Stuff me up Peppers!

I got this recipe from my Aunt Lexie who made these peppers for on one of our many trips to Cannan Valley.  While I love the heat this recipe can bring, I had to tone it down for my family.  The original recipe is below.  The lack of measurements is intended.

Stuffed Peppers
Banana Peppers
1lb Hot Italian Sausage
1 Egg
Dry Italian Bread Crumbs
Parmesan Cheese
2 jars Pasta Sauce

1. Cut off the tops of the peppers and try to get as much of the membrane out of the peppers.
2. Mix together sausage, egg, bread crumbs and some of the Parmesan cheese (eyeball everything).  You should end up with the consistency of meatloaf.
3. Stuff the peppers pushing the meat all the way down the tube of the pepper.
4. Lay peppers in a 13x9 baking dish.
5. Pour pasta sauce over peppers and top off with more Parmesan cheese.
6. Bake at 350 for 1 to 1.5 hours.

To make this more mild (for kiddos and such), use regular or sage sausage and small green peppers.

Family Factor - they ate the leftovers!!!
Stomach Factor - hot sausage, hot peppers - yup, not for the weak stomachs!
Time Factor - goes together very quickly, cooking time is not ideal for a weeknight.

Hurry, hurry, hurry...now eat!

Coming back from the west coast last week, I realized as I woke up on my red-eye flight that I was responsible for dinner that night.  Meaning, there were people in my house and gosh I really wasn't in the mood to cook!  I was so tired I couldn't see straight for most of the morning.  Most would just say, let's go out to dinner.  After spending as much money as we did on our vacation, I couldn't let myself slip into that habit.

I went to a trusty cookbook I have for very quick, simple and limited number of ingredients to find dinner.  I knew I had to go to the store anyway, but I was really surprised when I looked at this recipe and found out I actually had all the ingredients in the house.  Score!

From Busy Woman's Quick & Easy Recipes
One-Dish Chicken Bake

1 package dry veggie soup (I used Lipton onion soup...a good staple to have in your spice rack!)
1 box stuffing
4 boneless chicken breasts, thawed
1 10oz can cream of mushroom soup (also, a good staple in my house)
1/3 C sour cream (shhhhhh....don't tell Sean!)

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Mix soup mix, stuffing and 1 2/3 C of water and set aside.  It will be a sticky mixture.
3. Place chicken in a sprayed 9x13 baking dish.
4. Mix soup and sour cream in sauce pan over low heat until heated through. 
5. Pour over chicken and top with stuffing mixture.
6. Back un-covered for 40 minutes.

Family Factor: surprisingly good
Stomach Factor: very mild
Time Factor: easy, quick and just throw it in the oven!

Southern meal to get your fingers dirty!

Sean has made this recipe for many of our friends and family so it was requested that I post on my blog so others can enjoy. Fair warning, you will get dirty eating this meal. It's a good one to do outside on a paper covered table or if you are brave, inside on a cold winters day!

Frogmore Stew

1lb sausage (cut into bite size pieces)
2lb shrimp, raw and rinsed (not peeled)
12oz small red potatoes, whole
4 ears corn, shucked and cut in half (so it can fit in one hand)
1 onion, quartered
1/4 C Old Bay or Cajun seasoning

Put onion, potatoes and spices into a very large pot. Cover with water until 2 inches under water. Cook 15 minutes. Add sausage and continue to cook for 5 more minutes. Add corn and cook for another 5 minutes. Finally, at the shrimp and cook until they float, about 3 minutes.

Pour directly onto the covered table and eat up! Recipe is scaled to serve 4, but can be adjusted for more people.

Family Factor: all yum!
Stomach Factor: can be spicy if you get a bite of old bay
Time Factor: not bad for the meal you get