Impressively Simple

by motherofwonder

This week has been caarraaayyyzzzzyyyy! Sunday we had Miss E’s 3rd birthday party! Filled with little girls, family, and friends, and one totally overwhelmed-with-being-surrounded-by-girls Big E. I’d call the day a success. Monday I was just relaxing and letting the kids enjoy just some peace and quiet after the week of preparing for the party, along with the party itself, when I received a call from my grandmother about my mother. So, my sweet and supportive hubbyman came home and stayed with ALL of our children (and even did some cleaning!) while I picked up one of my brothers, picked up my dad from the airport, and then spent the rest of the day at the hospital with my siblings and parents while my mom underwent an angiogram (we thought an angioplasty was likely, but happy surprise- it wasn’t necessary!). By the time I woke up on Tuesday (after a late night decompressing all my feelings about the day and my feelings over my mom’s mortality) feeling: blah. More than blah, I’d been battling my allergies for over a week, and was feeling run down, headachey (I’ve had several migraines this past week), and like crawling in bed for the next few days. We also had company coming and by the time I felt really miserable, we had only an hour before their arrival. So I took some Ibuprofen and that relieved my headache and the achy-ness enough that I was able to enjoy our evening. (Hurray for another couple with kids! And they have a boy Big E’s age and a girl Miss E’s age!! And Miss E actually climbed out of my lap and played with the kids- the whole time! This is a HUGE development in the land of Miss E, as she is usually painfully shy.) After another late night, though, I was totally spent and felt completely miserable on Wednesday. (Boo!) And we ran out of kleenex before my first cup of coffee. In fact, I felt so crappy that I didn’t even care if I got to the cup of coffee!! (*collective gasp* I know, right?!) I did throw the kids in the stroller for a trip to the grocery store for the makings of my “feel better meal” and kleenex. It was painful. And I got home, only to realize that I had forgotten to get kleenex. I almost cried. Anyhow, I spent the next couple hours cuddled up on the couch while the kids played around me.

If you’re wondering why this doesn’t feel like a recipe post… well, you’re right. Kind of. Where I’m going with this was that afterwards, I made the meal that I tend to make if I’m not feeling the greatest (or if I’m just in need of a little comfort). Most people think chicken noodle when they’re under the weather. And if I’m really sick, I would probably agree. But if you’re just under the weather enough that you’re not up to your normal self, without being worthy of a dr visit… this is my go to meal. This says comfort to me. I made tomato basil soup. I love to top it off (once it’s in my dish) with a little shredded cheese and some “croutons” (or gluten free protons as the bag calls them- I got a bunch from my in laws, nacho chili cheese, and they went perfectly!). Along with, of course, grilled cheese. If I’m just feeling a little down, I may add chicken, or some spinach, or do a specialty cheese (or even better- a spicy cheese!). But because I’m not feeling up to snuff, just generic, plain, old grilled cheese. My kids thought this was the best meal ever, and hubby didn’t seem to complain either! Win-win! So today’s impressively simple recipe is just that, it’s impressive in the fact that it never fails to make me feel better, if even momentarily.

Maybe you’re not sick, but you’ve had a long, stressful day… so go ahead and make whatever feels best to you! And I would love to know what your “pick me up” meal of choice is!

Chicken Gluten Free Impressively Simple Recipes

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Simply Impressive

by motherofwonder

Yesterday, my hair dresser/brother-in-law came over to #1) Give hubbyman a haircut! (He’s in a wedding this weekend, and we’d like a little less shaggydoo for it) and #2) To have me make him a wonderful vegan meal! So I am made stuffed peppers! I found hundreds of recipes, so I did my usual (look hundreds of recipes over, decide I only like one ingredient from each recipe) and combined them all…

So, here is today’s version of stuffed peppers, which in my opinion ALWAYS look impressive- no matter what you’ve put into them. And the more you put into them, the more impressive they sound!

Take 3 large, red, sweet peppers (you can use any kind, I love the flavor of red and orange, personally), cut the top off and take seeds out.

You can cook this in a 5qt slow cooker (mine is too big!), so I just did them in a 2 1/2 qt dish. Basically you want it big enough that everything fits and you can still get a lid on, but small enough that they don’t move or slide around. So whatever size that may be for you (which will of course depend on how many peppers you make as well. I’d of made more, but we’re leaving for out of town tomorrow and worried they’d go bad… and then I found out they’re great to freeze, so now I wish I would have made a couple more!!). Anyways, put peppers in dish, and set aside.

1 cup cooked rice (or quinoa)

1/2 onion

1/2 yellow zucchini, sliced

1 1/2 cups spinach

1 cup mushrooms

3 cloves garlic

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

3/4 cup spaghetti sauce (meatless)

1/2 cup of water

*While I had the rice cooking, I threw the spinach, onion, garlic, and mushrooms in some olive oil and sauteed. This next step you probably don’t have to do, but for consistency’s sake I threw it all in my food processor (just so it was more uniform, not to puree it).

Next mix rice, sauteed veggies, salt, pepper, and any other herbs you’d like to throw in (I threw in a pinch of oregano and basil) in a large bowl. This is what the kids had for dinner- it was so, so, so very yummy. I added in a pinch of cheese thinking it would need it, (don’t get me wrong, it was fantastic with it) but it was really good even without the cheese. Seriously, like it would be a terrific side in any meal, not just stuffed in peppers. So good. (Can you tell that I liked it, and was very impressed with my creation?)

Stuff rice mixture in the peppers. You don’t have to pack it in, but fill it. Next mix the water and spaghetti sauce, pouring half into the bottom of the dish and the rest over/in the peppers.I topped with quarters of the squash and threw some into the sauce in the bottom as well. For color and taste! I cooked covered at 375 for 30 minutes and then uncovered at 350 for 10 minutes.

So good! Hubbyman declared it the best began meal he’d ever had! If not making it vegan, I probably would have thrown cheese into the rice mixture. This would be a great option for a Meatless Monday meal! Have to have meat in it? I think it would go really well with a shredded chicken.