Vegetarian Jambalaya Stuffed Red Peppers Casserole #secretrecipeclub

Today is a special and sad Monday. It's the first Monday of the month and that means time for the Secret Recipe Club reveal.  This posting though is special as November is the last month for the Secret Recipe Club.  I have been a member now for several years and I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the new bloggers and recipes I became familiar with by joining this endeavor. 

I was assigned Susan of The Wimpy Vegetarian.  She has been a member longer than I and I have longed over some of her recipes in the past years.  I was happy to see I would be able to make a recipe of my own. 

After much searching I found this recipe for Vegetarian Jambalaya Stuffed Red Pepper Casserole. As you can guess from the title of Susan's blog and the recipe name Susan makes vegetarian dishes. Although my husband would rather not have a vegetarian meal, Susan's blog is very accessible with very hardy dishes.  She also adds tips for 
how to add meat to most. 

There was no need to add any meat to this very filling, flavor packed rice and bean mixture.  The extra bonus was little cubes of corn bread throughout.  Super delicious! Miss O ate it all up and gave her approval with a grin and classic "More, more."

Secret Recipe Club, it has been fun.  Thanks for a great journey and many delicious meals and desserts. 

Vegetarian Jambalaya Stuffed Red Peppers Casserole

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 65 minutes

Keywords: bake entree vegetarian

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Ingredients (serves 4)

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup diced yellow onion
• ¾ cup diced green pepper
• 2 Tbsp finely diced jalapeño pepper (1/2 pepper)
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup diced Roma tomatoes (4 Romas)
• 1 package Zatarain’s New Orleans Style Jambalaya Mix - Original
• 1½ cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup cooked red beans
• 4 cut out circles corn bread to top peppers, plus 1 cup cut into ¾-inch cubes
• 4 red peppers
• ½ cup coarsely grated cheddar cheese (I used Cabot)
• Chopped parsley

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375˚F.

Warm the olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the diced celery, onion, green pepper, jalapeño, and salt. Sauté until fragrant and softened, about 7 - 10 minutes.

Add the diced tomatoes, plus the contents of 1 package of Zatarain's Jambalaya Mix, cooked, and broth. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the rice is tender. Stir in the beans, and carefully fold in the cubes of cornbread, keeping them intact.

Carve out the stems of the red peppers using a sharp knife, and remove the seeds, creating a large enough opening in the tops of the red peppers to allow for easy stuffing. Place in a baking dish.

Spoon the stuffing into the peppers, filling them to the top. Spread the remaining stuffing around them in the baking dish.

Top each of the stuffed peppers with 1 tablespoon of cheddar cheese, tent loosely with foil, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil, and place each of the cornbread circles on top of each stuffed pepper. (Each of my cornbread disks were about ¾-inch thick.) Top each cornbread disk with 1 tablespoon cheddar cheese. Tent loosely with foil, and bake about 15 minutes, or until the red peppers are cooked.

Remove the foil, using a sharp knife to gently pry it off any of the cheese, and sprinkle with a little parsley. Serve hot.

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Hash Brown Sausage Egg Bake Casserole

A hearty casserole of potato, sausage, egg, and cheese. Sure to make everyone's morning a bit more delicious.

I am here today with another casserole.  Sorry I couldn't have given you a heads up yesterday. Mondays are hectic for us. And this casserole is going to save us from making breakfast a big to do this morning.    

Although this casserole is a cinch to put together it does time a while to cook.  I recommend enjoying a piece of this casserole on the weekend for a leisurely brunch and then taking advantage of the leftovers during the week. Of course you could make this as a crowd pleaser for Easter. We might be doing just that ourselves. 

You can make mix all of the ingredients together the night before or wait till morning. Either way the longest part is cooking the sausage. We enjoy a good breakfast and this Hash Brown Sausage Egg Bake Casserole does not disappoint. I stopped myself from eating more purely to have some left for Monday. 

Not a sausage fan? Don't forget about bacon. You can easily switch out the sausage for some bacon. 

Hash Brown Sausage Egg Bake Casserole

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Keywords: bake breakfast egg sausage potatoes

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Ingredients (serves 8)

• 1 package (30 ounces) frozen cubed hash brown potatoes, thawed
• 1 pound sausage, cooked and crumbled
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• Paprika

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine the hash browns, sausage, 1/2 cup cheese and salt. Spoon into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. In another large bowl, beat eggs and milk until blended; pour over hash brown mixture. Sprinkle with paprika.

