Vegetarian Moroccan Stuffed Peppers

I have wanted to make stuffed peppers for a long time. I didn't want any greasy sausage or ground beef; my stomach is not tolerating fat at all right now. Instead, I wanted something healthy and filling for my peppers. I just made this up with different grains I needed to get rid of in my pantry and some of my favorite spices.

I started off with 1 cup of broth, kept an eye on the rice to make sure it was getting enough liquid. I ended up adding a little bit more, which eventually added up to 3/4 c more broth.

I made these in advance, around noon when my energy is at it's peak, then stuck them in the fridge til dinner time. It was really easy, which is really important for me. This whole week I have been incredibly sick, my symptoms have worsened, and I have to go back to the hospital for another colonoscopy. ugh.

Yellow Curry Sauce with Chicken

I love spicy food. I love curry. I love Trader Joe's Thai Yellow Curry Bottled sauce. I posted a recipe with it a long time ago, when my blog was new and my photo skills were poor because I was using my trusty canon point&shoot. That post is one of my top 5 most popular posts.

I figured there must be a way to make my own curry sauce so I went about creating one. It was actually pretty easy; it only took a few attempts to perfect. I'm not sure how "authentic" it is but it sure is tasty. It's a great sauce and for vegetarians and vegans, tofu can easily be used instead of chicken, and veggie broth could be used instead of chicken stock.

Homemade Granola Bars

I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for awhile. I really like the idea of making my own granola bars. I’ve been on a muesli kick for awhile now, and decided it was time to make some granola. I usually keep granola bars in my purse when I have to go to the hospital for doctor appointments and tests, since I’m usually sitting around forever, waiting. I’m in love with the white chocolate macadamia Luna bars. These homemade bars are a much healthier option. I suppose I could have added some melted chocolate to these, but they are so good on their own. They remind me of the Two Moms in the Raw bars they sell at Starbucks and Nordstrom’s snack bar, I love the gojiberry one. Have you ever had one of these bars? They are delicious, and I'm so glad my granola bars taste very similar to them.

I'm glad to have another product that I can now make myself so I don't have to buy a prepacked version. Can you tell I'm obsessed about controlling what goes in my food? When you have abdominal issues, this becomes a must.

Another plus is how easy these are to make. I haven't had much energy the past couple weeks, but these came together rather quickly. These bars were plenty sweet for me, since I don't eat much sugar, but if you like things sweet I'd stir in more (up to 1/4 c brown sugar). I sprinkled brown sugar on top to give the tops of the bars a bit of a sweet, sugar crunch.

Cranberry Nut Quinoa Salad

I have a bunch of quinoa I need to eat. I would, for some reason, buy quinoa each trip to the grocery store, forgetting I already had some. This happened for about 3 consecutive trips. I don’t have any excuse for this, other than quinoa sounded good when I saw it on the grocery store shelf, then I’d go home and discover I already had some in the pantry—oops. Desperate to use some of it, I tried to make looking for interesting quinoa recipes. I came across this recipe someone gave me last year during my gluten free/vegan elimination diet phase.

For a recipe with few ingredients this was so good. I served it in roasted acorn squash “bowls.” The quinoa was just as delicious for lunch the next day minus the squash. I love just about anything that includes balsamic vinegar.

This would be a nice, different side dish for Thanksgiving. Speaking of Thanksgiving, I can't believe it's this week! I thought I had another week to prepare and plan. This is going to be a busy week in the kitchen. Is anyone else freaking out about Thanksgiving dinner?