dinner recipes

Name: Veggie Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 16 min
Total time: 31 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 4 large poblano peppers; 1/2 pound ground sausage; 2 yellow squash, chopped; 1 onion, diced; 1 red pepper, diced; 1 cup kale, chopped; 3 large carrots, shredded; 1/2 cup cheese (I used an apple smoked cheese but any white cheese would work here); Garlic, 4 cloves minced; Salt and Pepper to taste

Veggie Stuffed Poblano Peppers

May 11, 2020 by Rachel Leave a Comment

My family LOVES stuffed peppers. They are an all-in-one meal that is such an easy way to use up whatever you happen to have in your fridge. These Veggie Stuffed Poblano peppers are absolutely amazing and are a great low-carb meal.

Stuffed peppers are pretty much a staple at my house and they are a fantastic way to throw together a low-carb meal with whatever you happen to have on hand.

For a vegetarian option, I’m obsessed with these Cheesy Quinoa Stuffed Peppers but my family loves these Easy Mexican Stuffed Peppers.

The nice thing about these is literally anything goes. Don’t have carrots? No worries. Just grab whatever veggies you need to use up and throw them in the mix.

Because you broil the peppers before filling them, this recipe comes together really quickly and is perfect for those nights when you don’t have a lot of time to throw dinner together … or leave it until the last minute which is a common occurrence around here.

Tips for Making the Perfect Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers really are so easy to make but there are a few tricks that make them even easier.

Slice your peppers length-wise. The3 most common way to make stuffed peppers is to slice off the top and fill the pepper. I find that slicing them length-wise helps them cook more evenly and gives you a better filling to pepper ratio.
Pre-cook your peppers. In this recipe we are broiling the peppers to give them a nice roasted flavor and make them cook faster. If you aren’t broiling them, try throwing your peppers in the oven for a little while before filling them. Cooking your pepper a bit ahead of time helps avoid your filling drying out and just really speeds up the cooking process.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with different peppers. Most stuffed peppers are made with bell peppers but I love changing these up. Poblano peppers add so much flavor to this dish and they are such a mild pepper that even my picky eaters enjoy them.

Veggie Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Yield: 8 Stuffed Peppers

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 16 minutes

Total Time: 31 minutes

Ingredients

4 large poblano peppers
1/2 pound ground sausage
2 yellow squash, chopped
1 onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 cup kale, chopped
3 large carrots, shredded
1/2 cup cheese (I used an apple smoked cheese but any white cheese would work here)
Garlic, 4 cloves minced
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

Slice your poblano peppers in half length-wise and clean out the seeds.
Lay your peppers out on a baking sheet and broil on high for 6 minutes.
Flip your peppers over and broil on the other side for 6 minutes.
While your peppers are cooking, cook the sausage.
When the sausage is fully cooked, remove it from the pan, leaving the drippings in the pan.
Chop your onion, yellow squash, and red pepper and shred your carrots.
In the pan with the sausage drippings, cook your veggies for 3-4 minutes then add your minced garlic and chopped kale.
Cook your veggies for another 2-3 minutes and then add your cooked sausage back to the pan.
Fill your broiled poblano peppers with the sausage filling then top with a bit of cheese.
Put back in the oven to broil for another 2 minutes to melt the cheese then serve.

Weeknight Ragù with Cauliflower Rice

February 14, 2018 by Rachel Leave a Comment

Weeknight meals can be a challenge, especially if you are trying to eat more whole foods and eliminated added sugar from your diet. Conveniences foods sure made my life easier but they did not make me feel great. Now, I like to have quick and easy recipes in our rotation so I can get a healthy dinner on the table quickly. This Weeknight Ragù with Cauliflower Rice is one of my family’s favorites and it is so easy to throw together.

Eliminating anything from your diet can be hard. I’ve found that the best way to stick to my plans is to have a plan in the first place: a menu plan. Those nights when I don’t have a menu plan in place are the nights I give in and eat something that I wish I hadn’t.

Food cravings are hard. When I’m hungry my willpower goes way down so when I get hungry in the late afternoon, I know that’s when I’m going to slip.

To get around this, I plan my menu for the week, as best I can (We love this weekly meal planner from Busy Mommy Media) and make sure that I have as much food prepped ahead of time as I can so I can get dinner on the table quickly.

This Weeknight Ragù with Cauliflower Rice comes together quickly and it makes great leftovers so you can even make it the night before or have it for lunch the next day.

I adapted this recipe from one that I received in a Blue Apron Box, something I’d highly recommend for those weeks when you are short on time.

Weeknight Ragù with Cauliflower Rice Ingredients

Hamburger, 1 pound
1 Red onion, chopped
Garlic, 5 cloves, minced
1 can diced tomatoes
2 Bell Peppers, any color, sliced
3 Zucchini, sliced
3 stems Fresh rosemary, chopped
Fresh parsley
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
1-2 heads of Cauliflower
Olive Oil

Weeknight Ragù with Cauliflower Rice Preparation

Preheat the oven to 425°.

