Stuffed Sweet Peppers

We got a bunch of mini sweet peppers at Costco and I dug around the fridge/pantry finding things to stuff them with. Here's what I came up with.

Stuffed Mini Sweet Peppers

2 lbs mini sweet peppers
greek yogurt - i only had the single serving ones so I used three of those
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp seasoned salt
2 c shredded cheese
crumbled bacon - full disclosure I used bacos

Preheat to 350* and spray a muffin pan with cooking spray. Cut off the tops/stems of peppers and clean out the ribs and seeds inside. Combine yogurt, garlic powder, seasoned salt, cheese and bacon. I heated them in the microwave for 30 seconds so they'd mix well. Put that mixture into a ziplock baggie and cut off a corner so you can squeeze it into each of the peppers like frosting. Put the stuffed peppers into the muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes.

These are super yummy.  I made the boys PB&J because our bread is about to expire and we need to get through it...and i'm lazy.  Jeff worked late tonight and I didn't feel like making something for dinner for myself. I ate like 7 of these.

When did this turn into a food blog? it's not, I swear. 4 days out of 7 we eat bagel dogs (omg seriously amazing), nuggets and other frozen delicacies. At least once a week (read, twice) we drive through our dinner. BUT...once a week I actually remember to thaw a protein of some sort and I cook. I cook a LOT of that one thing so we can eat it for several meals too.

If you try these peppers, let me know what you think!

Cheesy Sausage & Spinach Casserole

Made a really yummy breakfast casserole for Easter yesterday and thought I’d share. Super easy and I already had everything I needed…except half and half because who keeps half and half on hand??

nope, thats not our fancy Easter, Jesus-approved flatware...I'm having leftovers for
lunch today at the office.

Sausage & Spinach Breakfast Casserole

1 lb breakfast sausage – I used the kind that comes in that tube thing
1 package stuffing mix, prepared – I used the cornbread flavor
3 eggs
1 bag chopped spinach, thawed and dried
1 ½ cups half and half
8oz of your favorite sprinkle cheese – we used Monterey jack cause that what I had
A couple cloves of garlic – I used minced as I always have that available and I’m lazy
2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Prepare stuffing and set aside.  Cook the sausage over medium heat until it isn’t pink anymore.  Add in garlic and smell the yumminess. Drain the fat…unless you like the fat in there still fatty.  Mix in spinach and prepared stuffing until it’s all combined.  Dump into greased baking dish and cover with sprinkle cheese.  Combine eggs and half and half in small bowl and pour over casserole.  Shake dish around so that the egg mixture really gets in there.  Bake for 30 minutes at 400*.  The cheese on top should be lightly toasted but not burnt.  Sprinkle the parmesan on top and bake for another 5-10 minutes until it gets bubbly.  Let it sit for a few minutes before serving so it can set up.

This was a hit with our family.  Even my sister who doesn't like stuffing tried it and liked it. We ate it a couple hours later since the fam was running late so I’m anxious to try it piping hot next time. You can certainly add onion or spices to this if you wanted to but I think it was fine without anything additional. I think I’d consider adding another egg next time since I really like eggs but it’s great as-is.  

Happy Valentine's Day 2013

oh man, i made the cutest Valentines for Bear. I used to make really cute ones for Connor too but now he just wants the grocery store box of valentines that come with fun dip. fun dip. whatever, it's yummy i get it.

 

i determined that i've likely only got a couple more years until bear detours this way as well, so i'm making the most of it. i found the cutest idea on pinterest (obvi) and because of the cute to creepy ratio of the cards, decided they'd be perfect for bear.  this is how they turned out.

 

adorable right? they were a HIT.

Isn't it crazy how they look all 3D?? they aren't. everyone loved them and wanted to know how they were done. the most difficult part was getting bear to take the photo. you have to get his hand out in front of him but not covering his face...and not too much in the middle or the sucker will cover him up...and not too far off to the side or the effect will be lost. you see my issue. plus, it's bear. here's a summary of some of our attempts.

 

Please note that the actual cards are in a completely different shirt than all the attempts. I eventually gave up and did more photos on another day. this kid is a trip.

 

Connor's class had their Valentine's Friendship Breakfast on the 14th and I joined them. it was really cute. the kids made jam and they had fruit, waffles, juice and maybe some other stuff. I love how excited Connor gets when I show up at his classroom. It's rare since i'm one of those working moms :) so I think he likes it even more since I'm not there every week (or every month...).

As for Jeffrey and I, we don't really 'do' Valentine's day since it's smack between my bday and our wedding anniversary. The boys did however surprise me with cards and pretty flowers. Jeff & I had a special dinner of leftover meatloaf. magic.

Hope you had an extra special Valentine's Day!

photo-op attempt

Jeff's mom had these adorb sweaters made for the boys in their favorite football teams. Connor became a Dolphins fam after a trip to Sea World and Noah likes the Bears for obvious reasons.  All I wanted was a cute photo of them both wearing their sweaters. Here are my attempts: