and will save it in my comp. Sometimes I won't be having the time and energy to post in my blog. But I always keep it aside by thinking that I will post it sometime. Today I am going to share a very interesting recipe which I saw in Ally's blog. When I first saw it in her blog I bookmarked it and was sure that I am going to try it soon. It can be called as a meal by itself and is super filling. When you don't have much time to prepare a meal, this recipe comes handy. 

I love bell peppers. I like to add it to my salads and I am very fond of adding bell peppers to dishes. I like the vibrant colors. There are so many different colors to choose from : Red, Green, Yellow and Orange. But I am partial towards the red coloured ones. I made a quick research about the stuffed bell peppers over the Internet. It is claimed to be an American dish. Enough of all the stories now, let's get back to the recipe.

Recipe Source :

Slightly adapted from http://recipesfortheverydaywoman.blogspot.com/

Ingredients :

Red Bell Pepper - 3

Filling :

Vegetable Oil - 1 tsp

Onion - 1 finely chopped

Garlic - 2 cloves chopped

Turkey Sausages - 250gms cooked and chopped

Coriander Powder - 2 tsps

Tomatoes - 1 finely chopped

Crushed red pepper - 1 tsp

Hot chilli peppers - 4 (Depends upon your spice tolerance )

Cream - 1 cup

Rice Cooked - 3/4 th cup

Cumin Powder -  2 tsp

Cheddar cheese - To Sprinkle

Salt to taste

Method :

Cut the tops off each bell pepper; pull out the stem portion , seeds and membranes and make room for the stuffing. Set aside. To make the filling, heat oil in a frying pan, saute the onion and garlic for few minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes are softened. Add the ground powders, crushed red pepper, hot chilli peppers and sausages and cook on medium fire for about 3-4 minutes. Add in the cream and let the mixture  thicken. Stir in the rice into the  mixture and put the filling into the bell pepper shells. Place the filled shells into a greased baking dish and bake for 25 minutes at 140 C. Sprinkle some cheese over it. Enjoy !!!

Notes : To make a veggie version , you can use mushrooms and kidney beans. If bell peppers does not stand up straight, slice a little off the bottom of the pepper to level it out.

This month I have been showered with loads of awards from my blogger friends. Biny Anoop of Biny's Recipes has passed on the following awards to me. I would like to share it with all my friends in the blogosphere.

Thanks a lot Bini for sharing these awards with me. :-)

Macaroni And Chicken

Do you like the idea of making a dish with all the left over items?? I like it. It will clear the pantry shelf and no wastage of food ingredients. When I opened my fridge I saw half a packet of cream  sitting all alone in the corner side. During my childhood I have seen my mom travelling 1 hour to get cream, cheese and other baking stuffs. All those were not available in my hometown. So I just can't accept the thought of throwing away these items. I had few macaroni also available in my pantry shelf. I put together everything and we had a nice dinner !!!

Recipe Source : My own

Ingredients :

Macaroni - 500 gm
pepper powder - 2 Tbs
Boiled / Shredded chicken - 300 gm
Capsicum - 1
Mustard sauce - 2 Tbs
Cream - 1/2 cup
Salt - To Taste

Method :

Boil the macaroni and while it is half cooked, drain the water and keep it aside. Boil the chicken and cut it into pieces. Heat a pan. Add chicken, pepper powder, salt, mustard sauce and capsicum. Cook for few minutes. When it is cooked add the macaroni and pour cream over it. Cook till the cream is fully absorbed. Serve hot.

I have been showered with few awards from Jabeen of Jabeen's corner. I was so happy to receive it. During my initial days of blogging I used to longingly look at the awards in my fellow blogger's space and always wished about getting some. Now my wish has come true. In this joyous occasion I would like to pass on this award to all talented and creative bloggers in the blogosphere.

Buttermik Cornbread

I am in the process of cleaning my pantry now. I am leaving to India next week after my seven months long stay in the United States. When I look back it just feels like yesterday that I entered this country. I was very sad when I had to quit my job in India and to come here , that too for a very short stint. I knew that I won't be able to work in the States due to the visa formalities. Before leaving from India I started cribbing to 'A' about it. I am a person who can't sit inside the house even for few minutes. I am always on the run. When we reached here 'A' put a suggestion to me to start blogging. I didn't even know abot the term then. I started hopping through different blogs and found very interested in it. One fine day morning I told him that I am planning to start a food blog. He was very enthusiastic and encouraging about it. He knew how much I loved my job and how I am missing it now. He wanted me to be happy in every possible way and he was the first follower in my blog which is now followed by 59 people within 5 months. I am super duper happy and excited about it. All cheers to 'A' the man behind the scene. Without his inspiration and motivation I would have never done this.

