Category: red bell pepper

Mediterranean Antipasto

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This antipasto was an attempt to recreate some of our favorite dishes that typically are mainstays at your favorite Italian/Mediterranean restaurant, without the cheese and pasta.  As far as I’m concerned, it was a success––it didn’t last long in the house.  We saved a small portion to share with family, and almost a week later, it was still crispy and crunchy, so I would definitely suggest this as a candidate for weekly meals or leftovers if you’re planning ahead.  We had to do some shopping around to find clean proscuitto, but Applegate makes one we love, and we’ve been able to find their products pretty regularly at the local organic market, and even sometimes larger chain supermarkets.  The benefit of this is how simple to put together.  This took us maybe 15 minutes to make in total.

Ingredients
1 English cucumber
1/2 red bell pepper
1-2 slices red onion (depending on how much you like onion)
1 cup kalamata olives
3 slices proscuitto
1 oz anchovy (tinned in olive oil)
Method


Chop red onion, cucumber, red bell pepper, and olives into small chunks.  Slice proscuitto into thin 1/4″ strips, and finely mince anchovy.
Mix together thoroughly, and enjoy!  The flavors will blend more as it sits, so preparation about an hour before mealtime is probably preferred.  There’s no need for olive oil or salt or anything.  This is an easy home run to impress family and friends.

Also, please enter to win a copy of Diane Sanfilippo’s Practical Paleo if you haven’t already.  The giveaway ends ENDED September 28th, 2012!

Eggs with Saute of Baby Portobellos, Roasted Bell Pepper and Red Onion

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This morning for breakfast, I threw together a few items found in our fridge and it turned out great! Sadly, I was in such a rush, I didn’t take any photos during the process. To be honest, I wasn’t thinking about posting this recipe at all! But, a request for details came in via Twitter, after I posted a picture of the final product; how could I deny their curiosity?

So, here it is…!

Eggs with Saute of Baby Portobellos, Roasted Bell Pepper and Red Onion

Ingredients:

  • 2 teaspoons of olive oil, separated
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 roasted red bell pepper, sliced* 
  • 2 slices, quartered, from one large red onion
  • 6 baby portobello mushrooms, washed and sliced
  • seasonings to taste: freshly cracked black pepper, sea salt, and fresh thyme
*I used a roasted red bell pepper from a jar (see below for a photo with the brand name); but you could certainly roast your own bell pepper, any color, prior to whipping this up. In fact, it would be best to roast your own because then you know exactly what’s in it–simply a bell pepper. If you buy, like I did, just be mindful (as you probably already are) of the ingredients. It’s amazing what companies sneak into what otherwise ought to be very simple jars of food!

Yield: 2 servings

Method:

1. With 1 teaspoon of the olive oil, sauté the onion pieces and mushroom slices for about 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat.
2. Toss in the sliced roasted red bell pepper and sprinkle with black pepper, sea salt and thyme.
3. Continue sautéing for 1 to 2 minutes, until bell pepper is heated through and the onion is just about translucent.
4. Plate, cover with tin foil to keep warm (optional), and set aside.
5. Next, cook the eggs. To make them over-hard: Pour the last teaspoon of olive oil into the same skillet in which you sautéed the veggies. Crack the eggs into the skillet. (Optional: sprinkle seasons over the eggs.) Turn down the heat to medium-low and cover the pan. Let it cook for about 2-3 minutes, flip the eggs, and let them cook another 1 to 2 minutes, or until yolk is firm.
6. Plate over your veggies and enjoy!

This jar is as free from sugars, additives and other nasties as we have found. Ingredients include Red Peppers, water, citric acid and salt. We buy it at Costco for a good price and once opened it’ll last at least a month (we’ve pushed it to two before) in the fridge.

Ancho-Chipotle Over-Hard Eggs, Roasted Bell Pepper and Avocado

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I’ve decided I’m my most creative with food when there’s very little food in the house. Crazy or logical? Maybe it’s a little bit of both?


Anyways, for breakfast this morning, I wanted to do something different but quick and easy. We still have a jar of roasted red bell peppers in olive oil in the fridge, plenty of eggs and bacon, some veggies (carrots, zucchini, avocados and the ingredients for Brent’s cabbage slaw which I didn’t want to use), a few green apples, one peach from the quart I bought for just $2 at the King Street market on Wednesday, and a variety of condiments. Oh, and there was that crab meat too… but I’ll get to that when I put up the post about my lunch. 😉

OK–so, what’s a girl to do other than the traditional scrambled eggs and bacon we have almost every morning… Eggs over hard? YES. Roasted red bell pepper on the side? Sure! What about those yummy avocados… I can’t resist. To make them work harmoniously, I just threw in some spices.

