This Week in My Kitchen: Stuffed Peppers and Chocolate Chai Cookies

Stuffed Peppers Two Ways

I love stuffed peppers. So much so, that one day I had it twice, for breakfast and lunch!

For this one I used a poblano pepper stuffed with Yves Ground Chicken and taco seasoning, baked it in the toasted oven and topped with melted Daiya cheese and salsa. I had some leftover rice, so I served it with that. Fantastic breakfast, if I do say so myself.

For lunch I stuffed a red bell pepper with a bit of ground chicken and a bunch of sauteed mushrooms and onions. I baked it in the toaster oven and melted some daiya cheese on it. Served with salsa, it was a delicious lunch.

Chai Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the the Chocolate Chai Shortbread Cookies from Vegan Cookies Take Over Your Cookie Jar. I had trouble slicing them because they're so crumbly, so I shaped them into little pucks and baked them that way. Despite the trouble forming them, they were really tasty. Recommended.

How to Jazz Up Packaged Food

Packaged food. Most of us use it to some degree. I try and avoid it, mostly because of the unpronouncable ingredient lists, but as a sometimes-lazy cook and a full-on sodium hound, I do dabble once in a while. One of the things that makes me feel better about shoveling a fork full of chemicals into my mouth is adding some fresh foods into the mix. Here's an example:

Old El Paso Spanish Rice
I got a coupon for this in the mail, and being the spendthrift that I am, I had to try it. So I cooked it according to package instructions, but added a can of black beans (rinsed - there's enough sodium in the rice!) and some chopped green onions. I served it topped with a bunch of beautiful cherry tomatoes roasted with some garlic and cracked black pepper. It made a great side dish for a Mexican-style feast, or you could add a salad and call it a meal. Either way, it was quick, easy, pretty yummy, and actually had some nutritional value to help cancel out some of the bad stuff. Not everyday fare perhaps, but I'll make it again.