MEATBALL CHALLENGE! call for entrants

(photo stolen from here, where there seems to be a yummy pasta sauce recipe)

A new challenge, albeit not very hot on the heels of our last one.

Keep your eyes out over the next few days for our entrants in the MEATBALL CHALLENGE. A few tradition breakers coming up! And be sure to vote when all the entrants have posted.

If you have a meatball recipe of your own (with pictures please!), either email or say so in the comments and we'll consider you an intermural competitor!

Stuffed peppers with a Hungarian* twist

. *This recipe was created by a good Hungarian friend of mine. She followed a rough recipe from the internet but added a lot of her own style.

Ingredients:

• 3 or 4 peppers, any colour.
• rice (enough to serve 2)
• half a pound mince meat
• mushrooms
• courgettes
• onion
• garlic
• chilli powder
• salt/pepper/basil/oregano
• olive oil
• tomato puree
• tin chopped tomatoes
• sour cream
• cheese. Very strong cheeses are best, when cooked they compliment the flavours in the dish very well. Use a mixture of any types that you want.
• Vegetable stock

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Chop the peppers in half, wash and clean out all the seed. Place in a dish side by side and drizzle a little olive oil into each one. Whenever the oven is fully heated, place into the oven for 10 minutes, to soften the peppers. Leave for 10 minutes only, then remove and leave aside for when you are ready with the filling.

2. Cook the rice in a saucepan of boiling water.

2. In separate a saucepan, heat some oil, then add in the chopped garlic, onion, and mince meat. Stir constantly until the meat is browned.

3. Add in the tomato puree, salt, pepper, and chilli powder.

4. When the rice is cooked, drain it well, and add it into the meat. Then mix in the tinned tomatoes, and chop and add all the vegetables you will use.

5. Stir the entire mixture together, tasting and adding in any more herbs as necessary.

6. When this is finished, take the dish of peppers and spoon the mixture into all the peppers. You will have far too much so once the peppers are filled, spoon it around the peppers throughout the dish, until all of the mixture is in the dish.

7. Mix some vegetable stock into a little water, not much, maybe 50 mls. Pour this into the bottom of the dish. (To stop the dish drying out while in the oven).

7. Spoon all of the sour cream on top of the rice/meat filling, covering the whole dish.

8. Slice all the cheese into nice thick slices and place it on top of the sour cream.

9. Put into the over and cook for 30 - 40 minutes. Leave uncovered for the first 10 minutes, and after this cover with tin foil and leave to cook for the remaining time.

10. To serve, spoon out each pepper onto a plate with all of the surrounding filling. Best accompanied by salad and coleslaw methinks, but of course anything that tickles your fancy will do!

moue mag: banoffee pudding

So, to help make up for my absence over there, please check out a creation courtesy of the editor at Moue Mag ... it sounds like Brandy makes a mean banoffee pudding.

(The picture is totally stolen from a different place, so for an alternate recipe you can check here.  Brandy you gotta take pictures, ya hear?)

Banana Bread, Martha Stewart Style

I recently made banana bread for the first time. In "long time listener, first time caller" fashion, I've loved banana bread for an eternity, but never ventured out to make my own until a few weeks ago. I decided I would have to do it right, therefore I looked up Martha Stewart's banana bread recipe. I figured she would not steer me wrong. Turns out she even has a secret ingredient. Following is Martha's easy recipe to make your own banana bread. I customized mine by adding cranberries as well, you can certainly get creative:

Ingredients

(Makes 1 loaf)

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan (try this trick for softening butter quickly)
  
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• Optional: cranberries, blueberries, chocolate chips... you get the idea, it is customizable.
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, and beat to incorporate.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined. Add bananas, sour cream, and vanilla; mix to combine. Stir in nuts, and pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Let rest in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.