Crocktober: Bell Peppers Stuffed with Rice, Italian Sausage and Broccoli Rabe from the Crock Pot

This dish is a great use for leftover rice and/or sausage, and besides maybe a side salad, it can be a complete meal in itself. I used white rice and sweet Italian turkey sausage, but you could use any kind that you like. I think wild rice with hot sausage would also be a good combination. You could also use leftover ground turkey, chicken, or beef. There is probably no reason that you couldn't use pork sausage or ground pork, I just wouldn't tell you to because personally I think it's gross. Couldn't tell you why.

I purposefully made extra stuffing, which cooked outside the pepper in the crock pot, for lunch the next day. (My expensive education at work, people!) Also in hindsight, I might add a tablespoon or so of lemon juice just to brighten up the bitterness of the greens. Still, yummy.

Ingredients:

1 clove garlic, minced or pressed

1 large bell pepper, any color
1 small carrot, diced (optional)
1 tablespoon butter, softened or diced

2 cups cooked rice (2/3 cup before cooking)

1/2 bunch broccoli rabe (leaves, broccoli bits and thin stems only - toss the thick ones), coarsely chopped

1/3 cup chicken or vegetable broth or stock

2-3 cooked sausages, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds and casings removed

1/2 onion, diced

Salt and pepper

Cooking spray

Directions:

1. If you haven't cooked your rice, do so according to package directions. Ditto on the sausage.

2. Spray the inside of your crock pot insert with nonstick spray. In a large bowl, combine rice, sausage, broccoli rabe, garlic, salt and pepper, carrot, butter, broth and onion. (You might want to use your hands).

3. Cut the top out of the bell pepper, like you would a pumpkin. Discard seeds and pale inner membranes. If necessary, cut a thin slice off of the bottom so that the pepper stands up on its own. Spoon rice mixture into the pepper, pack until it's stuffed, and rest the lid on top. (I snapped my lid, by accident. Don't do that).

4. Place the pepper (or peppers) in the crock pot, and spoon remaining stuffing (or as much as possible) into the space around the pepper. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 2-3. Dinner is ready when the pepper (and optional carrot) are tender.
5. Carefully remove the pepper from the crock, and serve with extra stuffing on the side.

Here's the thing. This recipe probably makes enough stuffing for at least 3 peppers, and even with filling in the space around mine, I still had some left over. Not that I'm complaining, since I am the queen of the Leftover Lunch, but... full disclosure, if you're dining solo, have some Tupperware handy. I used chicken broth, so the stuffing was a lot like solid chicken soup (plus sausage), which was definitely not unwelcome.

 I feel like if you're using white rice, or another kind that cooks fairly quickly, you might be able to just cook it with the stuffing and not beforehand, with the addition of more broth or water. But I didn't try that soooo I can't promise you that that will work. As a matter of preference, when I use cooked sausages in dishes like this I like to remove the casing before adding them, just because I think sometimes they interfere with the texture, but that's totally up to you. 

You could make this deliciously Mexicaney using corn, black beans (canned or previously cooked), tomato, and some chorizo if you felt like it in with the rice, served with shredded cheese. Or you could use mushroom & barley risotto and pine nuts on top. Or big, soft garlic-bread croutons and shelled fava beans. Or shredded cheddar and broccoli. And now I'm giving myself a headache. You get the idea.

Chipotle Tempeh & Black Bean Burritos

In the wonderful world of meatless cooking, tempeh has the firmest, "meatiest" texture of everything I've tried so far. In Indonesia, It's traditionally been made of soy, but these days you can also find a multi grain version, which also sounds interesting and is perhaps a food for another post on another day. But if you're not familiar with it, like I wasn't, soy or grain, it will look pretty weird (brick-like) to you. Tofu and tempeh are both made from soy, but tempeh is far higher in protein (a beefy 22 g per serving!) as well as fiber and other good stuff. I think it would also be delicious when grilled or in a stir fry, so I'm excited to have discovered another do-anything-you-want-with-it ingredient. With more deceptive seasonings, I think you could serve these and nobody would know that there wasn't any meat involved.

