Middle Eastern Stuffed Peppers

I always have the hardest time planning a menu when someone is coming over for dinner.  I know I have mentioned this before, but I go back and forth between a million different things and it is enough to drive a person crazy!  We were having some friends over for dinner and I somehow finally decided to make these stuffed peppers.  They caught my eye because they had a different filling than other stuffed pepper recipes that I have seen and I thought they would be part of a fun meal.  

I'm not sure if I like prepping the actual peppers in the microwave, but I followed the recipe and did it anyway.   I'm not really sure if this filling was the best thing to put in a bell pepper, because these were very hard to eat.  They were good, but it was very messy and took a lot of effort to get a bite that had part of the pepper as well as the filling.  Luckily our dinner guests were good sports and they didn't seem to mind too much. 

 The filling was very good and would make a great dish by itself, maybe with some chopped red bell pepper added to the mix.  

Middle Eastern Stuffed Peppers adapted from Family Circle magazine

6 medium-size sweet red bell peppers

1 cup whole wheat Israeli couscous

1 15-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 seedless cucumber, chopped

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

3 large scallions, trimmed and chopped

1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 Tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

1. Prepare couscous according to package directions.

2. Trim about 1/2-inch off the tops of the bell peppers. Seed and core peppers.

Place the peppers cut side down in a microwave safe glass baking dish. Pour in 1/2 cup water and cover with microwave-safe plastic wrap, venting one corner. Microwave on high for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender. Remove peppers from dish and set aside.

3. In a large bowl combine cooked couscous, chickpeas, cucumber, feta, scallions and parsley.

Add lemon juice and olive oil. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Stuff peppers with an equal amount of couscous mixture, about a scant cup in each. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Hummus Slaw

I am not a big fan of most coleslaw recipes. I don't like mayo, so any recipe that uses that as a base is a definite no-go, and I don't really care for sugar-y/vinegar based dressing that accompany lots of other coleslaw recipes. When I saw this simple version of slaw, that is dressed with hummus and lemon juice, I knew it would be something I liked. I ended up just making the slaw part of the recipe and not the chicken part, but I think that the full recipe would probably be really good. This was a great side dish and also made a delicious lunch.

Here is the recipe I took the Hummus Slaw from

I also made this recipe for Roasted Pork with Lentils.
from the same issue of Food Network Magazine, but the picture I took was too hideous to share. It was a great dinner. We had collard greens on the side.

BLT (Bacon, Lemon & Tomato) Quinoa Salad and Lemon-Cornmeal Cookies

This recipe popped up on facebook the other day and I figured it would be a good meal for dinner on a Monday night. I happened to have everything on hand that I needed for the recipe and that made it a lot less stressful to get dinner on the table.

My dad loves a good BLT sandwich and he grows tomatoes in his garden, so BLT's were always a lunch staple of his in the summer. I personally didn't really like bacon or mayo (I still don't) back then, so I always just watched my dad put these sandwiches together and remember hearing about how good they were.

This salad is really good and the interesting thing is that it really tastes like a BLT. Somehow, the combination of the ingredients, makes you feel like you are eating a sandwich. I know that is crazy, but it's true. In this salad, the lettuce has been switched out to lemon, which adds a brightness to the salad, in color and flavor. I added black beans for fun and roasted some broccoli in the oven to round out our dinner.

That same night we still had lots of lemons and the kids wanted me to make a quick cookie. I found this one on myrecipes and decided it would be easy to throw them together at the last minute. My kids really liked these. They reminded us of these Cornmeal Lime Cookies in taste and texture.

Here is the recipe for BLT Quinoa Salad
* I cooked my quinoa in chicken broth to add more flavor
* I added drained, rinsed black beans
* I tossed my salad with a little bit of olive oil, along with the lemon juice and vinegar

Here is the recipe for Lemon-Cornmeal Cookies
* I added the juice of 1 lemon to the cookie dough, after mixing in the flour mixture

Colorful Lentil Salad with Rainbow Chard

The swiss chard in my garden is still doing really well and I wanted to make something really delicious with the bunch I picked recently. I wanted to use lentils and found a beautiful picture of a dish that combined the 2 ingredients I had been thinking about. I served this on the same night that we had the Panko Crusted Salmon. I think that salmon and lentils really compliment each other and these 2 dishes definitely made for a great dinner. We also had a fennel/celery salad.