I am going to introduce a recipe with corn meal. I am trying out quiet a few recipes with it. I am following Vrinda's recipe to the dot. My first attempt was corn meal crusted chicken and now I made a butter milk corn bread. I don't like to waste anything whether it is stuffs in my panty or my clothes. I will never throw any of my clothes which in turn makes my mom always crib about my never ending wardrobe. I have little bit of butter milk left  which I have used for the chocolate muffins. The end result was a sweet, soft, moist and a  little corn bread.

Recipe source : http://www.reciperoll.com/

Ingredients :

1/2 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

Directions :

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Melt butter in a large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Now add eggs and beat well until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in corn meal, flour and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

 Notes : If you want your cornbread to rise nicely, let as little time as possible elapse between combining the dry and liquid ingredients and putting it in the oven. Once the  baking soda and buttermilk get together, the rising action begins.Your cornbread is done when the edges turn a wee bit brown. There may be a few slight cracks closer to the edges of the pan.

I am sending this over to the week long celebration at Magpie Recipes for the grand winning of Team India winning the Cricket World Cup .

Award Galore

I was overwhelmed to see the awards showered by Shobha of Food Mazaa. I could make lot of lovely friends through blogging.  I have always gasped at the creativity and talent showed by some of them. All of them were always open to share and help each other. There are some people out there in the world who doesn't even like the thought of sharing. In this scenario I would like to add the famous quote  

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”  

The rules of this award are:

1. Accept the award. Post it in your blog with the name of the blogger who has given you this award with a link to his/her blog.

2. Pass it on to 15 other blogger friends…. to keep the ball rolling.

3. Let the nominated blogger know about their award [leave a comment in their most recent post].

Once again I am thanking Shobha for sharing these awards with me. I would like to share these awards to the following bloggers :

Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes

Palatable of Treat and Trick

Priyanka Agarwal of Food - Fanatic

Hari Chandana of Indian Cuisine

Aruna Manikandan of Veggie Paradise

Vijitha Shyam of  A Foodie N Her Cooking Hat

Ambreen of Simply Sweet N Savory

Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen

Sonia of My Creative Flavors

San of San's Kitchen

Ila of Ila's Kitchen

Aipi of US Masala

Preety of Preety's Kitchen

Nashira of Plateful

Sunanda Dey of Sunanda's Kitchen

Chocolate Muffins

The entire nation is celebrating the grand victory of India winning the Cricket World Cup after 28 years. For me celebrations are incomplete without having a sweet. As you can see a lot of baked goodies were coming from my kitchen for my first ever bake sale. Now couple of my blogger friends are joining together to do a sweet post for the victory of our team. Come join  with us for our celebration !!!!

A muffin is an American English name for a type of bread that is baked in small portions. Many forms are somewhat like small cakes or cupcakes in shape. These are liked by both kids and adults alike. It can be made for breakfast or for brunch or literally for any time of the day. I usually prefer frosting in cakes and other baked goodies. I feel like they  are way too simple without a frosting. You can make muffins as it is or make frosting if you are like me who won't compromise with simple things. If you feel like treating yourself for something special, then indulge yourselves in these cute little ones !!!

Ingredients :


Chocolate Muffins

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 large eggs

1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups (230 grams) all-purpose flour

2/3 cup (60 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/4 cups (265 grams) light brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (170 grams) milk or semisweet chocolate chips


Chocolate Fudge Frosting: (optional)

4 ounces (120 grams) unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

2/3 cup (150 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/3 cups (160 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Method:

Chocolate Muffins :

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Position rack in center of oven. Butter, or line with paper liners, or muffin cups.

In a large measuring cup or bowl whisk together the melted butter, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract.

In another large bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the chocolate chips. With a rubber spatula fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are combined. Do not over mix the batter or tough muffins will result.

Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter. Place in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from pan.

Chocolate Frosting :

 Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until it is light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the chocolate and beat on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is smooth and glossy (about 2 -3 minutes). Spread a little frosting on each muffin with a knife or offset spatula.

PS : Batter shouldn't be over mixed. Be careful while filling the batter to the muffin cups. The batter will rise while baking.

I am sending this over to the week long celebration at Magpie Recipes for the grand winning of Team India winning the Cricket World Cup .

