~ food ~
Today was one of those days filled with lots and lots (and LOTS) of technology-related problems at work. I felt very beaten down and frustrated, then I had to face the commute home. Needless to say, I was a little cranky and needed to do something with my hands to leave that crazy afternoon behind.
I had a post all ready to go, but once I decided that my hands needed to cook, I decided to save it for another day. Especially when the recipe that I started throwing together actually started to resemble food (and then actually tasted delicious). I figured, "Eh, why not share it?"
I must have had a lil Angie inspiration in my heart, because I decided the one thing I HAD to have was stuffed bell peppers (remember her post about stuffed anaheims?).
So here was the deal. I knew I had the following items to work with at home: frozen shrimp, rice, bread crumbs, grated Parmesan, olive oil, and spices. All I had to pick up on the way home was a red bell pepper, a small vine tomato, a stalk of celery, and a small yellow onion. Cost me a whoppin' $2.50. Yes!
With that background info, here is this week's food recipe, compliments of whatever my mind made up as I was going. Please excuse the Rachael Ray-esque measurements.
{overflowin' with love shrimp and veggie stuffed bell peppers}
Serves 2
- 1 red bell pepper, cut in half with the insides taken out
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 celery stalk, diced
- 1 small vine ripened tomato
- Rice, enough for two servings (follow instructions for whatever you have; I used white, but I bet brown would have been awesome in this)
- About 10 shrimp, thawed, deveined, and de-tailed, then cut into bite-sized pieces (I got about 3 bites per shrimp)
- Seasonings: chili powder, cumin, nutmeg, salt and pepper
- 1 small pat of butter (about 1/2 tablespoon)
- Breadcrumbs
- Grated Parmesan
- Olive oil
Chop up your onions and celery (and tomato when it's finished). In a large frying pan, heat up a couple turn of olive oil. Turn the heat down to medium and add your onions, letting them sweat it out a bit. Once the onions are close to done, add the celery for about a minute or two. You'll want the celery cooked, but not soft. I like the added crunch in the mix. Once the celery is close, add your shrimp and cook until pink. Don't overcook them, though, like I did last week. That's sad.
Meanwhile, season your rice. Toss in a couple shakes of chili powder, two small pinches of cumin (my pinches were wimpy because I couldn't fit my fingers in the jar), and a small pinch of nutmeg. Add the small pat of butter (you really don't need much--it's just to moisten the rice), then season with salt and pepper. Add your chopped tomato to the rice, then your veggie/shrimp mixture. Add grated Parmesan to pump up the flavor, then salt and pepper.
Generously stuff the bell peppers, then sprinkle the breadcrumbs, a few extra pinches of Parmesan, and a little bit of olive oil (to help the browning) on top. Put back under the broiler until golden brown (mine took about 3 minutes, so don't walk away).
You will have extra rice mixture, so while you're waiting, heap that rice onto the plate (this is where the "overflowin' love" comes in). Place your bell peppers on top. Enjoy.
Have a great night!