 I crumbled my tempeh and marinated it in some spicy chipotle dressing that I had on hand. You could use something similar, like a store-bought dressing or just some oil, vinegar and spices, but I certainly recommend whipping up a batch of your own. If you're anything like me, once you do, you'll be putting it on everything under the sun. With all the toppings, this recipe makes about 4-6 servings:

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked brown rice

1 12 oz. package tempeh, crumbled (I used the brand Lightlife)

1 1/5 cups fully cooked black beans or 1 15 oz. can, rinsed and drained

1 13 1/2 oz. can tomatoes with green chilies or 2-3 plum tomatoes, diced and seeded, tossed with salt and pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder if you want (clearly this is the slapdash version that yours truly used)

If using fresh tomatoes instead of canned: 1/2 cup vegetable stock or broth

about 1/4 cup chipotle dressing

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

3 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped

multi-grain tortillas

Salt and pepper 

Olive oil

Your favorite toppings: Salsa, sour cream, guacamole, shredded lettuce, etc
(I used guacamole, taco cheese, and the tomato salsa mixture above)

Directions:

1. Toss your crumbled tempeh into a ziplock baggie with the chipotle dressing, or your oil-vinegar-spices marinade. Shake it up and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, or as long as all day. (It soaks it all up, it's amazing).

2. In a saucepan, prepare your brown rice according to the package directions.

3. In a large frying pan, heat about 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat, and cook the onion for about 5 minutes, or until transparent. Add garlic and cook for about 1 more minute, then add spices and salt.

4. Add tempeh and cook for about another 5 minutes, until it's lightly browned. Add black beans and canned tomatoes, if using, and let cook together for about 15 minutes. If you are using a fresh tomato mixture like I did, use it like a fresh salsa topping rather than cooking it with the beans, and instead add the vegetable broth at this time.

5. Spoon some brown rice into a tortilla, add the tempeh mixture and your toppings, and enjoy!

Assembly Phase 1

Phase 2: Fully assembled & super messy in the most delicious way

 These were definitely, definitely delicious, and I think that the chipotle marinade made a big impact on the final outcome. I didn't have any fresh cilantro on hand, but the cilantro in that dressing still came through. I was afraid they might be missing something without the canned tomato, but to my taste, I think this is even more tasty (and definitely more fresh-tasting) than the canned-version would have been. And don't get me wrong, I love tofu, but tempeh is much more "absorbent" when it comes to soaking up flavors. Combined with its substantial texture... What more could you want?

[And if you can find a decent quote about tempeh, I shall eat my hat.]

Black Bean Bowls with Brown Rice, Sweet Corn Salsa & Spicy Chipotle Dressing

If I had to choose a single favorite "fast food," it wouldn't be chicken nuggets, burgers, or even fresh, hot french fries. It would be just about anything from Chipotle. My main faves are the salad (usually with chicken) and burrito bowls, but the dressing is the thing I really crave. So tonight I thought I would try making a burrito bowl with black beans, a sweet corn and cherry-tomato salsa, and a chipotle dressing experiment all over brown rice.

 Altogether, you will need:

1 (dry) cup brown rice

1 can black or pinto beans, or about 3/4 cup dry, soaked overnight and cooked

1 cup fresh or frozen corn

1 cup fresh tomato, chopped and seeded

1 handful of fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

1 small can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (in the ethnic or Mexican food aisle)

1 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice, separated 

1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped 

1 teaspoon cumin

1 packet (about 1 teaspoon) of Truvia, Splenda, or white sugar (or an estimated 2 tsp brown sugar)

White, apple cider, red or rice wine vinegar

White and pale green part of 1 green onion, sliced

1 or 2 avocados for slicing, or guacamole

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Beans & Rice
The black beans are super simple. I soaked some dry beans in the fridge overnight, and crock-potted them all day long on low. If you use this method, be sure to allow enough room in the soaking container for the beans to expand up to 50%, and cover with about two inches of water. Be sure to rinse your beans after soaking, and replace the water before crocking, again making sure there is at least enough to cover the beans with an inch of water.  When they're done, drain and let cool, then combine with about half of your chopped cilantro. I'll be honest, though: I'm just guessing at the "3/4 cup" business. I always make much more black beans than I think I will use in a particular recipe, because I love having some around for quick and easy salads with some chopped bell pepper, onion, cilantro and lemon juice, or some other concoction. This is a lunchtime life-saver.