If you can't find Pomegranate Molasses anywhere or it is too expensive, don't forget that you can make it yourself- Here is the post when I first made it a couple of years ago.

Here is the recipe for Colorful Lentil Salad
* I didn't use the sundried tomatoes
* I sauteed my swiss chard (stems included) with the onions and bell peppers, adding it after the onions and bell peppers had softened a bit
* I used less olive oil for the dressing and the sauteing
* I used a little bit of red wine vinegar instead of steeping liquid in the dressing

Shaved Fennel Salad

Fennel is something that I am really beginning to love. I avoided it for many years because I knew that it had anise/black licorice flavor, but when I first tried it raw in a salad last year, I discovered that it is really delicious, and that the anise flavor is not very pronounced.

When my brother and sister were here we needed a quick salad to enjoy after church. This one fit the bill. Lots of yummy veggies and flavors and the only prep work is slicing a few things.
I added more arugula than the recipe called for, to make sure that this salad would last a couple of days.

It is delicious that day it is made, but it is so good a few days later. I topped it with some canned tuna a few days after my siblings went home and my kids loved it that way. I have made this salad 3 times in the past few weeks because it is so great in the summer time.


Here is the recipe for Shaved Fennel Salad from 101 Cookbooks
* I added some thinly sliced celery
* I used almonds instead of pine nuts
* I didn't measure my lemon juice or olive oil- I just adjusted it by taste
* I added more arugula than called for

Sounds like Summer- Summer Lemon-Vegetable Risotto

This time around for the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club, it was my turn to choose the theme. Since we are smack dab in the middle of summer here in Georgia, I decided on Sounds like Summer. The first thing that I really wanted to make was the Shrimp Cobb Salad that was featured on the cover of the June issue of CL. That was the plan until I saw this recipe in the July issue of Cooking Light. I have a love of risotto that is on-going. There just isn't any possible chance that I could pass up one that is chock full of vegetables. Summer veggies? Even better.

This risotto recipe turned out fabulously. I was going to fix the asparagus and sugar snap peas in a different way, but decided to stick to the recipe. I put my asparagus/sugar snap peas in a ice bath after they were done blanching, so they wouldn't lose their bright green color or crispness.

I just wanted to mention also that you really don't have to continuously stir risotto. Here are some of the things I did inbetween stirs- made a fresh corn & tomato salad, thawed shrimp in the sink, made peanut butter frosting, blanched some of the veggies, sauteed the zucchini & summer squash, put together whoopie pies, roasted shrimp, photographed all of the above mentioned food. And, my risotto turned out perfectly creamy and delicious. I also don't warm my broth and it still works perfectly. This risotto had nice hints of lemon and all the veggies made it fabulous.

Let's take a look a how the menu turned out this month. I brought the

Summer Lemon-Vegetable Risotto,

Val -Poached Salmon with Creamy Herb Sauce,

Roz - Chocolate-Amaretti Peaches,

Sandi - Peach Ice Cream,

Jamie - Summer Peach and Tomato Salad,

Jerry - grilled pizza with prosciutto, arugula, and lemon

Once again, I wish that this was not just a virtual supper club- I would really enjoying trying everything on the menu!

Here is the recipe for Summer Lemon-Vegetable Risotto from Cooking Light
* I used low sodium chicken broth instead of the wine & vegetable broth
* I didn't warm my broth- it was added at room temperature

Lemon-Zucchini Cornmeal Cookies

I was so excited when I found this cookie recipe that included zucchini. I was excited because it wasn't a cake-y cookie and there wasn't any chocolate involved. Not that I don't like the chocolate/zucchini combination- I do, but I wanted to try something different.

These cookies have a very nice texture. The cornmeal makes them a little bit sandy and the aren't overly sweet, but the lemon and zucchini really pair together nicely. They taste good straight from the freezer and you can mix them up with very simply- all it takes is a good spoon and some arm power.

I took these to a family gathering and they were a pleasant surprise. Many people were slightly alarmed by the combination of flavors and how well they all worked together.

Here is the recipe for Lemon-Zucchini Cornmeal Cookies
* I flattened my cookies slightly when I switched the trays, with the back of a spatula

Chicken and Zucchini Salad

I have decided that zucchini is quite delicious raw. I don't know why I never realized this before, but having so much zucchini to use has really made me appreciate the many ways it can be delicious.

