Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

I struggle to find new foods to tantalize my palate and make me feel full and fulfilled in the cold Fall and Winter months. I have always wanted to try stuffed peppers, but they looked like a lot of work and kind of messy. I must've been feeling adventurous the other day (or just really starving) and happened to have the ingredients on hand so I went for it. I peeked at some random recipes online and then tweaked a few to fit my unique dietary needs. The result was a delicious comfort food that even my husband enjoyed. I included cheese in the recipe because I used it in my husband's peppers, but you can omit the dairy or anything else you cannot tolerate. Or you can add onions, tomatoes, and whatever else you like, if you are able to enjoy those foods. Just add them by the half cup full or so. Now give these babies a try. They are very tasty and healthy! 

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 ribs celery, finely chopped

1 teaspoon garlic

1 8-oz package mushrooms, stems removed , caps sliced very thin

3 large carrots, grated

1 14.5-oz can homemade chicken stock or store bought; if can tolerate 

3/4 cups quinoa

1 15-oz can black beans 

1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed

1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese (omit if dairy free), 1/2 cup reserved

Salt and pepper to taste 

4 large bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs removed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. 

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add celery and sauté until soft, about 5 mins. Stir in garlic and mushrooms and cook until soft, about 1 minute. Stir in carrots, vegetable broth, and quinoa. Cover and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. Remove from heat and stir in black beans, corn, and 1 cup cheese (if using cheese). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Fill bottom of baking dish with about 1/2 inch water. Fill each bell pepper with 3/4 cup quinoa mixture and place in baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 40 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle each pepper with 1 tablespoon of reserved cheese (if using). Bake 15 minutes more or until tops of peppers are browned. Let stand 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy. 

Homemade Crockpot Chicken Stock - Intersitial Cystitis Friendly

Soup is a Fall/Winter staple. Comfort food at its finest, warm to the bones on those cold winter nights, and healing to the body on those sick days. However, nearly all of the prepared canned or boxed soups from the store are not IC friendly. Good thing a yummy soup stock is easy to create and tweak into something we IC-ers can enjoy. Just throw everything into a crockpot and go about your day. I recently made a whole chicken so not only did I have dinner for a couple of days, but then I used the chicken carcass to make my stock. I definitely recommend doing it this way- two birds, one stone. If you're looking for an IC friendly crockpot roasted chicken recipe, check out my Instagram. It's so easy! Just throw a whole chicken in your crockpot with a little water, top with all of your favorite seasonings, and let your crockpot do its thing. Easy peasy lemon squeezy... okay, maybe not lemon. Our bladders wouldn't like that. ;) Now get that crockpot out, do yourself a favor, and make this. Trust me, you'll thank yourself. Hello, easy Fall comfort food!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Homemade Crockpot Chicken Stock

Yield: Makes about 2 quarts of stock.

Ingredients:

Leftover bones and skin from a cooked or raw chicken carcass

4 stalks celery, chopped to fit in crockpot

1/2 small onion, if can tolerate

4 carrots, chopped to fit in crockpot

2 tablespoons parsley

2 tablespoons oregano

2 tablespoons basil

1 teaspoon garlic

1 teaspoon thyme

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

6-8 cups water

 

Directions:
Put leftover bones and skin from a chicken carcass into a crockpot and cover with cold water. Add veggies and seasonings. Cook on low heat 8-10 hours. Remove the bones and strain the stock. Store in refrigerator overnight. Skim fat from top once cooled (I have skipped this step and it really didn't bother me to have the extra fat on top, it reheats and blends in just fine). You can then use within a few days or freeze for a few months. Again, feel free to omit or add anything you like. Enjoy!


Xx, A!

Tomato Free Red Sauce

This is a recipe I've been wanting to toy around with for some time, but wasn't sure how easy it would be. But I miss pizza, spaghetti, and all of the other red sauce dishes off limits to us IC-ers so much so that I finally just went for it. It ended up being pretty tasty and hit the spot - especially on my homemade pizza the other night. I originally saw a similar recipe on a site and based mine off of similar ingredients, but couldn't use the recipe itself since it contained vinegar and lemon juice. Ouch! I have also seen a recipe on the IC Network site that I plan to try next time and compare the two. Always nice to have a few options with this diet restricted lifestyle. Hopefully, this hits the spot for some of you and makes you realize where there's a will there's a way! :)

Tomato Free Red Sauce

Feel free to omit anything you cannot tolerate or add anything you think would replace or enhance it. :) 

1/2 t garlic powder 

1 cup carrots cut into 1/2 inch pieces 

2 small sweet potatoes

Salt to taste 

Pepper to taste (if can tolerate)

1 red bell pepper

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 T dried basil

1 T dried oregano

1 t parsley

In large sauce pan sauté garlic, carrots, sweet potatoes, red bell pepper, salt, and pepper in a little olive oil about 5 mins. Add water to just barely cover vegetables and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer (covered) about 20 mins until veggies are soft. Blend contents in blender with olive oil until smooth. Return to sauce pan, add herbs, and simmer for about 5-10 mins. 

