Summer Squash Toss

It's actually more like a Fall squash toss for us! We are officially done with summer. :( There's a chill to air, the leaves are turning colors and some fresh snow on the mountains up the valley. And the wonderful wind storm last night only helped push us into fall. Winds were up to like 40-60 mpg, more in some places. It sounds like all of Anchorage, Eagle River & Chugiak lost power for some amount of time! 

Summer Squash Toss

1lb pasta, cooked

1 med. zucchine, sliced & halved

1 sm. yellow summer squash, sliced & halved

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tsp. garlic

2 tsp. oregano or italian seasoning

Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a shallow frying pan. Add garlic and oregano and simmer until garlic is golden. Add zucchini, summer squash and mushrooms to the pan. Cook until desired doneness. Pour squash mixture over pasta, toss, sprinkle cheese over the top and serve. 

I didn't have any garlic, so I did 2 tsp. oregano and 2 tsp. italian seasoning, to give it enough flavor. 

Yum! 

It was a delicious side dish. I paired it with breaded baked chicken and garlic bread. 

Enjoy!

Stuffed Peppers

I tried making stuffed peppers once in my crockpot... it was a failure... 

So I was a bit nervous, concerned, scared, etc. when I decided to try them again, using a different recipe of course.

I hate when recipes don't turn out well cause then I feel like it was a huge waste of time and food. And when you're on a budget and weekly menu, having a failed recipe is just.. annoying, frustrating.

But, this time was different.

Starting off, I was nervous. I wasn't following a "true"recipe. More like, "I threw together some left overs and random spices and put them in the peppers". If you know me, I have a hard time trying a new recipe without a step by step guide. This was definitely hard for me. :) 

I had some left over black rice (super yummy & healthy), chicken with fajita seasoning and found some corn in my freezer. Mixed all of that together, then stuffed it in the peppers (which I had sauteed lightly ahead of time, just enough for the edges to get darker). The original recipe had grilled them, but I didn't have time to do that but I think I will next time. Topped it with cheese, but only on Eli's, of course! Then put them in to broil for just a few minutes, to warm it all up and melt the cheese. And they were delicious! Even as left overs the next day. 

Unfortunately, I forgot to get an after picture. But trust me, it was good.