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

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Bartenhagen Chicken or Creamy Chicken and Rice Bake

Not to be too cliché but boy does time fly with a newborn. Was Easter only last week?  My mom came Sunday night and has been here all week. She has been a big help. We cleaned and organized some thing that have been sitting around for weeks (before Olivia arrived) and were really starting to bother me.  Even with the extra hands though the days have flown by and I feel like haven't gotten nearly as much done as I would have expected.  Extra snuggle time is OK with me though. 

One of the things she has been in charge of this week is dinners and dishes.  One of the meals she made wasn't something I was going to post because it is pure comfort food and requires a lot of bake time.  Not a dish I would think one needs mid April however the weather has not been cooperating. At least we haven't had snow.

Bartenhagen chicken is a family name and I am not really sure what else to call it...Creamy chicken and rice bake?  It comes from way back when in Iowa.  A good old church cookbook recipe.  Those recipes are tried and true, feed a crowd, and never seem to turn out badly. 

This is not a health food but warms the belly and the soul. You can put it in the oven with under 10 minutes of prep time and after slow cook in the oven dinner can be on the table.  My mom loaded this serving up with tons of chicken but you can vary the amounts and cuts based on your own needs. 

Bartenhagen Chicken

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours

Keywords: bake entree chicken rice winter

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Ingredients (serves 6-8)

• 1 cup rice (white or brown)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 1/4 milk
• 6-8 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken (I use a combination chicken thighs and breast.)
• 1 packaged dried onion soup mix

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9 X 13 baking dish with cooking oil.

In large bowl mix together milk, cans of soup and rice until combined. Pour into prepared baking dish.

Place chicken, spaced evenly into rice mixture. Tops of the chicken will still be showing.

Sprinkle the dried onion soup mix evenly across the top of all the chicken and rice mixture.

Cover with foil and bake for 2.5 to 3 hours. Rice will be soft and liquids will be bubbling. Cool slightly before serving.

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Skinny Turkey Cheeseburger Pasta Bake

We had a few teaser days of warmer weather but it looks like winter is going to stick around for a bit longer. I am heading into the next storm with a short but seemingly long trip to Syracuse, NY tomorrow. They are under winter storm warnings. Yuck, yuck, yuck!

I needed some comfort food to prepare me for such things.  This pasta bake is packed full of all the flavors of a mustard-y cheese burger.

You cook the onions, garlic and turkey together before adding the tomatoes and mustard. Toss everything together with pasta and top with cheese. I would like to find the person who does not think this is delicious.

This recipe makes quite a bit. We shared this with our visitor on Sunday night and still had plenty for leftovers. The extra heats up well for a handy lunch.

And can we just pause a moment to say it sucks waking up in the dark again but I took these pictures at 6:30pm and it was still bright and sunny. Now if only it would come with warmer temperatures and no more snow.

Skinny Turkey Cheeseburger Pasta Bake

by Emily Morris, Adpated from Skinnytaste

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

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Ingredients (serves 6)

• 2 cups (6 oz) uncooked rotini pasta
• 2 tsp oil
• 1 1/2 cups onions, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 28 oz diced tomatoes
• 2 tbsp Dijon Mustard
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta according to the package directions for al dente and drain well, about 10 minutes.

In a large oven safe skillet, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

Stir in the turkey and cook until browned; season with salt and pepper.

Stir in the tomato paste, then add the tomatoes and mustard. Let the mixture bubble gently until it is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.

Toss the pasta into the meat mixture and combine well. Top with the cheddar and bake until the cheese is melted, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle the chopped scallions over the top and serve.

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Happy Birthday Dad!

Dear Dad, 

Today is your birthday.  It is a big one too. You know how I like to celebrate birthdays and it pains me that we are so very far away today.  

In order to honor you on this special day I decided to make one of your favorite meals.  A meal that apparently you were denied having for all 18 21 22 years of my living at home (maybe a few more, I heard the other child didn't like it much either). 

