Southwest Style Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients
4 green peppers
2 cups of brown rice
1 can of whole corn
1 can of black beans
2 roma tomatoes
1/3 cup of sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup of red onion
1/4 cup of cilantro
1.5 cups of panko bread crumbs
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Cut your peppers in half, starting from the top of the stem down.  Scoop out the seeds and ribs and set your green peppers aside.  

Cook your rice according to the package directions and set aside.  

Rinse and drain both the corn and black beans.  Put in a large bowl.   Dice your tomatoes, mushrooms, and red onion and add to the corn and beans.  Chop up the cilantro and add in.  Add in salt and pepper to taste.  

Incorporate your rice into your other ingredients and give a quick toss.  Start filling your green peppers with your filling mixture.  Top each with a generous amount of bread crumbs and then sprinkle with some olive oil.  

Cook at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. 

Mexican Corn

This is a simple side dish that feeds 4+.  

Ingredients
2.5 cups of corn
1/2 orange pepper diced
1/4 queso fresco cheese
1/4 cup of cilantro, chopped
1 t. cumin
1 t. basil
1 t. oregano
1/2 t. sea salt
1/2 lime, juiced


You can choose to use either fresh grilled corn and shave it off the cob, or use 2 10 oz. bags of frozen corn that you've heated up in the microwave.  It seriously tastes great either way, and if you are looking for a shortcut than go with the microwave.  Roast/grill the orange pepper until softened, then dice into cubes and add to the corn.  Add cumin, basil, oregano, and salt to the mixture next.  Add in your cilantro.  I tend to love cilantro, so I always add a lot, but if you are cilantro hater than you don't have to add it.  Crumble up the queso fresco.  You can chop it, but it's easier to just shred with your fingers.  Add in lime juice and give a toss.  

Salsa Cruda

This salsa is so amazing you could eat it with a spoon!

Ingredients
8 roma tomatoes, diced into cubes
1 C of cucumber, diced 
1/2 C of red onion diced
1/2 C of cilantro, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, de-seeded and diced (you can leave in the seeds to make it hotter!)
2 limes, juiced
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 T oregano
2 t of sea salt
1 t of basil (I usually don't use fresh basil for this, but you could if you have it around)
A dusting of black pepper


Combine all ingredients into a large bowl and stir.  This salsa is great right away, or let it sit in its' juices and marinate.   Either way, this makes enough to can and save for later or serve at a party.