Spicy Cilantro Pepita Pesto Stuffed Peppers

Spicy Cilantro Pepita Pesto Stuffed Peppers (And, yes, that is my new penny bar!  Thanks for asking.)

I had originally planned on spending this week and next road tripping through California, Oregon, and Nevada with my husband to visit family.  I have 18 glorious days (in a row!) off of work.  But, something came up, and I needed to stay behind.  Oh well, at least I don't have to work, right?

My sister, Kristen, calls me up and invites me to go out on a Duffy Boat in the Long Beach Harbor on Saturday. Heck yeah!  I am kicking this "staycation" off right!  My spirits were high.  Slept in nice and late on Sunday, then headed to the Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet to do a little recon on some catering equipment and bought myself a groovy sun hat (I'll need that for my summer vacay, won't I?) and a tortilla press.  Monday rolls around, and now I really feel like I'm on vacation.  But guess what?

Staycation=Everyone else still works during the week!

Hmph.  I guess I'll get some house chores out of the way.  I called up a coupla friends to see if they want to head to Hollywood to go see Jamie Kilstein perform his stand up, but no one could go out.  It was a school night, after all.  So I went by myself.  No biggie.  I enjoy alone time.  The show was fantastic.  It really was.  And, as much as I love me some Joe Rogan Experience, he really was a little mean to Jamie on the podcast today!  But I digress.

On to the stuffed chile peppers.  I scored a big bag of Pasilla Peppers for only $1 at the Downtown Anaheim Farmer's Market last week that needed to be used up.  Dan was gone, so I could make a dinner for myself, tonight, that I would love, and I know he would not appreciate.  Having the house to myself does have its perks.

Spicy Cilantro Pepita Pesto Stuffed Peppers
2 cups dry rice, prepared according to package instructions
1 cup Spicy Cilantro Pepita Pesto (recipe below)
1 1/2 cups (or 1 can) black beans, rinsed
1 yellow onion, diced
5 or 6 Pasilla peppers (or any pepper, even bells!)

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Mix together cooked rice, pesto, beans and onions.
Slice each pepper from tip to toe.  Carefully remove the core and seeds.
Stuff each pepper with a generous amount of the rice mixture.
Place on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes.

Stuffed Peppers based on 5 peppers per recipe including the pesto.

Spicy Cilantro Pepita Pesto
1 cup raw hulled pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 bunch cilantro
3/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons SriRacha (more or less to taste)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to a blender and whirl away!  This recipe yields about 3 cups, only one of which you need for the rice, but it tastes great as a dipping sauce for taquitos, a salad dressing, on pasta, in a tofu scramble...

Spicy Cilantro Pepita Pesto (1 serving=1 tablespoon)

Curried Chickpea Patties with Broccoli and Udon Pesto

First for the burger. It's kinda like hummus on a bun.
Before Cooking:

On the bun:


And then for the Udon Pesto. I know, udon are Japanese and pesto is not. Sue me. I had leftover pesto from the pesto burgers.

Sundried Tomato & Pesto Burgers (Soy & Wheat Free)

Here's a new one. I made it wheat free by using Brown Rice Flour, but if you do not have a wheat allergy, feel free to use whole wheat flour instead.

Uncooked:


Baked: (Baking works just fine, but as always, I like mine better fried.)


Fried:


The Recipe
Sundried Tomato & Pesto Burgers: (makes 8 patties)
Ingredients
1 recipe prepared pesto (see below)
1 tbsp olive oil
8 oz mushrooms, sliced or chopped
1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped
2 cups prepared (already cooked) brown rice
1/2-1 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup sundried tomato pieces (packed in oil) without the excess oil (just shake off the excess)

Directions:
Prepare your rice per packacge directions in lightly salted water. In a skillet, heat up 1 tbsp olive oil and saute the mushrooms and onions on medium high heat for 7-10 minutes, until fragrant, transluscent and reduced by half. Add the sauteed onions, mushrooms, tomato pieces, rice and pesto to a food processor and pulse until well combined but still a little chunky. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Depending on the moisture content of your rice, onions and mushrooms add in the flour a little at a time until a good constistency for forming patties is reached. Knead together. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes, so the flour can absorb the flavors and moisture of the mixture. Form into patties and cook as desired. If baking, use a nonstick cookie sheet, or make sure to spray with cooking spray, and bake at 350 for 15 minutes, flip and bake an additional 15. If frying, make sure there is enough oil in the pan to prevent sticking and fry over medium high heat for about 4-5 minutes per side.

For the Pesto (I usually double the recipe, using 1 for the burgers, and reserving 1 for later, to spread on the toasted bun, or throw on some pasta.)
Ingredients
14 (appx) large fresh basil leaves
2-3 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp course sea salt
1 tbsp toasted pine nuts
1 tbsp walnut pieces
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
3 tbsp olive oil

Directions:
Add all ingredients up to the oil to a food processor and process until a puree is formed. Drizzle in the oil and pulse a few more times to combine.