For my first day back, I decided to ABSOLUTELY WOW you with something understated and simple. Kinda like that DKNY black dress I LOVE with my triple stranded pearls. Anyway….Thanks to my good friend and fellow foodie, Stacey P. for pointing me to this ONE-DISH WONDER. IT IS A WINNER!

Pampered Chef Lemon GrΣΣk Chicken

Ingredients:

Zest of 2 lemons (Tip – Zest Lemons before juicing)
1 C. lemon juice (Pretty much 3 lemons)
4 T. Extra Virgin olive oil
1 Head of garlic (roughly chopped)
4 T. dried oregano leaves
3/4 T. salt
1/8 T. ground black pepper
8 Baby Idahoes (small red potatoes, no need to peel)
1 Medium red bell pepper, cut into thin slices

1 Medium orange pepper, cut into thin slices
1 large red onion, cut into wedges
Whole Chicken cut up (cleaned)

 Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°.

In 1 qt bowl, combine lemon zest, juice and oil.

Add garlic, oregano, salt and black pepper; set aside.

Cut each potato lengthwise place in 9 X 13 casserole dish.

Add bell pepper, onion, and half of the lemon juice mixture; toss to coat.

Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.

Place chicken on top of vegetables; brush with the remaining lemon juice mixture.

Bake 60 to 70 mins. or until chicken is no longer pink in center and potatoes are fork tender, basting chicken and vegetables with pan juices after 30 minutes. (At the 30 minute mark, I brushed on a little more EVOO)

Serve over brown rice cooked entirely in chicken broth (no water…bleck) and 1 T. butter.  Plate rice, followed by chicken and veggies and last but definitely not least, spoon some of that great flavored broth and pan juices on top. SUPERB! AND ONE OF THE BEST PARTS…..IT FITS INTO MY NEW BETTER EATING PLAN…SPA FIERCE!! (Without the skin of course. My mom is visiting and she would’ve killed me had I removed it from her pieces as well. It was delish without! I promise.)

Yield: 4 servings

                                      

Stuffed Bell Pepper

6 – Bell Peppers (Yellow, Red, Orange)*
1 ½ lb ground turkey
1 cup uncooked Brown Rice (add a bouillon cube to the water before boiling)
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes with chiles and peppers
1 8oz can tomato sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 can corn
1 half container white mushrooms, sliced
4 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
3- 3 ½  cups shredded cheddar cheese
Salt
Pepper
Chopped Parsley Flakes
Sour cream

Prepare rice according to package with bouillon cube or chicken stock in place of water.
Prepare the peppers by removing the tops and digging out the seeds, etc.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add peppers for 4-5 minutes.
Remove from water immediately rinse and set aside.
After they cool, test to be sure they can stand alone. If not, cut a little from the bottom to make them flat.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Coat the bottom of a large skillet with EVOO begin to heat the pan and add seasoned ground turkey, onion and diced pepper tops (minus stems of course), garlic and mushrooms.
Add brown sugar and cayenne pepper.
After meat is browned, drain. (Mushrooms release a lot of water but the meat should be pretty lean already)
Add rice (which should be about 2 ½ cups), diced tomatoes, corn, tomato paste and sauce.
Continue cooking. (The goal is to simmer off some of the water that is released from the tomatoes)
 Fold 1 ½ c. shredded cheese into meat mixture and remove from heat.    
Stuff peppers with hot meat mixture.
Bake at 350 for 5 minutes.
Top with remaining cheese and continue to bake for 7-10 minutes (or until cheese is melted)
Once melted, removed from oven and sprinkle parsley flakes on top.
Serve hot with a small dollop of sour cream.

* – The yellow, orange and red (in that order) are the sweetest of the varieties. If you have picky eaters, the green may be overwhelming for them. Besides, the variety of colors makes for a beautiful presentation.

NOTE: You can stuff these peppers with just about ANYTHING!!! In fact, I might try to stuff tomatoes or squash next. This is probably one of the EASIEST recipes I’ve ever made with stuff I had on hand. Man, it is sooo exciting when you can use what you already have. It’s the little things…