Black Bean Corn Stuffed Mini Peppers

A couple weeks back I discovered the awesomeness that is the mini sweet peppers.  I had first stuffed them with chorizo and goat cheese see recipe here, I have also just stuffed them with Herb Goat Cheese very good as well.  Today I took inspiration from my favorite burrito recipe.  I love it how ever sometimes just sticking it in a taco shell is boring.  Also the pepper punches it up with out extra calories.  I made a small batch today and had them for lunch but you could easily make a large amount for appetizers if you are having a party.


1/2 back beans drained and rinsed
1/4 c sweet corn kernels frozen thawed
1 oz cream cheese 1/3 less fat
1/4 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp chipotle powder (optional)
salt pepper garlic powder
2 tsp olive oil
5 mini sweet peppers

Pre Heat broiler on high Wash your sweet peppers patting dry. Slice peppers in half remove membrane and seeds.  On a small baking sheet place peppers drizzle with olive oil sprinkle with a small amount of salt pepper garlic powder toss well. Place pan in oven broiling peppers about 5 min just until beginning to get soft and releasing their liquid. Meanwhile in a small bowl add cream cheese soften in the microwave about 1 min add cumin chipotle powder dash of salt pepper and garlic powder mix well add beans and corn continue to mix well until cheese coats all the beans and corn.  Taste add salt pepper and garlic powder to liking.  Remove peppers from the oven top each half with a heaping spoonful of bean corn mixture.  Place pan of peppers back in the broiler 5-6 min until heated through.  

Pumpkin and Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer

OK before everyone gets their panties in a wad this year the phrase Pumpkin Spice is describes just that spices., typically a mixture of cinnamon nutmeg ginger and allspice so if your beloved coffee creamer doesn't have pumpkin in it that is not lie.  But what is crap is the crap they put in it

INGREDIENTS: WATER, SUGAR, VEGETABLE OIL (HIGH OLEIC SOYBEAN AND/OR HIGH OLEIC CANOLA), AND LESS THAN 2% OF SODIUM CASEINATE (A MILK DERIVATIVE)**, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, DIPOTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, CELLULOSE GEL, CELLULOSE GUM, CARRAGEENAN. CONTAINS: A MILK DERIVATIVE.

That is just NASTY!!! My recipe is all ingredients you can identify and relate too.  

1 cup whole milk 
1 cup heavy cream
1-2 tbl maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla 
2 tbl pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp cinnamon *
1/4 tsp ginger and nutmeg*
pinch ground clove *

Whisk together milk, cream, maple syrup, pumpkin and spices in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When the mixture begins to steam, remove from the heat. Stir in extracts. Pour into a glass bottle and store in the refrigerator.. Shake bottle well before adding to coffee. 

** you could use 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Stuffed Mini Sweet Peppers

While pinning away the other night on Pinterest I came across a few recipes for mini sweet peppers.  They all looked good and the one with goat cheese and pesto went to the top of my list of try asap.  I was telling my mom about this she said she had seen a recipe with goat cheese and chorizo stuffed peppers.  HOLD THE PHONE I love the goat cheese and chorizo flavor combination so this became a I NEED to make these yesterday recipe.  I ran not walked to the grocery store this morning and gathered all that I need and whipped these babies up for lunch today.  Yup I had an "appetizer" for lunch  So glad I did these will be in the rotation of lunch and appetizers for long time.  I can also think of a least dozen other stuffing options that I will be playing with soon so keep checking back for more ideas.

5 oz Chorizo 

6 sweet mini peppers

2 oz goat cheese

1 tsp olive oil

salt and pepper

PreHeat oven to 400

In a med fry pan over med heat cook the chorizo approximately 10 min until thoroughly cooked. Remove from the pan and drain over paper towel  Set aside while it drains.  

Cut the peppers open remove the seeds place each half on a cookie sheet.  Drizzle the peppers with olive oil sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place in the oven and bake for 5 minutes.  then remove from oven stuff each pepper with about 1 tsp of chorizo when all have been stuffed return pan to the oven for another 5 minutes. Remove from oven and crumble the goat cheese over the peppers and return to oven for about 2 minutes until the goat cheese just starts to get soft.