This salad was something I threw together quickly on a weekday afternoon for lunch before we went for our daily swimming adventure. My son thought that the zucchini was cucumbers and when he tasted them, he didn't revolt! I guess that they passed for cucumbers even though he knew they weren't. The raw factor added that crunch that he was looking for.

We all really liked this one. I was surprised by how much we liked it. I loved the freshness the little bits of fresh mint added and the pecans were a fun little crunchy item as well.

Here is the recipe for Chicken and Zucchini Salad
* I used less oil than the recipe called for
* I used a spinach & arugula mix for the greens
* I used less pecans than called for

Pasta with Zucchini, Tomatoes, and Creamy Lemon-Yogurt Sauce

I have to apologize for the fact that my blog has been taken over by zucchini and summer squash, but when you pick at least 5-6 a day out of your garden, you kind of have to eat them fast and in everything. I have been using a small zucchini in my breakfast everyday, sauteed/ on the side of my eggs, but I still have to incorporate them into our dinners.

When I saw this recipe over at Ezra Pound Cake, I knew it would be a great one for a summer night. Light and quick. Lots of veggies. bright flavors. This dish has it all. I wasn't sure if my kids would enjoy the yogurt/lemon sauce since it was tart and well, quite lemon-y, but they gobbled this one down. And, I used grapes tomatoes from the garden. Nothing tastes as good as a home grown tomato. Nothing at all.

Here is the recipe for Pasta with Zucchini, Tomatoes, and Creamy Lemon-Yogurt Sauce
* I didn't cook my tomatoes, I just tossed them in when everything was mixed together

Feta-Watermelon Tabbouleh

I found the perfect Tabbouleh recipe last year and haven't really wanted to try another one since. Until, I saw a Tabbouleh recipe that had watermelon in it. Watermelon is my favorite food. I usually don't do anything to it, because I just want to eat it the way it is. But, last summer I tried a delicious watermelon salad that absolutely converted me to combining watermelon with savory ingredients like feta cheese. And dressing it with olive oil mixtures.

I decided I wanted to make this particular Tabbouleh with quinoa instead of bulgur, because I had quinoa on hand and I wanted to make a big batch of it to use with other ingredients as well.
It worked. I think bulgur has more of a bite/crunch to it, but the quinoa was really good in this salad.

Overall, I really liked the combination of flavors and thought this was a great take on Tabbouleh. This would be a great side for a summer dinner, or a main dish for that watermelon lover that might be out there in your midst.

Here is the recipe for Feta- Watermelon Tabbouleh from Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine
* I used quinoa instead of bulgur- I cooked one cup of quinoa in 2 1/4 cups water for 15 minutes and then used half of that in this tabbouleh

Shaved Summer Squash Salad with Crisp Pancetta

I've got summer squash (otherwise known as yellow squash and/or crookneck squash) and zucchini coming out of my ears! Last week alone we picked over 20 zucchini/summer squash from our plants. It's really fun to go out in the morning and see how many there are waiting to be picked and once in awhile to find one that somehow stayed out of sight until it was huge!

Anyway, the whole point is, I have a ton of these green and yellow guys and have been trying lots of different recipes to use them.

This has got to be one of the most delicious ways that I have had summer squash. This salad takes moments to fix and it is amazingly amazing. It is so simple, yet so good.
The summer squash and zucchini are shaved with a vegetable peeler into thin strips and combined with a simple dressing of lemon juice, olive oil, fresh mint, salt and pepper.
Add a little pancetta- which I used because I like it better than prosciutto, and top it with some feta. Delish and ready in minutes, without slaving away in the kitchen on a hot summer day.
Perfection!!


Here is the recipe for Shaved Summer Squash Salad with Prosciutto Crisps
* I used cubed pancetta instead of prosciutto
* I used feta cheese

Garlic Shrimp and Chickpeas

This is a super easy, delicious dinner that I made when my parents were here visiting us. I almost always roast shrimp in the oven when we have it for dinner and I have roasted chickpeas in the oven before too, so the method wasn't new to me at all. However, I had never thought to combine these two ingredients- shrimp and chickpeas.