I hope you don't mind me making it now.  It was really more for Mr. J than me although I did try some.  To be honest I had every intent of using sweet potato tater tots only I couldn't find them in the store.  The cream of mushroom soup was organic. I am pretty sure Mom never used organic soup in her version.  Of all tater tot casseroles, this would be my casserole.  Next year though I might just stick to carrot cake. 

Cheers to you on this special day!  

Happy Birthday!

We love you.

Skillet Tater Tot Casserole

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Keywords: bake entree American 

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Ingredients (serves 6)

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 Package frozen tater tots
• salt and pepper

Instructions

In an oven safe saute pan season ground beef with salt, pepper, and garlic. Begin to cook meat, add onion and saute until softened. Mix in the soup with the beef.

Cover the top with frozen tater tots.

Bake dish at 350 degrees for 40 min until the taters are brown.

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Cajun Shrimp and Rice Casserole

When I received a sample of Texmati® Brown Rice and was asked to make a cultural dish all sorts of ideas came to mind. 

I am a huge fan of ethnic cuisines and the hotter, spicier dishes the better. Initially I had some ideas of spicy Thai dishes.  I then thought of all of the wonderful Mexican dish I could make.  Burritos anyone?

But with a little internet searching I soon came up with this Cajun dish. Shrimp and rice casserole by Jenna.  Cajun is definitely its own culture.  A culture I hope to explore one day in person.

Until then I will just have to live through this casserole.  This recipe is super easy and super flavorful.  Throw all of the ingredients into a bowl, mix together, and then pour into a buttered baking dish.  The brown rice puffs up absorbing all of the liquid ingredients.

The original recipe calls for white rice but the Texmati® Brown Rice holds the flavor without adding any distinct brown rice taste.  My husband, always the picky eater, didn't even know it was brown rice. 

Now we just need some beignets.

Cajun Shrimp and Rice Casserole

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 60 minutes

Keywords: bake entree shrimp rice

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Ingredients (serves 6)

• 1 1/2 lbs raw shrimp, deveined with shells and tails off
• 2 cups Texmati® Brown Rice
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1 can (10.75 oz) Campbell’s Cream of Celery soup
• 1 can (10.75 oz) Campbell’s Cream of Chicken soup
• 1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes & green chilies
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place the butter in a 12 x 9″ casserole dish and place dish in the oven so the butter melts. After the butter has melted at the bottom of the dish, remove from oven but keep oven on.

In a large bowl, combine the shrimp, raw rice (do not cook first), cream of celery soup, cream of chicken soup, tomatoes, diced yellow onion, diced green pepper, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine.

Pour mixture over the melted butter. Cover dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, stir well.

Re-cover dish and cook for an additional 20 minutes. Remove and add bread crumbs.

Re-cover and cook for a final 10 minutes, the rice should be fluffy and have absorbed all liquid.

Serve warm.

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As part of the DailyBuzz Food Tastemaker Program, I received a free sample of RiceSelect Texmati Brown Rice although the opinions expressed in this blog post are my own. 

This post is brought to you by Rice Select.

Spinach and Cheese Quinoa Casserole

The planets just align in a perfect way at times when you couldn't have wished for a better coincidence.  Right around the time when I was trying to find good, hearty, meatless dinners for Mr. J and I Jenna posted this wonderful Spinach and Cheese Quinoa Casserole recipe.

Think Mac & Cheese made with quinoa.  The casserole is even more healthy with a dose of spinach, red pepper and onion.  Red peppers happened to be on sale for $.99.  Yes, the planets were in perfect alignment.

Did I mention yet it is super easy?

I made the dish itself in the morning before work and then just had Mr. J through it in the oven at night.  Team effort.  The only question here is who does the dishes.  Mr. J claimed he made dinner since he was the last one in the kitchen. Dishes were left to me.

Now this picture isn't as pretty but we took the leftovers and made stuffed peppers.  I had gotten a bag of green peppers at the store and suddenly it was green peppers every night for dinner.  Well, if you roast them for 20 minutes and then stuff with this yummy quinoa mixture you have a second dinner that is just as fabulous as the first. 

This time around Mr. J insisted on some protein with a fried egg.  Little does he know quinoa is a miracle grain that happens to be a complete protein as well. 


Go check out Spinach and Cheese Quinoa Casserole.