Red Potato Bacon Hash topped with Fried Egg

There are  days that I love paleo it allows me to show off my culinary prowlness .By modifying family favorites to be paleo friendly and still retain their familiar flavors, or being able to scan a recipe from one of the blogs I follow and know if it is a flavor we would like and some days just coming up with something new on the fly. There are other days when the thought of making a dish from scratch using fresh whole foods just turns me off. I just want to be lazy and eat a bowl of cereal and call it good.  This recipe is kinda in between super simple not to much prep time or standing over the stove time.  I LOVE hashbrowns extra crispy and when I usually make them they become so unhealthy.  I always use a frozen hashbrown a certain name brand in the red bag which they add so much junk too it is actually stunning.  I then fry them in vegetable oil until dark and crunchy standing near the stove to stir often so they do not burn and it takes anywhere between 30-45 min.  Once they are finally ready I smother them in ketchup. mmmmmmmmmmm. Oh how I loved these little crunchy smothered nuggets of potatoes and ahem chemicals.  Let's face it may have been so very tasty but not for my body.  Obviously this way of making hashbrowns this way was out when I have made the commitment to myself to only eat the best whole fresh food  I can. I also did not to have to commit so much time to making hashbrowns like this anymore.  I was able to whip something up one morning they have truly become my favorite. Now granted they still take 30 min but while they cook in the oven I can do 20 min on the treadmill or get dressed or read emails.  I will hands down take these over the old way I made them any and everyday. The potatoes crisp in the oven, the bacon adds some savory meatiness and the yoke of the egg runs down over the hashbrowns to coat them with a savory delicious texture.  Don't skip the green onions they add a beautiful freshness to the meal.  

3/4 cup diced red potato (1-2 potaotes depending on their size)

2 slices thick cut bacon 

2 eggs 

2 green onions finally diced including the green tops

salt and pepper 

2 tsp olive oil

Pre heat oven to 450 Line a baking pan with foil if you can use non stick foil the better. Lay diced potatoes on the pan drizzle with olive oil and a good amount of salt and pepper toss everything together well spread the potatoes out so they are not touching each other.  Put in oven 25-30 min checking the last 5 min remove them when they are brown and crisp.  When there is 10 min remaining on the baking of the potatoes heat a pan over med high heat dice the bacon add to the pan and saute until brown and crisp.  When bacon is done remove from pan and drain on paper towel.  Pour off the bacon grease leaving a small scant of grease in the pan.  Potatoes should be done remove from oven top with bacon and 3/4 of the green onions toss everything together and put on your plate.  Return pan that you cooked the bacon in to the med high heat add the eggs salt and pepper cook the egg either sunny side up or over easy until just set you want the yoke runny.  Serve the eggs over the potato bacon hash topped with the remaining green onions. 

Southwest Inspired Egg Bake

I saw a delicious looking recipe on Pinterest the other day Sweet Potato Kale and Chorizo Hash topped with a fried egg.  I definitely pinned that, but then started to think that my husband would like this too but he eats breakfast at work so a fried egg would not work for him.  I turned it into an egg bake adding a few more veggies in along the way.  It turned out delicious and a new favorite in my paleo breakfast arsenal. This is a power house with good for you veggies and healthy fat.

Southwest Inspired Egg Bake

10oz Chorizo sausage buy a good quality Whole Foods has a great one

2 c Sweet Potato peeled and shredded

1 med onion diced 

2 lrg cloves garlic smashed and diced

1 bell pepper diced 

1 jalepeno seeded diced 

2 c kale washed stems removed and rough chop in bite size pieces 

3 tbl coconut oil divided

3 lrg eggs

6 lrg egg whites

1 1/4 tsp salt divided

1/2 tsp cumin 

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper 

1/2 tsp black pepper divided

Pre Heat oven to 350 In a large saute pan over med heat melt 1 tbl coconut oil swirl around pan add sweet potatoes sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt.  Cook 5-8 min until light brown flipping often.  Remove from pan into large bowl.  In the same pan melt 2 tsp coconut oil add onion jalapeno and bell pepper saute 2 min then add garlic saute 2-3 min more until garlic fragrant.  Add kale toss with veggies add 1/2 tsp salt saute 3 min until kale starts to wilt.  Remove from pan add to the bowl with the sweet potaotes.  Back in the pan wipe with paper towel to remove any veggie bits add chorizo to the pan breaking up with a spatula cooking until light brown and mostly cooked through.  Remove from the pan to a paper towel lined plate to drain any fat.  In a large bowl add all the eggs 1/4 tsp salt cumin cayenne pepper and black pepper whisk until blended well.  Add chorizo to the bowl with the veggies toss together very well.  In a 9x9 glass pan grease the bottom and up the sides with 1 tbl coconut oil.  pour in the veggie chorizo mix in spread evenly pour whisked eggs evenly over the veggie mix.  Cover pan with aluminium foil place in oven to bake for 30 min.  After 30 remove foil and check for doneness if needed return to oven uncovered and bake until just set checking every 5-10 min you do not want to over cook or you will have dry eggs.  Remove from oven let rest 5 min slice into squares and serve,  Serves 6