I am happy to say that this combination really works! If you have ever roasted chickpeas, then you know that they get nice and crunchy. That texture was wonderful with the shrimp.
We had a beautiful green salad on the side, with lots of spring greens and romaine, cucumbers, tomatoes and a few people at the table ended up putting the shrimp/chickpea mixture on top of their salad. I had to try it out and it made for a delicious salad.


Here is the recipe for Garlic Shrimp and Chickpeas from the Food Network Magazine
* I only used 3 Tablespoons of olive oil- 1 for the chickpeas, 1 for the shrimp marinade and 1 at the end
* I added the juice of 1 lemon to the shrimp marinade, it seemed silly not to

Fresh Fruit Pizza with Lemon Curd

We had our family Easter dinner a week early this year. Grandma had to work all of Easter weekend (bummer) and some family members were going out of town, so we just decided to move it up a week.

I decided to make this Spring dessert to take to our Easter dinner.
I had some Meyer Lemon juice in the fridge that I had squeezed from my leftover meyer lemons, so I made the curd with that the night before.
I had some of my favorite sugar cookie dough in the freezer, so I knew that this would be easy to put together after we got home from church.
I did things a little bit differently than the recipe suggested. I used a square cookie sheet to bake my cookie dough. I cut the cookie into squares and topped each cookie square with the lemon curd individually. Then I placed a few berries on top.

I have made Lemon and Lime curd many, many times and I was surprised that this version from Cooking Light had just as much flavor and great texture even though it was a little bit lighter. It was fabulous.
This dessert disappeared very quickly. It was the perfect thing to celebrate Easter and Spring!


Here is the recipe for Fresh Fruit Pizza with Lemon Curd from Cooking Light
* I used this sugar cookie dough, because I had it in the freezer
* I didn't use a plum or the sprinkling of sugar at the end of the recipe
* I spread a little bit of blackberry or blueberry Simply Fruit
on top of some of the squares, before adding the lemon curd

Here is the recipe for Lemon Curd
*I used Meyer Lemon juice instead of normal lemon juice

Lemon-Cranberry Muffins

Who out there still has bags of frozen cranberries in their freezer? Anybody?
I am pretty sure there are a few of you who stocked up on fresh cranberries when they were at a great price and stuck them in the freezer, just like I did. Cranberries stay good in the freezer for quite awhile and they are easy to use frozen, plus they thaw quickly. They are really quite perfect for these reasons.

I saw these muffins in Eating Well magazine and wanted to try them. I liked that the recipe called for a combination of white wheat flour and cornmeal. The cornmeal gave these muffins a nice texture and it went really well with the cranberries.

I love using cranberries in muffins and other baked goods, because the tartness evens out the sweetness that you might have. These muffins were perfectly delicious. Nice and tart, lemon-y and with bursts of cranberries all throughout them. I decided to use pink sanding sugar on top.
My kids really liked these too.

I wanted to freeze a couple and see how they did, warmed from the freezer, but they didn't last long enough for that to happen.

Recipe for Lemon-Cranberry Muffins
*I used low-fat buttermilk instead of plain yogurt

Lemon Ice Cream with Lemon Curd Swirl and Chewy Lemon Sugar Cookies

It seems like I always have either leftover egg whites or egg yolks that I need to do something with. The whites usually go in the freezer until I accumulate lots of them because then I can make angel food cake.
I use the yolks within a few days and ice cream or pastry cream seem to be the easiest way to use them up.
I had some leftover lemon curd that I had made for some mini cupcakes and since I really don't like to waste things like that, I was hoping I could incorporate it into whatever ice cream I decided to make. I also had tons of lemons, so lemon ice cream won out.
This recipe makes a deliciously tart and bright lemon ice cream. The lemon juice, zest and sugar are combined first and chilled. Then the egg yolks are tempered with the hot milk. After both of those components are thoroughly chilled, they are combined with the cream. The technique makes for a very smooth finished product. I swirled my leftover lemon curd into the ice cream base, after it was done churning.
I thought this ice cream would be great for an ice cream sandwich so I searched until I found a chewy cookie that I thought would make a good base. I found this recipe on My Baking Addiction and Jamie said herself that she liked the lime version of this cookie better than the lemon, but I was willing to take my chances.
These cookies were perfect for the ice cream.

My son could hardly wait for the pictures to be taken because he really wanted to eat this ice cream sandwich.
He begged me to take some photos of him "posing" with the dessert, so I did.