Slice the zucchini and break 1 head of cauliflower into large florets. On a large sheet pan, lay out your veggies, drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake for about 20 minutes (tossing halfway through).

Brown the hamburger, adding the chopped red onion and minced garlic cloves a few minutes in. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Sauté for a few minutes, until the hamburger is fully cooked, then add in the sliced bell peppers, Italian seasoning and chopped rosemary.

Once the bell peppers soften a bit, stir in diced tomatoes and 3/4 cup of water (or beef broth). Lower the heat and leave to simmer for about 15 minutes.

In the meantime, wash and roughly chop your remaining head of cauliflower. You can make your own cauliflower rice using any food processor.

I love the one that connects to my Ninja blender and comes in the Ninja Kitchen System (If you can only buy one thing for your sugar-free kitchen, this is it. You can spiralize veggies, make some amazing sauces, and more).

To make your cauliflower rice, place your pieces of cauliflower in the food processor. These do not have to be chopped much, just enough to fit into the food processor. The Ninja Kitchen system has a setting to chop. That’s what I use when making this. I just push the button and it does its thing. You’ll have to experiment a bit with your food processor to see what works. You don’t want this to turn to mush. Just chop the cauliflower enough that it is in rice-sized pieces.

In a large frying pan, use a bit of butter or olive oil, heat on medium-high heat and add your cauliflower rice. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the cauliflower rice is slightly toasted.

Mix in your chopped fresh parsley and about 3/4 of your parmesan cheese and set aside.

Serve your Ragù on top of the cauliflower rice and top with your roasted veggies and a bit of extra parmesan.

Egg Roll in a Bowl – Low-Carb and Sugar-Free

February 1, 2018 by Rachel Leave a Comment

We all need a few great weeknight meals that can be throw together when we are short on time. This quick egg roll in a bowl recipe can be thrown together fast and it is delicious. I love that it is packed with some great veggies and, unlike most Americanized Asian dishes I’ve come across, this one has no sugar added.

Egg Roll in a Bowl | No sugar added to this quick weeknight meal that the whole family will love!

Late afternoon is usually when I fall off the wagon. I’m great about staying on target for breakfast and lunch but by late afternoon the sugar cravings kick in.

That’s the point in the day where, if I don’t have something quick, easy, and amazing planned for dinner, I usually give in and eat something that I shouldn’t. I know that eating something sugary or loaded with carbs is going to make me feel terrible, but in that moment I don’t care.

I guess I’m “lucky” in a way, that sugar makes me feel so terrible (I am not diabetic, but my blood sugar swings wildly in both directions and I’ve been told diabetes is in my future if I don’t keep my blood sugar regulated better). Knowing that I’m going to feel terrible after eating something should stop me. But we all know how strong those cravings can be.

Sugar is my drug of choice.

I do much better when I keep plenty of healthy snacks on hand so I can munch when my blood sugar tanks and I just want to grab anything that is front of me. It’s way easier to fight off the sugar cravings when I’m not hungry.

This easy dinner has the added benefit of making amazing leftovers, so it’s easy to grab a min-bowl as a snack the next day.

You can eat this on it’s own, served over rice, or (my favorite) served over cauliflower rice.

You can buy cauliflower rice in the produce section of the grocery store, but I haven’t been overly impressed with the quality that way. It tends to go back quickly once riced so I prefer to make my own.

If you haven’t made cauliflower rice before, it’s not as intimidating as it sounds. I love the food processor attachment on the Ninja (check out the full Ninja Kitchen system here). I just chop the cauliflower into small rice-sized pieces and sauté it in a pan with a bit of butter and it turns out perfect every time.

My kids love egg rolls so, fortunately, even my picky eaters were willing to try this. If your kids are iffy about the texture of the cabbage, you can always chop it up into finer pieces.

Egg Roll in Bowl Recipe without sugar

Egg Roll in a Bowl Ingredients

3 cups shredded green cabbage
2 cups shredded purple cabbage
2 cups shredded carrot
1 large onion, diced
1 1/2 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 tsp powdered ginger
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 Tbsp crushed red pepper
4 tsp soy sauce
1 pound ground beef (or any other ground meat you’d like to use)
Green onion
1 head Cauliflower (optional)

Egg Roll in a Bowl Instructions

In a large pan, cook the meat until browned.

Add the onions and sesame oil and cook for a few minutes, or until the onions are transparent.

Add the cabbage, ginger, garlic, salt, and crushed red pepper.

when the cabbage has cooked slightly, stir in the shredded carrot.

Just before serving, stir in the soy sauce and top with green onion. Serve over riced cauliflower or rice (if you don’t need a low-carb option).

Egg Roll in a Bowl