I know it’s not Taco Tuesday, so let’s call this Trademark Thursday in honor of the fact that I created something great today and I can’t wait to share it with you! Who doesn’t love a great Taco Night right? I remember when I was younger and I would go to my aunt’s house in Cumberland, RI and we would have Taco Nights with my cousins. I thought this was such a cool idea and it made such an impression on me that I still have one every week… just not on Tuesdays!
At Trader Joe’s this week I saw the cutest package (Andy swears we’re paying more for the packaging than for the actual stuff in it) of mini bell peppers and I knew we had some frozen Mexican Chorizo (sausage) at home so easy peesy, dinner for two! Colorful plating is my thing… the prettier it is to look at, the more praise I get from my hubby chef who is all about plating techniques. This was my first time ever cooking with chorizo (after being a vegetarian for years) and it smelled so good while it was cooking! Oh! I used vegetables that were about to spoil so I barely spent five bucks on this dish. Streeeeeeetching the budget!
Another way I stretch my budget is using my library card. I don’t know when I last spent money on books! This Saturday though, I will spent at least five bucks at the Friend’s of the Arroyo Grande Library’s Book Sale happening from 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. They use a ruler to price out the books so you can literally get a foot of books for like five bucks! Check it out here! Speaking of books, I’ve just finished the smartest written book I’ve ever read, Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life. If you love a puzzling, character rich, complicated novel, you’ll devour this! And I’ve just started JoJo Moyes’ One Plus One, after having read three of her previous novels. She’s equally as good of a writer as Atkinson!
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Mini Bell Pepper Tacos- serves two
Ingredients:
-5 mini bell peppers (get colorful!)
-1 and 1/2 cup Mexican Chorizo- (substitute ground turkey or beef or don’t use any meat!)
-8 oz. canned black beans, rinsed
-4 oz. canned green chilies
-1 red onion, chopped finely
-1/2 zucchini, chopped finely
-1/2 tomato, chopped finely
-1/2 avocado
-1 tsp. taco seasoning
-arugula
-olive oil
-salt and pepper
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450. On a small baking sheet, place the peppers (stems and all) and some olive oil, salt and pepper, and let bake until they start to blacken. This should take at least 10 minutes.
2. While you are baking those, slice up your vegetables. In a large sauté pan, add the onions first and let them cook for 3-4 minutes, then add the zucchini, tomato, taco seasoning, salt and pepper. Let cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add in the chorizo or not, if you’re vegetarian. Cover this and stir occasionally for another 5 minutes. My chorizo was frozen so I had to do a quick de-thawing. That’s why it still looks like a brick!
4. When all the meat is cooked through and everything is brown, add the beans and chilies. Drain them first if they are canned. Stir everything together and take off the heat.
5. Take out the peppers and let cool. Pull off the stems, slice them in half and take the seeds out.
6. On a large plate, place a bed of arugula and then the peppers on top. Stuff the peppers with the chorizo mixture and place some extra on the side with the sliced avocado. Beautiful, Colorful and Delish! Like the look of these? Check out another stuffed pepper recipe here!
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For those of you who practice Ashtanga with me, I’ve added a new Full Primary Series class at the Yoga Centre in SLO on Friday’s from 4-5:30 p.m. Beginners are welcome, just not lazy people! See you there tomorrow or take the same class online at www.yogacentre.com.