Amount Per Serving

Calories  290 Calories from Fat  140

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  15.6g 24%

Saturated Fat  7.9g 39%

Trans Fat  0.0g

Cholesterol  105mg 35%

Sodium  345mg 14%

Potassium  97mg 3%

Total Carbohydrates  23.3g 8%

Dietary Fiber  1.9g 8%

Sugars  16.1g

Protein  14.3g

Vitamin A 194% • Vitamin C 38% Calcium 3% • Iron 8%

Quick Thanksgiving Breakfast or Truly Any Day That Ends in Y

Sorry side ways 

Most people I know think that if you skip breakfast you will have more room for a huge lunch.  When in reality if you eat a small breakfast you will wake up your metabolism and you will be ravenous come lunch time and you will enjoy your big lunch more.  Plus if your house is like mine and  full of young people skipping breakfast is not an option or they will eat your arm off, or at least the cat's food.
This recipe comes again from Pioneer Woman ( I am only a tiny bit obsessed hay she makes good food) over at Tasty Kitchen.  These little babies are simple to prepare a day or two ahead, simple to put together the morning you are going to eat them and they are delicious.  If you are severely adverse to warm mayo take in two points into consideration before you do not try them.  1 the mayo is just a binder once everything is mixed together it doesn't even taste like mayo. 2 if it still grosses you out consider eating the spread cold on a toasted english muffin.
This recipe is easily halved however it hold well in the fridge if you don't eat it all in one day.  These are perfect on school mornings also.

Make-Ahead Muffin Melts

• 12 whole Hard-boiled Eggs, Peeled And Chopped
• 2 cups Grated Cheddar Cheese
• 1 cup (Real) Mayonnaise
• 12 slices Bacon, Fried And Crumbled
• 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Dijon Mustard
• ½ teaspoons Garlic Powder
• 3 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
• 6 whole English Muffins Split

Combine eggs with all other ingredients. Fold together gently. Cover and store in the fridge overnight.

Spread on English muffin halves, then broil for 3 to 5 minutes or until hot and bubbly. (Don’t set them too close to the heating element.)

Serve immediately!

* Extra kick try pepper jack instead of cheddar

* Try sprinkling with hot sauce

* Add a 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper to the mix 

Sweet Potato Bake

I am typically I am not a fan of sweet potatoes all gussied up.  I like them roasted, split open, and covered in butter and not much else maybe a tiny bit of brown sugar.  Or just pan fried with a little chipotle powder but I have never made them  in the traditional baked casserole way.  But for tradition sakes this year I thought I would try them.  I am so glad I did this will go in the usual rotation of Thanksgiving and everyday meals.Now this was the last recipe I made yesterday and I again forgot to take pictures sorry.  Thankfully Pioneer Woman whom I got the recipe from has photos of all her recipes over on her blog which you can check out over here.  If you can go without your eyes tantalized before making a recipe here is recipe. In the original recipe she calls for 1 cup of sugar I cut it down to 1/2 cup and thankful I did so it was not sickly sweet.

• 4 whole Medium Sweet Potatoes
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 cup Milk
• 2 whole Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 cup Brown Sugar
• 1 cup Pecans
• ½ cups Flour
• ¾ sticks Butter

Preparation Instructions

Wash 4 medium sweet potatoes and bake them in a 375-degree oven until fork tender, about 30-35 minutes. When they are finished cooking slice them open and scrape out the flesh into a large bowl.

Add 1 cup of (regular granulated) sugar, 1 cup of milk, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of salt. With a potato masher, mash them up just enough—you don’t want to be perfectly smooth.

Now, in a separate bowl, add 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup pecans, chopped (that means measure a cup of pecans, then chop them), ½ cup flour, and ¾ stick of butter. With a pastry cutter or fork, mash together until thoroughly combined.

Spread the sweet potato mixture into a regular baking dish and sprinkle the crumb mixture all over the top.

Bake in a 400-degree oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.