Stuffed Bells

This recipe was adapted from Suzanne Somers' Cookbook, "Fast & Easy".  A while back, my mom followed her "Somersize" program and lost a lot of weight.  The basis for her program is that you separate your carbs from your proteins, and your body processes the food more efficiently.  I love many of her recipes because they are healthy and easy.  This one provides a lot of options--on cooking method, meat, ingredients, and cheese.  I just use whatever I have on hand.  And it's always delicious!

Stuffed Bells


Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground turkey, chicken or beef
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Pinch (I use more!) of cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
• 1-8oz. can crushed or diced tomatoes
• 1 medium chopped onion
• 6 oz. mushrooms, sliced (or 1 can)
• 1- 4oz. can, diced green chilis
• 1 pkg. Onion Soup Mix or 1 Tbsp. Taco Seasoning---optional
• 4 bell peppers (red, orange or yellow are best but green work too.), tops sliced off, membranes and seeds removed
• 1 cup shredded jack, mozzarella or cheddar cheese

Directions:

• Optional:  Saute onions and mushrooms in olive oil until caramelized 
• In a medium bowl combine ground meat, and all other ingredients above, except cheese
• Stuff bell peppers with meat mixture
• Cook in slow cooker for 7 hours on low or 3 1/2 hours on high; Or bake in a glass dish for 1 hour at 350
• Thirty minutes before serving, sprinkle each one with cheese
• They come out juicy so are best served in a bowl :)

Shrimp and Avocado Rounds

So......I hate Shrimp, AND Avocado.  You won't find many recipes here featuring those items.  But, I saw this one on a website and thought, "I can do that", and many others will enjoy it.  So, I managed to make them and they were beautiful, and (so I am told) delicious.  I loved that you didn't have to cook anything, and with the cucumber being the "plate" they were portable and super healthy too.  

Shrimp and Avocado Rounds


Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup reduced-calorie (or reg.) mayo
• 1 tsp wasabi powder or paste
• 1/2 tsp. soy sauce
• 1/2 large (I use English) cucumber cut into 24- 1/2" thick slices
• 1/2 medium avocado, quartered and then cut into 24 slices
• 8oz cooked shrimp (about 24 small)- peeled and deveigned (I used Costco shrimp and also cut the tails off to make eating them easier)
• 2 Tbsp. finely chopped radish
• 1/4 cup mint (approx 24 leaves), left whole for garnish

Directions:

• To make Wasabi Mayo, stir together first three items until smooth
• To make appetizers, spread cucumber slices on platter, top each with 1/2 tsp. of wasabi mayo, then shrimp, avocado and sprinkle radish on top.  Finish with a mint leaf.

Sweet Potato Squares with a Lemon Garlic Mayo

This appetizer is SO simple, but there is something about the "sweet" potato with the "spicy" sausage that is unique, and simply delish!  I found the recipe online to make for a friend's baby shower.  I had to make all the food in advance and then assemble quickly after work, so I cooked the potatoes the night before and then just reheated them when I heated the sausage.  That made the day-of cook/assemble process all of 10 minutes.  (The mayo can also be made in advance).


I've made them for two other parties since then and they have always been a hit.  It's quickly become one of my "go-to" appetizers.  Since I use the larger "hot link" sausage than what is pictured below... (usually from Costco), I place the sausage below the sweet potato so they sit up nicely.  The lemon-garlic mayo is nice, but not necessary if you want to simplify even more.

Sweet Potato Squares with a Lemon Garlic Mayo

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch (approx. 32) cubes

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil

• 1/2 tsp. pepper

• 1/4 tsp. salt

• 1/2 lb. spicy smoked sausage cut into 32, 1/2 inch pieces(I use the pre-cooked kielbasa-style)

• 24 toothpicks or small skewers

• garnish:  fresh thyme sprigs

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 450.  Place sweet potato cubes on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Drizzle them with the olive oil, salt and pepper and toss to coat
• Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes, turning cubes twice (they should be slightly brown and just soft all the way through)
• Cook sausage in large skillet over medium high 3-4 minutes until browned.  Drain if needed.
• Place one sausage on top of 1 sweet potato cube; secure with wooden pick.  Repeat with remaining sausage slices & potato cubes.  Serve with Lemon-Garlic Mayonnaise and Thyme for Garnish, if desired.

For the Lemon- Garlic Mayo, stir together the following and store up to 7 days in airtight container:

• 1 cup mayonnaise

• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

• 2 tsp. minced garlic

• 1 tsp. lemon zest

• 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

• 1/2 tsp. pepper

• 1/2 tsp. salt