Beef Cutlets

Cricket fever was there  in the air for the last few days. All the status messages on facebook was revolving around cricket. I enjoy watching cricket but I can't say that I am a big fan of it. But 'A' likes cricket. This time we couldn't watch the world cup series as we haven't bought a TV or many other stuffs at our present home due to our short stint in the United States. We missed all the fun in watching it. I don't like to watch it in the small screen of my laptop. But I was enjoying the updates of my blogger friends on Facebook. One of my fellow blogger Ria suggested to do a virtual party of preparing some snacks to munch away while watching cricket.  I prepared it and didn't get time to post it as I was busy attending the bake sale. I had a fun time with my fellow bloggers with lot of laughing and giggling. It was good to meet and to discuss about all the baked treats which was available over there. The event was very successful with lot of people turning up. We were able to relish few of the baked goodies available for sale and  the yummy stuffs Magpie Recipes  lovingly baked for us.  Thanks Rose for your sweet gesture.

I am so happy that India made a mark in the history by winning the world cup. Let me share with you all a snack which you can prepare well in advance and save it for rainy days. I usually make this well in advance whenever I have a party at home. Here is a virtual snack of crispy crunchy goodness for everyone !!!

Recipe Source : My Mom

Ingredients:

Beef - 1 kg

pepper powder - 2 tsp

Salt - 1 1/2 tsp

Vinegar - 1 Tbsp

Potatoes - 700 gms

Lemon - 1

Eggs - 2 

Bread Crumbs - As required

Grind:

Green Chillies chopped - 16

Garlic cloves - 1 handful

Ginger - 2 big pieces

Onions - 2 cups 

Method : 

Cut the beef into pieces. Wash and drain. Add salt and pepper powder to the beef and cook for 5-7 minutes without weight. Needn't be well cooked.Boil the remaining water if any and cool. Mince the meat. Add the vinegar to the minced meat and keep it aside. Grind the onion mix and combine it to the meat and fry in low heat by adding little oil. The meat must become brown but not fried. Add juice of one lime and set down. 

Wash the potatoes and cook in pressure cooker with level water and weight for 10 - 12 minutes. Drain the water. cool. peel and mash. If you mash while it is hot, it will be easier. Add to meat and mix well. Correct salt. Make into cutlet shapes. Dip in beaten eggs , (beaten with salt and little pepper powder or chilli powder). Roll in breadcrumbs and deep fry till brown.

I am sending this to The Kerala Kitchen hosted by Magpie

Peanut Butter Cookies

I am on a baking marathon for the last two days. I was eagerly searching for recipes from all sites and blogs which I follow. I had to make few baked goodies for a sale. After a lot of blog hopping I finally decided to bake something from my favorite site joy of baking. I am hooked on to it. All the baked goodies in my blog are from that site. I have endless other recipes but I always end up trying something from this site. They give precise details and each recipes mentioned in it are always a hit at my home. This time I opted for a sweet and salty flavor. As a kid I enjoyed having peanut butter with bread during breakfast or for tea time. Peanut butter was not available at my hometown . Mamma (Maternal grandmother) always send it across through people who visits my home. She knows all her grand kids likes it. It was available in three flavors. Creamy, crunchy and chocolate and as always chocolate was my favorite.

Peanut butter cookies are instantly recognized by their criss cross marks made by using the tines of the fork. But I decided to bake it in my moulded pan. While baking the cookies you have to keep one thing in mind. Don't overbake it. Perfect cookies should be chewy inside and should have crispy edges. I added chocolate chips to the batter, so that with every bite you will get the richness of chocolate along with the sweet and salty flavor of peanut butter. These are perfect to have with a cup of coffee !!!

Recipe source : www.joyofbaking.com

Ingredients :

3/4 cup (170 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup (105 grams) light brown sugar

1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup (185 grams) peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)

2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chopped peanuts or 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Method :

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (about 2 - 3 minutes). Beat in the peanut butter. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat to combine. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the peanut butter mixture and beat until incorporated. Fold in the chopped peanuts, if using. (If the batter is too soft to form into balls, place in the refrigerator for about an hour or until firm.)

Bake the cookies for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Can be stored at room temperature, in an airtight container, for about a week. Freeze for longer storage.

Notes : I prefer crunchy peanut butter than smooth type.  I added semi - sweet choclate chips instead of peanuts for getting some richness to the cookie. Baking time mentioned in the recipe is 10 to 12 minutes. I baked my first batch of cookies for 10 minutes and all the other batches for around 8 minutes. If you want to get the criss -cross patterns then roll the batter into 1 inch (2.5 cm) balls. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheet, placing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Then, using the tines of the fork that has been dipped in white granulated sugar, make a crisscross pattern.