Stuffed green peppers with ground beef, brown rice, spinach, and cream cheese

I grew up eating stuffed peppers with the classic ground beef and white rice combo. While that is certainly always a winner, I like to add my own twist to that classic recipe. This version keeps the basic ground beef and rice, but builds upon that combo.

What you'll need:

• Green peppers
• Ground beef
• Can of diced tomatoes or chopped fresh tomatoes
• Bacon
• Cooked brown rice
• Bag of frozen spinach
• Block of cream cheese
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Chopped onions and garlic
• Fresh or dried herbs like Italian parsley, oregano, thyme
• Freshly ground pepper and kosher or sea salt

In a large frying pan on medium-high heat, brown the ground beef along with the onions. I had a bag of seasoning mix in the freezer that has onion, celery, and peppers, so I used some of that. Season with salt and pepper. After the beef and veggies are browned, add the garlic and cook another minute.

If you are using dried herbs, add them now. Next, add the frozen spinach to the pan. I used a bag of frozen baby spinach leaves. Mix that all up and cook until the spinach is heated through.

Add a block of cream cheese to the pan and mix until the cream cheese has melted. Then throw in a handful of your favorite shredded cheese. I used a sharp cheddar.

If you are using fresh herbs, add them now. I used some fresh parsley and oregano. The last thing to add to this creamy mixture is the rice. I use the 10-minute-in-the-microwave brown rice, but use whatever rice you like.

Taste the beef and rice mixture, and adjust the seasoning as necessary. At this point, the stuffing is done. You can make this mixture ahead of time, or make a double batch and freeze the extra stuffing. This would be great with mushrooms, artichokes, diced eggplant, whatever additional veggies you'd like to pack in there.

Now you're ready to stuff the peppers. Try to get peppers that are similar in size, so they finish cooking at the same time. Cut the tops off and take out the seeds and ribs. If they are unstable in your pan, slice a little off the bottom to even them out, but try not to make any holes. Season the peppers with salt and pepper, then fill them with the stuffing.

Scatter the diced tomatoes all around the peppers at the bottom of your dish. Place a slice of bacon on top of each pepper. If you don't want to add bacon, you can sprinkle with bread crumbs or put the tops of the peppers back on.

Put a lid on the baking dish or cover with foil. Bake at 375 for at least an hour or until the peppers are soft and the bacon is crisp.

Serve this with some fresh, sliced bread and butter, and you've got a hearty, warming plate of comfort food. 

Pineapple Salsa

I adore cilantro. Can't get enough of it. I use it fresh. I use it dried. I use jarred cilantro products like Goya's Recaito. I grow it in my garden. My daughter's middle name is Cilantro. OK, maybe not, but it is the nickname for my husband's left pinky toe. TMI? Anyway, when I have fresh cilantro, I love to make my own salsa.

You'll need ripe pineapple, ripe tomatoes, fresh cilantro, fresh lime juice, freshly ground pepper, kosher or sea salt, and olive oil. The pineapple and tomatoes need to be diced. The cilantro needs to be chopped. And the lime needs to be squeezed. You can certainly buy the pineapple already peeled and cored if you don't want to process it yourself.

I probably use about a one-to-one ratio of pineapple and tomatoes. Season with freshly ground pepper and kosher or sea salt. I like to add about 2 tablespoons of Paul Newman's Oil and Vinegar salad dressing (or his balsamic dressing). You can use olive oil if you don't have any of the salad dressing on hand. Mix everything together. The longer this sits, the better it gets. You can certainly use it right away, but the flavors develop beautifully after a day or two in the fridge.

If you want some heat, chop up a few jalapenos, and throw them in. You can add diced onions or fresh garlic. This would also be great with mangoes instead of pineapple. Serve it simply with tortilla chips or along side some grilled fish, chicken, or pork.

Make what you like, and like what you make!

Holy Guacamole!

Whenever I discover perfectly ripe avocados on my weekly grocery shopping trek, I do a little happy dance right there in the produce section (it's true, check the surveillance tapes at Redner's). Perfectly ripe avocados = perfectly fresh guacamole! With just the addition of lime juice, cilantro, tomatoes, and a few seasonings, the result is truly sublime.

Of course, there are as many different recipes for guacamole as there are bad reality shows on TV (Bridalplasty, I'm talking to you!). Mine has gone through a few variations throughout the years, but since I came up with this one, I haven't made it any other way.

You'll need some ripe avocados, lime juice, tomatoes, fresh cilantro, freshly ground pepper, kosher or sea salt, a pinch of sugar, garlic powder, and chili powder. If you don't know how to process an avocado, just do a search on youtube for a tutorial.

I use chunks of avocado and diced tomatoes along with a generous portion of chopped cilantro. I love lime juice, so I use the juice of one large lime or two small limes. Season with salt and pepper. Throw in a pinch of sugar along with a light sprinkle of garlic powder and chili powder, and mix everything together. Taste the guacamole and adjust the seasoning as you like.

That's it! When you keep it as simple as this recipe, your mouth will do a happy dance tasting each of these phenomenal ingredients. I love the creaminess of the avocado mixed with the tartness of the lime, sweetness of the tomato, and distinct flavor of the cilantro. The garlic and chili powder are subtly in the background, but if you want them to be more prominent, use some fresh garlic and a bit more chili powder. You can also give it a kick with cayenne. I'm not a big fan of raw onions, so I don't use them here, but knock yourself out if that's what you like.

Make what you like, and like what you make!

Deep dish pizza

Chicago absolutely holds the patent for the best deep dish pizza I have ever experienced. I don't know how they do it, but this is my attempt to capture just a fraction of that glorious baked Chicagoan goodness.

What you'll need:

• Two refrigerated pie crusts
• 1 can of whole plum tomatoes
• 1 lb of bulk Italian sausage
• Sliced provolone or mozzarella cheese
• Grated romano or parmesan cheese
• Fresh or dried herbs: basil, oregano, Italian parsley
• Salt and pepper

You need to let the tomatoes drain. Pour them into a colander, and open the tomatoes, so they can lay flat on the pizza. I also pull out the stem. Just do this carefully, so the little buggers don't spit their juice at you.

Let the pie crusts sit out for 10-15 minutes to soften. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. I have a 10" cake pan, but you can certainly use whatever size you've got. The pie crusts are for a 9" pan, so I need to roll the 2 crusts together to make them a little bigger than the pan. If you're using a 9" cake pan, you can just place the 2 crusts on top of each other directly in the pan.

Place the pie crust in the pan and fold over the edges to make a crust. You can take the time to make the edges pretty, but I prefer a more unkempt look to mine. Grate some cheese over the crust - I like to use Locatelli. Then you can layer with sliced cheese. I'm using provolone, but mozzarella would work just as well.

The next layer is bulk Italian sausage - hot or mild or a combination of both. If you have links, slice open the casings and press into the pan to cover the whole pizza.

The next layer is the tomatoes. Make sure they have drained. I also pat them with a paper towel to get any excess moisture off of them. Lay them out on top of the sausage to cover the entire area. Season with kosher or sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Add a sprinkle of sugar if the tomatoes are too acidic.

At this point, you can add any number of toppings: mushrooms, onions, peppers, olives, etc. I'm keeping it simple this time, adding only some fresh oregano and grated cheese.

This needs to bake 50-60 minutes. When you take it out of the oven, let it sit for at least 10 minutes. There will be some juices around the crust from the sausage that will reabsorb a bit as it sits.

This is as close as I can get it. If anyone has any other suggestions or inside information as to how to make an authentic Chicago-style deep dish pizza, please share. In the meantime, I'm happy with the baked goodness that is my deep dish pizza.