Week #1 of Kendra's Cooking Challenge : Chicken and White Bean Stuffed Peppers and Lemon Dream Fruit Salad

After looking at about a million recipes I came across a few that I thought were easy enough to begin my challenge with.  I didn't want to start out too difficult and then become discouraged and quit.  I have never had stuff peppers before, so I actually didn't know what people usually serve with them.  I went to Google for the answer and many people commented that a good fruit salad is often the way to go.  I thought it was a little bit of an odd combination, but didn't have any better ideas so went with it.

Chicken and White Bean Stuffed Peppers (www.skinnytaste.com)


Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 red bell peper, chopped
• 1/4 cup parsley (or cilantro)
• 5 bell peppers (red or green)
• 14 oz shredded chicken
• Cumin
• Salt
• 15.5 oz can white beans
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar

In a medium pan, heat oil on medium heat.  Add chopped onions, garlic, parsley, and red peppers. Saute until soft, about a minute.

Add chicken and season with cumin and salt... for our family I just kept one side of the pan with stuff that included the chicken and the other side without. That way Dan could have his meat and I could have just  have my vegetarian option.  It ended up being a pain as the recipe progressed.

Add beans and 1 to 1-1/2 cups of water and simmer for about 5-10 minutes, until it thickens and the liquid reduces.  Adjust spices to taste.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut peppers in half removing seeds and stem. Place peppers in an oven-proof dish.  Fill each pepper with 1/3 cup of chicken and bean mixture. Pour about 1/3 cup water on the bottom of dish.

Cover tight with foil. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove foil, top with cheese and bake uncovered another 5 minutes.

Enjoy! 

Lemon Dream Fruit Salad (www.bettycrocker.com)


Ingredients

• 11 oz can Mandarin Oranges (drained)
• 8 oz can pineapple chunks (drained)
• 2 babanas, halved lenthwise, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1/4 cup halved marashino cherries (drained)
• 1 container (6 oz) Yoplait Thick & Creamy Lemon Supreme Yogurt

Pour all ingredients into a large bowl and mix well.  Refridgerate until ready to serve!

On a scale from 1 to 10.  10 being the all time best meal I have ever fixed Dan... Dan rated this a 7.  I don't think that's too bad, do you?