Easy asian dumpling soup

Found this recipe in a magazine and knew instantly I had to try it! It was quick and easy but I actually liked it better as leftovers than when it was first made!

1. Saute 1 diced onion, 2 diced carrots, 2 sliced celery stalks, and 8 oz of sliced mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until tender.

2. Add 5 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock, 2 cups of water, and 1 bay leaf; bring to a boil.

3. Add a bag of gyoza (you can get a bag at Trader Joes's or Ling Lings at any grocery store); simmer 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley.

4. Enjoy!!!

Stuffed Bell Peppers

I really love this dish. This time it was more unusual than I normally make it. This time it was made with Elk, which is an extremely lean meat. I usually use ground turkey meat, and it is what I still prefer but when someone gave us Elk meat to try I thought I'd use it on this dish. If you like a comfort meal that will give you some leftovers for the week, make this dish.

Ingredients

• 6 large bell peppers (I prefer red or yellow)
• 1 lb ground turkey (but you can use a pound of any ground meat you prefer)
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 can (15 ounce) tomato sauce
• 3/4 shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Cut thin slice from stem end of each bell pepper. Remove seeds and membranes, rinse peppers. Cook peppers in enough boiling water to cover about 5 minutes, drain.
2. Cook turkey and onion over medium heat 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until turkey is brown, drain. Stir in rice, salt, garlic and 1 cup of the tomato sauce, cook until hot.
3. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
4. Stuff peppers with mixture. Stand upright in ungreased baking dish. Pour remaining tomato sauce over peppers.
5. Cover and bake 45 minutes. Uncover and bake about 15 minutes longer or until peppers are tender. Sprinkle with cheese.
6. Enjoy!

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Brian and I have made it a tradition to make a special dinner together on saturdays. We put the babes down to bed, open a bottle of wine, put on some tunes and cook together. It is special time together to reconnect after another hectic week. It is so nice to cook in the kitchen together too. Usually he has been bbq'ing but a real rainy saturday ruled that out this week.

This is just a idea on a method you can do with whatever you want to stuff your mushroom with. I love the earthy, meatiness of a portobello. For this dish I made some sauce and then mixed in a half pound of my favorite spicy italian chicken sausage from whole foods. So the filling should be more on the meaty side versus saucy side, you don't want it to be too runny. If you don't make your own sauce, use your favorite jarred one.

1. We took out the gills of the portobellos first.

2. Drizzled the portobellos with some olive oil.

3. Broil for 5-6 minutes.

4. Stuff with your filling.

5. Put some cheese on top (I did mozzarella slices).

6. Put back under the broiler until cheese melts and is bubbly!