If you're using canned beans, just rinse them super thoroughly before adding your cilantro and a little drizzle of olive oil. The rice, also, will be super easy: Just cook it according to package directions, adding a little salt and pepper. I like to serve everything on top of the rice, but you can combine the rice and beans if you prefer. I personally think that the rice should be warm, but you can serve the beans either warm or chilled. This might be dictated by your schedule, which probably means you're a busy person, in which case, look at you, hotshot! Good for you for cooking anyway.

Corn & Tomato Salsa
This is a fantastic way to use leftover corn-on-the-cob. Tomatoes have much, much more flavor at room temperature, so take them out an hour or so before making the salsa. For this recipe, you can use fresh or frozen corn, with any sort of fresh tomato that you have handy. If you choose frozen corn, add about a cup to boiling water and cook it for about two minutes. Drain and refrigerate for 10 minutes to a couple of hours before adding the tomatoes, depending on what fits best for your schedule. Combine the corn with a cup of chopped, seeded tomatoes, the green onion, a little salt and pepper, a small drizzle of olive oil and the teaspoon of lemon juice. Refrigerated, this salad-ish salsa will keep for a few days, but is definitely best when fresh.

Finally, the Dressing!

This is the fun part of this meal. I had never cooked anything with chipotle peppers, or adobo sauce before, but they are definitely the key to this recipe. I hear you can buy minced peppers in adobo. I used whole, but since I made this in a food processor, it didn't really matter. If you don't have a food processor or a blender, minced peppers are the way to go. Just whisk together a minced clove of garlic (instead of chopped), a couple tablespoons of olive oil, some salt and pepper, a couple teaspoons of vinegar, the powdered sweetener or sugar, cumin, and about a tablespoon of pepper-and-sauce mixture. You should finely chop the cilantro if you are using this method.

Some of you may be thinking, "Why would you put sugar in this dressing? Isn't it supposed to be spicy?", to which I would answer "Because I said so," and "Yes." Just kidding. I wouldn't say "because I said so." But yes, it is supposed to be hot. The sugar or sweetener enhances the flavor by slightly de-emphasizing the heat of the peppers, letting you focus more on the delicious flavorfulness of it. Isn't that handy?

I scooped up two whole peppers and the sauce mixture that came along with them. In a food processor, I blended the same ingredients as listed above. It was spicy. A bit TOO spicy. So I quartered a cherry tomato, added that, and blended a bit more, just to counteract the heat of it. (I'm sure everybody knows this by now, but if you eat something uncomfortably spicy, don't drink water! Drink milk, or eat a tomato or bit of bread to get rid of that burning feeling). This is a taste-as-you-go recipe, for sure. If you want more heat, add more pepper and sauce, or if it's much too hot, add more fresh tomato to mellow it out. It will be equally tasty either way. Similarly, if it seems too thick to you, add a bit more oil and vinegar. If you have a very basic vinaigrette around, you could also cut it with that, but I wouldn't want to introduce any new herbs to the equation.

I assembled this dish by spooning some cooked brown rice into a pasta bowl (or, paradoxically, "soup plates"), followed by the beans, then the corn salsa. I served the dressing on the side, on the off chance that it would pool menacingly with the brown rice, creating tiny whole-gran firebombs. I also served guac on the side, at which point I really wished I'd gotten tortilla chips. No matter! Chips or no, guac is a delicious addition. You could also serve this with some sliced avocado. Our grocery store had avocados in two states this week: Rock and Mush, so instead we picked up an all-natural packaged guacamole.

There is rice under there somewhere...

This is super delicious. Awesomely delicious. Deliciously awesome. I would never ask that obnoxiously ignorant question, "What DO vegans eat, anyway?!" because I have some idea. But more than that, I can tell you, this is what they/you ought to be eating. Along with everybody else. You could add some grilled chicken if you felt like it, but this is completely nutritious, satisfying, and hearty just the way it is. I hope you'll try it!