Enjoy on everything. :)

XX, A!

Becoming the 12th Man and Our Anniversary

We were lucky enough to attend the Seahawks vs. 49ers game in Seattle a few weeks ago to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary and the 12th Man did not disappoint. It was my first pro football game and I was a little apprehensive that it might be too rowdy for me. After all, it was the night where the 12th Man was attempting to break the world record for the loudest fans in a stadium, ever. And yes - we did!

Let's just say, this trip was an adventure from the ride up, to finding drugs in our hotel room, to thunder and lightening at the game, to the late night arrival in Ellensburg Sunday, to finally coming home sick on Monday. I think the long weekend and weather caught up with me. In addition to being in the rain capitol of the world, on Friday we were in Pendleton, OR for the Pendleton Roundup and it was 96 degrees. The next day we were in 60 degree Seattle. No wonder I got sick. And am still sick. Regardless, it was an adventure with my love and a great way to say "Hurray" to 5 years marriage!

Here are a few memories we shared:

I was almost a Southern Bell

This Summer we were offered a great opportunity to move to the South. Greenville, SC to be exact. For those who don't know, Jeremiah worked for Fluor Government Group and the group he worked for (and their headquarters) are located there. Over the years, he traveled to Greenville several times and the invitation to move was always extended. However, it was never something we wanted, despite the financial benefits. But this Summer Fluor decided to close all of its Richland offices as of the end of September 2013 and offered relocation packages to a select few. Jeremiah being one, of course. The retention offer and benefits of moving were very enticing. And most would have gone without hesitation. But we have other priorities and values in our lives. We love that both of our families are here and we want to raise our babies with family near them. Also, my health issues make me apprehensive to move away from my doctors and support system. So while we really do love Greenville and the opportunity presented was great, we knew we needed to pray.

We went ahead and accepted the position to move (just in case), but knew God would take care of us no matter what we ended up doing. Well, it had barely been a week when out of the blue Jeremiah got a call from another company who wanted to interview him for a job. Apparently, another co-worker interviewing for a different position mentioned his name to the company who had been seeking to find a new analyst for months. Talk about a God thing! Within a couple of weeks Jeremiah interviewed and was offered a position at a very competitive rate to what Fluor had offered. We accepted and Jeremiah shared the news with Fluor, where they were very understanding. They knew his reasons for not relocating before and were sad to see him go, but respected his decision.

I know it wasn't easy for Jeremiah to leave the co-workers and position he held with Fluor and give up the financial benefits of moving, but I am so thankful he values my opinion/wants/needs and is on the same page with me and what we want in life. I am also thankful for the new opportunity awarded to Jeremiah and what appears to be a better/healthier work schedule and stress level with the new position. I pray this job brings him happiness and success and he can be an equal blessing to his new employer at Energy Northwest! So proud of my hubby! He has made quite a name and impression for himself in the MIS world and co-workers from Fluor have already called for help in the past few weeks. Another even called to tell him he quit to move to a new position with a better work/life balance.

All the glory to God! He's real and He works for your good! :)

XX!

Rebecca - Senior Session

I recently had the opportunity to take senior photos for my niece Rebecca at their beautiful property in Finley. This meant open fields, horses, hay, streams, bicycles, and cowboy boots. We even got her boyfriend in on a few shots. Oh young love. :)The sun could not have been more perfect and the photos turned out like a dream. Rebecca is a gorgeous young woman with a bright future ahead of her. She is full of spunk, fearlessness, and kindness and can rock a dress and shotgun at the same time. Love this girl! Congrats and enjoy your senior year, Becca!

5 Year Honeymoon

This past August we celebrated 5 years of wedded bliss. Or as Jeremiah's favorite joke goes, 3 years happily married. 5 total. Hardy har har, Mr. Atkins. I cannot believe we have been married five years! It seems like it was just yesterday Jeremiah was bringing Lil' Jackie cat treats to steal my heart and taking me on wild and crazy trips to woo me. It all worked and I'm glad it did. Being married is the most meaningful adventure I've ever been on and one of the most awesome experiences in life. Even for all you marriage haters (I know I was there) I recommend it. ;)

For our anniversary, we originally planned to go to the San Juans, but that quickly changed when I decided I wanted to go to a Seahawks game instead. And Jeremiah being the awesome guy he is, bought me tickets for our anniversary. Lets try and forget about the 500% mark up on Stubhub we had to pay. Yikes! We still planned to do a weekend or day trip on our actual anniversary, as well. However, we are in the middle of a serious indoor remodel of our home and when the weekend came upon us we both looked at each other exhausted and had no desire to do anything. Haha. We both just wanted to stay home, keep working on the house, and get some sleep. So not like us! We love to get away and use every celebration as an opportunity to do so. So you know we were tired! It was nice to know neither one of us was letting the other down by not wanting to go. So Jeremiah got his Swiss Army Victorinox watch he'd been eyeing for a while and I got my game. So excited we still have that to look forward. It will be the perfect celebration of the place we got engaged and a welcome to Fall. 

Xx!