What traditions have you not kept that your parents had?
I am Arabic – my mother and her side of the family are 100%, and I grew up being exposed to Syrian food. They would serve different varieties and while I remember some of the names, I recall the phonetic sound more than the actual proper spellings.
I remember the smell of sausages, spices and pine nuts cooking in the oven, the texture of cabbage rolls, rolling grape leaves and seeing the diagonal lines of one special meat dish cut into diamond shapes.
This type of food (and some other non-Arabic foods) were not a favorite of mine…so I have not personally carried this food tradition onto my family. Although, I do have to include here that I did and do enjoy some Syrian foods such as Syrian String Cheese served with Nigella Black Seeds (very salty but so delicious!) The other Syrian food I love is fresh baked breads like thin bread, sesame seed bread, “pita” style bread, etc – they are so, so, so delicious!
But now onto the recipe! The other night, I realized I was out of meat and poultry, I was unprepared and had no idea what I was going to make for dinner. I needed to think quickly about what to serve my family. I knew that some type of bean would be something I could use and rice as well. When I chose rice, peppers & onions as my vegetable – I knew what I would make ~ Skillet ‘Stuffed’ Peppers (deconstructed).
Stuffed Peppers was something that my family made as a child, but I remembered not liking it. So I decided to take the idea and make it ‘my own.’ The outcome was so good! This cheesy, delicious recipe changed my mind. It is even kid approved and we are having it again this week!
If you’ve read my recipes before, I typically eyeball things, so here we go – enJOY!
SKILLET ‘STUFFED’ PEPPERS (deconstructed)
Olive Oil
Chicken Broth ~ 4 Cups
Tomato Sauce ~ I used 2 cups of tomato pasta sauce I had on hand.
Red Lentils, Dry ~ 1 Cup
Red, Green, & Yellow Peppers, and Onions ~ 3 peppers, 4-5 small onions (see below)
White Rice ~ 2 Cups Uncooked
Seasonings ~ Paprika, Minced Garlic, Garlic Powder, Celery Salt & Salt and Hot Sauce to taste.
Cheese ~ 1 Cup of Each (or more!) Shredded Sharp Cheddar & Mozzarella
Pre-heat your oven to 350-400 degrees (oven temperatures may vary)
Add your lentils along with 3 cups of water to a pot. Boil & simmer for 15 minutes or so until tender. (You can omit lentils, however they do add protein and more depth. If you cook them well enough they will be hard to detect and blend in with the rice.)
Cook your white rice in Chicken Broth in a pot.
Sauté peppers & onions together in a skillet with olive oil and 1-2 tablespoons of minced garlic. (I used 2 bags of a frozen tri-color pepper & onion medley I had on hand, but I also added 3 fresh sautéed carmelized onions for extra bold flavor. Use what you have.)
Set 1 cup cooked veggies aside for use later.
Combine your rice & lentil mixture together, along with tomato sauce & season generously with seasoning list above. Add mixture to your iron skillet and stir again so your peppers and onions are incorporated.
Sprinkle a generous amount of shredded cheddar & mozzarella cheeses on top of your skillet mixture. This combo of cheese gives such a great flavor! Now add the remaining 1 cup of sautéed peppers & onions on top of the cheese layer. (Sprinkle extra dry seasonings on top if you’d like.)
Put your oven safe skillet in your heated oven, on top rack until cheese is bubbly with a light brown crust on top – oven times vary – so just keep an eye on it.
Remove skillet from oven, and let sit for 5 minutes or so. Serve, give thanks, eat & enJOY!
Let Us Not Grow Weary 