He was not disappointed by this dessert in the least!

Ultimate Lemon Ice Cream from Tartlette
Finely grated zest of 3 lemons
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar or 2/3 cup agave nectar
4 egg yolks
pinch of salt
1 cup milk
2 cups heavy cream

In a non-reactive bowl, mix the lemon zest, juice and sugar (or agave nectar). Refrigerate one to two hours to blend flavors.

In a large bowl, slightly beat the egg yolks to break them up. Heat milk to barely boiling in a large heavy saucepan.
Whisk 1/4 of the milk into the egg yolks to temper them and then whisk in the rest of the milk. Return the combined mixture to the saucepan and gently heat (do not boil) until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Combine milk mixture with heavy cream and lemon mixture. Churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions.

Chewy Lemon Sugar Cookies as seen on My Baking Addiction

adapted from Rock Recipes

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of one large lemon, finely minced
4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar for rolling cookies

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. Using a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and very fluffy.
4. Beat in egg, vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest.
5. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.
6. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and roll in sugar. Place on lined cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart.
7. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned.
8. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

Makes approximately 24-30 cookies depending on size

Watermelon-Cucumber Salad

Watermelon. There is nothing better.
I love it so much. It might be a big part of the reason that summer is my favorite season.

I discovered a yellow watermelon and decided to try it in this salad, along with a red one.

I found the recipe in The Food Network Magazine and thought it would be a beautiful + delicious side dish to round out our Father's Day feast.

I really like the ingredients in this salad. Watermelon, cucumber, cashews, feta, lemon juice, mint. They all come together and make a very tasty combination. The sweetness of the watermelon is balanced by the crunch and salty flavors that the other ingredients add.

Other family members weren't so sure about this salad. Some people in my family are a little bit fussy about mixing certain foods, but everyone gave it a try and it was victorious in a couple of mouths.

I was fine with it not being the most popular dish of the day because that just meant that I got to enjoy the leftovers a different day.

Recipe for Watermelon-Cucumber Salad
* I reduced the amount of red onion
* I reduced the amount of olive oil to 1 Tbls
* I used feta cheese instead of goat cheese

Wheat Berry Salad with Lemon-Cumin Tuna

I bought some wheat berries a couple of weeks ago because I wanted to try this recipe that was in Ellie Krieger's So Easy.

I took this salad to a family dinner and was really hoping that there would be leftovers for me to eat the rest of the week for lunch.
Everyone tried it and most people liked it.
Wheat berries are really chewy, so you definitely get a chewing workout. They also require quite a bit of cooking time, but I read the recipe thoroughly in advance so I knew how much time they would need.

Once again, I wasn't sure how the dried cherries would work with everything else, but they added just the right amount of sweetness and tartness with each bite.
I used canned tuna instead of chicken to top the salad and modified the lemon-cumin dressing to work with the tuna.

I really love having this type of salad for lunch during the week. Filling, nutritious and so good.


Recipe for Wheat Berry Salad
Ellie changed this up in her new book and served it on a bed of spinach leaves
* I added a can of drained, rinsed chickpeas
* I used pecans instead of walnuts
* I mixed 2 cans of tuna with lemon juice, a little olive oil, 1 1/2 tsps cumin, salt & pepper and then mixed that into the wheat berry mixture

MSC-Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

This month's MSC Cupcake- Lemon Meringue Cupcakes, was chosen by Megan over at My Baking Adventures.
I wanted to point out that the cupcake above is NOT Martha's recipe, but a recipe that I found in Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine a couple of years ago, for Lemon Meringue Cupcakes.
I posted about these twice before- you can read more about them HERE.

I debated trying Martha's recipe too, since the RR one's were a complete hit- but I didn't have anywhere to take them or anyone to share them with and when I compared the recipes side by side- they were almost identical.
So, I guess in a way I am cheating, because I didn't really make this month's cupcake, but I thought these were close enough that they could count.

The version I did make were so delicious and quite a hit with all those who tasted them. I don't often repeat dessert recipes, but these were so good that I have made them more than once.

Check out the MSC Blogroll to see everyone else's results!

Recipe for Lemon Meringue Cupcakes in Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine

Martha's Recipe for Lemon Meringue Cupcakes