Throwing the rulebook out the window.

I just a whole bell pepper...and lots of spinach.
I feel a little like Popeye. Are my muscles bulging yet?
All that vitamin A and vitamin C better stop any student germs from making me sick.

Tonight, I did something that I never do: I cooked without a recipe (gasp!).
I am a rule follower and a recipe follower. I never ever just "put a little of this and a little of that"...I am too much of a control freak for that :)

Times are a changin', though, because tonight, I made stuffed bell peppers and I just randomly threw ingredients together, stuffed, baked, and ate. And let me tell you: the final product was delicious.



Red bell peppers stuffed with a mixture of brown rice, ground turkey, Italian seasoning, sauteed red onion, garlic, Italian breadcrumbs, a little milk, crushed red pepper flakes, and a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese on top.
Try it. I dare you to cook with a recipe.

Say CHEESE!

Last month, my friend group started a tradition - Iron Chef battles. A little cheesey, you say? Why, yes, yes it was.

Our first battle was Iron Chef Santa Barbara Battle Cheese! And it was cheesey and wonderful.

I was so impressed by everyone's dishes. My friends are awesome.

Helping me bring my A-game was this recipe: Carmelized Pear and Gorgonzola Quiche.

I recently fell in love with gorgonzola cheese and this quiche did not disappoint my gorgonzola taste-buds.

Caramelized Pear and Gorgonzola Quiche

Filling:

1/4 cup pancetta (diced)

1 large shallot (diced)

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 pears (cored and sliced into bite sized pieces)

4 eggs (lightly beaten)

1 cup half and half

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 cup gorgonzola (crumbled)

1 pre-baked crust (I use my single crust pie crust - flour/tiny bit of sugar/salt/milk/oil)

Cook the pancetta and shallot in a pan. Add the butter and let it melt. Add the sugar and cook until bubbly, about 3 minutes. Add the pear and saute until tender, about 3-5 minutes. Mix the pears, eggs, half and half, thyme and gorgonzola and pour it into the pre-baked pie crust. Bake in a preheated 375F oven until golden brown on top and set in the center, about 25-45 minutes.

Next battle? Battle Pizza Dough. It will be brought.

a personal favorite.

gifts, XI

140. buying things on sale
139. picnicing at the park
138. receiving mail
137. new books
136. eating tangerines
135. walking at night in silence
134. beautiful sunsets that take your breath away
133. curling up in a chair in the last gleam of the day's sun
132. reminiscing
131. drinking water (excessible, free water)
130. listening to a new song
129. taking a back road and not the freeway