Date Night Dinners - The Trifecta

11/08/2013 tringel 0 Comments

So Brenden and I may have gotten a little over zealous with this weeks dinner...but it was well worth the effort. Everything was delicious! And, I know I say something along those lines every week, but for real guys, this meal was just to die for. The aroma alone that surrounded us as we were cooking was almost enough to call a satisfying meal. I thought it was too good to be true, but then I took a bite and OMG, words cannot even describe it. So I took another bite and another and all of a sudden half the food was gone! And believe me, that was quite a triumph as we pretty much made enough to feed an army. Let me tell you, we definitely did not know what we were getting ourselves into. Good thing my parents were around this week to help us dig in, and I am learning to love left overs, because there are some left overs for sure!

We had preplanned to make a I recipe for stuffed peppers that I had found one day while perusing the internet. But of course when it came to the day before date night we decided we wanted something to go with it. The original recipe seemed easy enough that adding another simple dish or appetizer would be no big deal. In fact, we thought it was so simple, we decided to add two more dishes, because after all what is a date night with out some extravagance once in a while? Well, while all three recipes were simple, they still took a while. (One of the recipes had a link to a second recipe for preparing an ingredients, so technically we made four dishes?) Even though they did take some time,  with the two of us teaming up in the kitchen the timing of everything worked out perfectly, and our bellies were just the right kind of hungry and ready to eat by the time all of the dishes were done. Next time (or for any of you who want to take on the task of all three dishes at one time), I would start a little earlier then 7pm on a weeknight. This would certainly be a good weekend of cooking - make it on a Sunday afternoon and have lunches for the week!

So now that I have rambled on about making the meal and eating the meal, you probably want to know what we made. Well prepare yourself. We made a minestrone soup/pasta followed by cheesy rice and quinoa stuffed peppers accompanied with garlic caprese toast. Quite a mouthful huh, no pun intended. And, each was delicious in its own way. Everything could stand on its own, but at the same time, all of the flavors meshed well into a "three" course meal. The toast was for sure my favorite. I could not get enough of it. And, as I stated before, it was so easy to make, all of the dishes were. I have a feeling this bread is soon to be a weekly menu item. And the quinoa in the peppers - so good! Brenden said he doesn't want to eat it any other way. That could definitely stand alone or be put as a side to so many other dishes. And it made enough that I will be able to do that for the rest of the weekend.

Cheesy Quinoa and Shrimp Stuffed Peppers



Ingredients

• 1.5 cups (dry) quinoa
• 1 medium cauliflower head, broken into pieces
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups water
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 6-8 cloves minced garlic, minced (I used 8 and it was very garlicy, good, but you butter like garlic)
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cook the quinoa according to package directions.
2. In the meantime bring the vegetable broth and water to a boil in a large pot.
3. Once boiling and the cauliflower and continue to boil until tender, about 10-15 minutes depending on the size of your pieces.
4. Transfer cauliflower pieces to a blender or food processor.
5. Add about half of the broth to help with pureeing process.
6. Puree the cauliflower until it becomes a smooth, creamy consistency.
7. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.
8. Add the garlic, sauteing until garlic if combined and fragrant, about 3-5 minutes.
9. Turn heat to low and add the cooked quinoa and pureed cauliflower, stirring until well combined.
10. Stir in the cheese, salt and pepper until melted and incorporated.
11. Set aside.

Part 2. Stuffed Peppers

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Lay both pieces of the ciabatta on a baking sheet, crust side up, crust down.
3. In a small bowl, combine butter and garlic thoroughly.
4. Spread garlic butter evenly across both slices of bread.
5. Place the mozzarella slices evenly on top of bread.
6. Next place the sliced tomato on top of mozzarella.
7. Sprinkle basil on top of tomatoes.
8. Place baking sheet in oven and cook for about 10 minutes, until cheese is melty.
9. Remove bread from oven and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. (Reducing the vinegar is recommended and only takes a few minutes, however, we chose to skip the is step and still enjoyed the taste. The liquid is just a bit more runny.)
10. Allow to cool a few minutes.
11. When the bread is cool enough to handle, cut into slices and serve with any dish or on its own.

Minestrone Soup/Pasta