teacher by day - chef by night
We all have lots of things going on and life is busy, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t time to sit down for dinner. According to research, less than 10% of families eat together more than 2 times a week – that blows my …
I might have mentioned before that we had a lot of habeneros (and by “a lot” I mean we only planted 2 plants but even 1 of these plants would have given me ten times more than I needed, so with 2 plants you can …
We had/have an over-abundance of hot-peppers (mostly habaneros – since I could actually find uses for the cayenne, but its hard to find many uses for more than 1 habanero at a time usually). Since I love store-bought red pepper flakes (on pizza, in soups, spice up any dish, etc) I figured it couldn’t be too hard to make my own in order to use up a bit of peppers…
…After some research I discovered, no – it wasn’t too hard (even without a dehydrator). For the first hour or so of these being in the oven the house feels slightly spicy to the smell, but not too bad. Now, if only this made more (guess I need to spend another full day with the oven on to make these), since I’ve already put quite a dent on the baggie of dried pepper in the last week!
Wash & pat dry your assortment of peppers. Cut off the stems & cut in half. For more mild flakes scoop out insides. I left them in there and when I use my flakes will just use less if I want something less spicy. Place on a foil-lined cookie sheet in a 250 degree oven for about 8 hours. They will look dry and brittle when you are done. The house may feel a bit ‘spicy’ during this time.
Remove from oven and let cool. Place them in a large zip-top bag and carefully crush them (with a rolling pin). Get your flakes to the desired consistency and then do not open your bag for a few minutes to allow the dust to settle. Place in a container and enjoy the fruits (or vegetables) of your labor all year (or as long as it lasts)!
And I leave you with this, Today’s Question of the Day… what spices or seasoning have you made (or would you like to make instead of buying)
There are many ways to get inspired by food. Sometimes you are craving something. Or you could have an over-abundance of a certain ingredient and strive to use it. Other times you see a recipe or picture of something and know that you MUST make it …
“Rich – I made you a snack – it’s in the fridge next to the milk…” I think that if I said that phrase more often we might be engaged (just kidding honey, kinda) But in all seriousness – Rich LOVES cookie dough, even though …
These stuffed tomatoes are everything you could want in a late summer meal…. fresh, filling, healthy. They are easily adaptable too! Think of Stuffed Tomatoes as you would Stuffed Peppers… they work basically the same way! I wanted to go full-out Italian so I stuffed these with the same type things I would use if I were making a nice bowl of summer pasta!
Prepare rice according to package directions. Cool rice a little bit, then mix in all of the rest of your ingredients (except tomatoes). Cut the tops off of your tomatoes & scoop out the insides (put them aside – they are perfect for making soup/salsa/juice/sauce). Stuff your mixture into the tomatoes, top with some mozzarella or fresh grated parmesan & place them in a lbaking/casserole dish. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes
And I leave you with this, Today’s Question of the Day… what foods do you like stuffed (chicken, mushrooms, pepper, etc) and what do you like to stuff them with!?