Ancho-Chipotle Over-Hard Eggs, Roasted Bell Pepper and Avocado

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon of ghee or the fat/oil of your choice
  • 1/2 – 1 roasted red bell pepper
  • 1/2 of an avocado, sliced
  • Ancho chili powder, chipotle chili powder, salt and pepper to taste
Method
  1. Place the roasted bell pepper on a plate (or in your plastic container, like I did, if you’re planning to carry this to work). Sprinkle some ancho chili and chipotle chili powder over it. 
  2. Melt the ghee in your pan over medium-high, then crack your two eggs into it and fry those babies up! Within the first minute of them cooking, sprinkle some salt, pepper, ancho chili powder and chipotle chili powder over the eggs.
  3. Note: If you’re like me and you prefer sunny-side up with a fully cooked yolk, let the eggs fry for a couple minutes on medium-high, then turn the heat down to low, cover and let cook for about 10 minutes. 
  4. Once the eggs are done, simply add them to your plate or container.
  5. Top it off with the avocado and you’re all set to eat and enjoy or run off to work with a delicious breakfast in hand. 🙂

The best part about working from home… Part 3!

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This is the third and final post in a 3-part series. Last but not least, I took time one morning last week to make a quiche. My logic: make something tasty while using up the leftover veggies and ham we had just sitting in the fridge. 


Ham and Veggie Quiche


Ingredients

  • 10 eggs
  • 1 cup of cauliflower, chopped
  • 2 cups of baby bok choy, chopped
  • 1/2 an onion, chopped
  • 1/2 cup of red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 cup of yellow squash
  • 1/2 cup of ham, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons of bacon fat (or coconut oil, ghee, or olive oil–whatever you prefer)
  • salt and pepper to taste
Method
  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with the bacon fat.
  3. Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl.
  4. Toss all the veggies and ham in with the eggs, sprinkle on some salt and pepper (to your liking), and stir until well mixed.
  5. Pour the egg mixture into the baking pan.
  6. Bake for 45 minutes.
It’s so fast, so simple, and so delicious! Between me and Brent, it only last three mornings, but that was three mornings I didn’t have to whip up breakfast from scratch (which was a welcome break). The best part is, you can do this with just about any raw veggies you have hanging out in your fridge leftover from making some other recipe.



Enjoy!

The best part about working from home… Part 2

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This post is the second of a 3-post series in which I’m sharing three delicious breakfasts that resulted from having spare time  in the morning (when I worked from home over the past two weeks). The first post can be found here: Poached Egg and Smoked Salmon over Roasted Asparagus and Red Bell Pepper.


Ham and Spinach “Egg-izza”

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • approx. 1 cup baby spinach
  • approx. 1/2 cup red bell pepper
  • approx. 1/2 cup of leftover ham
  • 1/2 of one shallot
  • 1/2 teaspoon of ghee
Method

  1. Chop the baby spinach, red bell pepper, ham and shallot.
  2. Scramble the eggs in a small bowl.
  3. Sauté the shallot with the ghee on medium-high for about 2 minutes in a small pan.
  4. Toss in the red bell pepper for about 30 seconds.
  5. Add the ham; continuing sautéing for another 30 seconds.
  6. Pour in the eggs.
  7. When the eggs first hit the pan, I take a fork and carefully pull the egg from the edges towards the center for about 30 seconds to a minute. This allows more raw egg to reach the pan, which in the long run helps the egg cook through a little faster. 
  8. Layer on your spinach. 
  9. After letting the egg cook to form a solid bottom (about 2 to 3 minutes), carefully flip the whole thing over in your pan. I use the largest flipping spatula I have, and hold the pan at an angle to let the egg bake slip out on one edge about half way. I “catch” it with the spatula and flip.
  10. Let the egg-izza cook another 2 to 3 minutes. To confirm it’s fully cooked through (unless you don’t mind slightly undercooked),  lightly touch the center of the egg-izza. If it’s super soft, it still needs to cook. At this point, cover it and turn the heat down to help it cook through without burning the bottom. If slightly firm, you’re all set!
  11.  Flip out on your plate and eat up!