Saturday's Dinner

Stuffed Bell Peppers.
Maple Syrup Glazed Roasted Butternut Squash.
Spinach-Apple-Walnut Salad.

Yes.

It was delish.

Delicisio.
Perfecto.
Bellismo.

Yes.
These are all REAL words (Omar accused me that I made up Deliciso - but its an actual, honest to God, Spanish word for, duh, delicious).Lets start with the bell peppers, shall we? We got two huge green, bell peppers from our local farm fresh market. Don't get excited, I don't think they are local or organic - they are just cheaper there. So, we had picked them up a few days ago, and I had some leftover spicy minced meat with potatoes (the original recipe didn't call for potatoes). It did call for Minute Rice. I, not knowing what that meant, just put in a cup of rice in the mixture, warming it over a sauce pan. I thought perhaps when I stuff the mixture in the bell peppers, they'll somehow cook with the heat of the oven. Later on as we ate our stuffed bell pepper, Omar told me that Minute Rice is pre-cooked, dehydrated rice that becomes rice again in water/steam. So we scraped out our bell peppers and recooked the rice + minced meat.

So in case you haven't' guessed by now: take cooked minced meat, mix in cooked rice or minute rice and tomatoe sauce/spagetti sauce, pour it in a scooped out bell pepper (slice off the top neatly). Oil the bell pepper and wrap it up in aluminum foil. Bake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees. Take the foil off and bake another 10 minutes. Wallah! It's a nice dish, plus so healthy - do try it.

Moving on to the delish, exquisite squash. Very simple once you get past the chopping of squash (which is a pain in the neck because these things are hard as rocks). I had this particular squash for 2 months before I bought a knife sharpener and 'halalofied' the pesky vegetable.

Just add 2 tablespoons of maple syrup, 1-2 tablespoon of olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt, 1-2 teaspoons of pepper....mix....pop it in the oven at 400 degrees (for 1 hour). You can switch it up in 30 mins (move it over) but don't do it when they're too soft because you'll squish them into a mashed potato like consistency. I can't describe how good they they taste when they are done - so DO try this one. By the way, this is Ina Garten's recipe.

Finally. The Salad. Spinach-apple-walnut salad with french dressing. I guess the name says it all. Toss in some toasted walnuts (4 mins on low heat on a pan), raisins, cooked chick peas (I had some in the house), toss around it in french dressing and add spinach leaves. Wallah. Very yummy. I added teensy pieces of cheese but I hardly tasted it.

I'm really enjoying adding sweetness into entree dishes of the meal. It makes it missing sweets at the end of the meal less painful.