This is one of those recipes that’s a little hard to share, because I don’t really have a written recipe or measure anything. But the results are delicious! So use this as a starting point and make your own version.

Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3-4 pieces of bacon, or more if you like
2-3 scallions, sliced thin & include some of the green part
Some minced garlic
Any kind of peppers you like

Cream Cheese Stuffing in Progress

Crumble the bacon, and mix it into the cream cheese. Add the garlic and the scallions.

Peppers ready for baking

Cut off just the very end of the peppers at the stem end, and make one long slice all the way to the other end. Discard the cut end and the seeds. The pepper is still whole and in one piece otherwise. Using a table knife, put some stuffing into each pepper, making sure it goes all the way to the narrow end. The slit will help you get there. These are largeish and I probably put 2-3 tablespoons of stuffing in each one. Arrange the stuffed peppers on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil (for easy cleanup).

All done

Bake at 350ºF for 15-20 minutes, or until the peppers are starting to soften.

Sliced and read to eat

These are large, so I sliced them with a good sharp knife into manageable pieces.

Enjoy!

I work full time during the week, and take my lunch every day. To save time, I prepare my food for the week on the weekend and divvy it up into glass containers so it’s easy to pack each morning. Also, I cook enough to cover dinner too as I never have time to cook during the week.

Collard greens in their pre-cooked state

I’m getting a head start on tomorrow by fixing a couple of things today.

My Pinckney’s box didn’t have any greens this week, so I got some organic collard greens at Whole Foods. Don’t they look lovely?

I’ll de-rib, chop, and saute them with onion, black beans, sausage, and a tasty sauce. Yum!

I’m also trying my hand at home-made sauerkraut for the first time. It’s pretty simple, and I had some cabbage just sitting around. I’ll let you know how it comes out in a week or two.

The other thing I’m making today is Cantaloupe Salad with Herbs and Feta Crumbles. I am not a big cantaloupe fan, but this salad is pretty good. So if you LIKE cantaloupe, it might be fantastic. Either way, here’s the recipe, which I got from http://www.babble.com/best-recipes/lighten-up-with-savory-cantaloupe-salad/. They suggest you don’t dress it until about 20 minutes before serving, but I find that the longer it sits in the dressing, the better.

Cantaloupe Salad with Herbs and Feta

1 T lime juice
1 T balsamic vinegar
2 T Olive Oil
½ red onion, minced
½ tsp salt
1 canteloupe, rind removed, seeded & cut into 1/2″ chunks
½ C feta crumbles
¼ C minced fresh herbs, such as basil, mint, sage, or tarragon
1 tsp fresh ground pepper

Whisk together the lime juice, vinegar, and olive oil. Add the red onion and salt.

Toss the cantaloupe, feta, and dressing in a large salad bowl. Add the fresh herbs, and finish with the pepper.

I work full time during the week, and take my lunch every day. To save time, I prepare my food for the week on Sunday and divvy it up into glass containers so it’s easy to pack each morning. Also, I cook enough to cover dinner too as I never have time to cook during the week.

Yikes! This was a busy day in the kitchen. Here are all the things I fixed to be ready for the week:

• Black Bean hummus
• Roasted red potatoes with olive oil & rosemary
• Summer Squash casserole
• Banana Peppers stuffed with cream cheese & bacon
• Sauteed kohlrabi greens
• Bleu Cheese Coleslaw
• Eggplant Lasagna with spinach and sausage

The lasagna came out amazing. Technically, it probably shouldn’t be called lasagna because there is no pasta – eggplant slices replace the noodles. But is any case it is delicious. I had eggplants from Pinckney’s Farm CSA that I needed to use, so I cobbled together two recipes from Allrecipes.com.

Here are the links to the two original recipes:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/eggplant-lasagna/detail.aspx
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/worlds-best-lasagna/detail.aspx

and here is my cobbled-together version:

Eggplant Sausage Spinach Lasagna

2 eggs
2 tablespoons water
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
salt and ground black pepper to taste
2 large eggplants, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
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2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound bulk sausage
½ c chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
Italian seasoning/basil/oregano etc.
48 ounces chunky tomato sauce
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1 egg
16 oz ricotta
½ tsp salt
1 package frozen spinach, thawed
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2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Prepare Eggplant:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Oil two baking sheets with 1 teaspoon olive oil.
• Whisk eggs and water together in a shallow dish.
• Combine Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, salt, and ground black pepper in a separate shallow dish.
• Dip eggplant slices in egg mixture.
• Press slices into the crumbs and tap off excess. Arrange slices on the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake eggplant slices in the preheated oven until tops are golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Flip eggplant and bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes.
• Remove eggplant from the oven and increase temperature to 375 degrees F.

Meat Sauce:

• In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned.
• Stir in tomato sauce. Season to taste. Simmer until heated through.

Ricotta Blend:

• In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Squeeze/drain the liquid out of the thawed spinach & stir into ricotta mixture.

In this order: meat sauce, eggplant, ricotta, mozzarella, make two sets of layers in a 9×13 pan. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.

Bake covered at 375ºF for 25 minutes, remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes.