Thursday, October 10, 2013

Turkey Stuffed Peppers

hi·a·tus
hīˈātəs/Submit
noun
1.
a pause or gap in a sequence, series, or process.
"there was a brief hiatus in the war with France"
synonyms: pause, break, gap, lacuna, interval, intermission, interlude, interruption, suspension, lull, respite, time out, time off, recess;


After a brief hiatus and several life changes, I'm back on the blogging grid. I don't think my updates will work in paragraph form due to the randomness of events, so I am going to list them in true Ali form. Get ready friends, I have a lot to share.

1. James and I live in South Austin and absolutely love it!
2. I now teach Algebra I and Geometry at KIPP Austin Collegiate. Over the past seven years my range of experience has grown from Kindergarten to 10th grade.
3. I started working out at Crossfit and Fearless on South Congress. My schedule doesn't align as nicely as it did with Strom, but I'm working on it. Sometimes you have to be creative and shower in the girl's locker room at school (don't worry, NO students are present that early in the morning. That would be awkward.)
4. I stopped using almond milk in my coffee and have switched to coconut milk. As you know, it takes me an entire day to drink my one cup of coffee and for some reason the almond milk starts to separate after hour one. It looks and tastes a little odd after that.
5. James is in a fantasy football league and his team name is Hot Ham Water. So gross.
6. Traffic in Austin is stupid. Really, stupid.
7. Traffic in Austin during ACL is even more stupid.
8. My favorite cheat meal so far has been at this amazing food truck called Potato A. I thought I had mastered the french fry during my time at Edinboro University, but this guy puts my fries to shame. They are freakishly delicious.
9. My bff Lisa got engaged to a very awesome, kind, hairy man. I can't wait for their wedding this July!
10. My bfff Michelle is going to have her baby within the next few weeks. It is so weird that she made it through an entire pregnancy without me seeing her baby bump. If only I had a private jet so that I could fly home to see my family and friends.
11. I want to plan a concert weekend very soon. Sh*$ Show and Shenanigan girls, let's work on that. Maybe over Christmas break??

Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients
2 lbs of ground turkey/lean beef
3 garlic cloves
6 bell peppers
4ish roma tomatoes
1/2 white onion
2 jalapenos (1 seeded, 1 whole)
1/2 C fresh cilantro
Juice of 1/2 a lime
Sprinkle garlic powder
Sprinkle onion powder
2 sprinkles of chili powder
Salt
Pepper

Directions
1. Sautee crushed garlic cloves in oil/fat of your choice. I usually use coconut oil (we don't have any bacon fat, but if we did I would definitely use it)
2. Add turkey meat to the pan and season with garlic powder, onion powder, and chili powder. Cook thoroughly.
3. Make the salsa by combining the tomatoes, onion, jalepenos, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper in a food processor. I have roasted the veggies before, but lately I have been making fresh salsa instead.
4. Cut the tops off of your bell peppers and remove the seeds.
5. Turn off the heat on the meat and mix in the salsa with the meat.
6. Scoop the meat/salsa mixture into the peppers
7. Bake at 400 degrees until the peppers are at the desired squishiness. I like my peppers very squishy, so I cook them for 30-40 minutes.

Optional add-ins/toppings: 
1. Cheese
2. Cauliflower rice
3. Greek Yogurt: I swear to you it's just like topping your food with sour cream!


Only in Austin.