Töltött paprika/Stuffed Peppers (Hungary), by Cheryl

Not a traditional looking hungarian stuffed pepper. 

Hungary is next on my world cuisine theme! I've been wanting to make stuffed peppers for a while. So when I came across an easy stuffed pepper recipe in my research of Hungarian recipes I decided to go for it! I didn't follow the recipe to a tee and modified it to fit our tastes and needs for dinner that night - I used quinoa instead of rice, beef instead of pork, and used a plain basic tomato sauce with diced carrots, celery, and onions instead of a tomato juice/celery/butter sauce. I mixed the tomato sauce in with the beef and quinoa so my dish isn't actually in the juice and sauce like a traditional Hungarian stuffed pepper. I also topped it with cheese because... cheese. This was sooooo good and I will definitely be making it again! Yum!

Ingredients (Original recipe from here):

8 medium bell peppers
1 medium onion
4 tsp oil
1/2 cup rice (I used quinoa)
salt
5 cups ground pork (I used a lb ground beef)
pepper

Sauce:

4.5 cups tomato juice
celery leaves
3 tbsp flour
1-2 tsp sugar

Directions:

1) Hollow out the peppers. Finely chop a quarter of an onion and saute in hot oil. Add the rice with a little salt and cover with water. When cooked, set aside to cool.

2) Add the ground pork to the rice then season with salt and pepper. Fill the peppers with the meat mixture. Bring the tomato juice to a boil and pour around the stuffed peppers. Add the remaining onions and celery leaves. Cover and finish cooking over medium heat, about 50 minutes (I cooked the meat on the stove and then baked in the oven for 30 minutes at 350).

3) Remove the peppers from the tomato liquid and discard the celery leaves and onion. Add flour to the hot butter, stirring continuously until it turns golden. Use to thicken the tomato juice. Season with sugar.

4) Return the stuffed peppers to the sauce and let set for 10 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Spanakopita (Greece), by Cheryl

As you can see I had trouble. But the middle one looks good! 

Mmm... these were quite tasty. But I do have to say that I refuse to work with phyllo dough for a very very long time. What a pain, haha. If I ever do make these again I will use more layers than just one when folding the triangles. I did this for a few at the end because I was frustrated and they turned out better than my earlier tries. Nonetheless, they were really tasty and if someone else folds them then I will gladly make them again! Yum!

Ingredients (recipe from the Food Network :

1/3 cup olive oil
2 pounds spinach, drained and washed (I did half kale, half spinach)
1 bunch scallions, white and green parts, chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
salt and pepper
1/2 pound feta cheese, crumbled
1-2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 sticks butter, melted (didn't use anywhere close to that, maybe 1/4 stick?)
filo pastry sheets

Directions:

1) Heat some oil in a pan and saute spinach until it wilts. Remove spinach and get rid of excess water. Chop roughly.

2) Cook scallions with a tablespoon of oil, and saute until soft, maybe 2-3 minutes. Add the spinach, parsley, salt, and pepper, and cook over low heat for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

3) Stir the feta and as much of the beaten egg to moisten the cooled spinach mixture.

4) Preheat the oven to 350. Brush a baking sheet with some melted butter.

5) Unroll the filo dough on a flat surface and keep it covered with waxed paper and a damp towel so it doesn't dry out and become brittle. Using a sharp knife, cut the filo into 3 by 11 inch strips, and recover with the towel. Use a pastry brush to brush a strip of filo with melted butter. Place a small spoonful of spinach filling 1 inch from the end of the pastry. Fold the end over the filling to form a triangle, then continue to fold up the strip in triangles, like folding up a flag. Continue with remaining strips of dough, placing filled triangles on the baking sheet and keeping them covered with a towel until all are ready to bake.

6) Brush the triangles lightly with butter, then bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot. 

Apple Cinnamon Energy Bars, by Cheryl

I was looking to make some granola or energy bars when Jon came across this recipe. There are healthy and clean bars to buy out there, but they can be pricy and it's always fun to try to make your own! These bars have minimal ingredients, all which are readily available anywhere. I would definitely make these again, but the only thing is that they came out just a touch dry. Any suggestions as to what I can do to make them a little more moist? I followed the recipe exactly, but mine don't look as thick as hers do in the picture so maybe they didn't need as much cooking time. I also used a bigger pan so that could be the reason they were thinner and didn't need to cook as much. I'll try again next time since these are great! Yum!

Ingredients:

2 cups pecans
2 cups rolled oats
1.5 halved and pitted dates
2 cups chopped granny smith apples
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350.

2) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and spread pecans and oats onto it in a single flat layer. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until toasted and fragrant.

3) Keep the oven preheated and line a pan with parchment paper.

4) Place the toasted nuts and oats in a food processor along with the dates, cinnamon, and salt. Process until the mixture is coarse and crumbly, with no large pieces remaining. Add the chopped apple, and pulse in until there are no more large chunks left. Continue to process until everything starts to clump together, using a spatula to help move things around. This process may move slowly, but eventually everything will come together.

5) Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan, using a wide flat spatula to pat it down into a flat compact layer that takes up the entire space of the pan. The bars will look exactly the same once they come out of the oven.

6) Bake for 20 minutes. Cool for 10-15 minutes and then slice into bars. Once completely cool lift out of the pan. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Asian Pear Green Juice, by Diane

This juice was born when I bought a giant crate of asian pears and didn't know what to do with all of them. Asian pears are a cross between an apple and a pear, and are juicy and crunchy and soooo good! I created this recipe to highlight the taste of this amazing fruit, and the result is delicious, slightly sweet, and very hydrating and healthy!

Ingredients:

1 large asian pear
1/2 inch ginger
3 large leaves kale, stems included
3 celery stalks
1/2 lemon, peel removed


Directions:

Juice in the above order and enjoy fresh!