I did a really good grocery shop over the weekend. I only spent $61! I am sure it was hard for Tony to be in the living room when I am cooking up a storm on a Sunday – but you guys – Tony doesn’t really like 75% of the food I make. No joke. I think he prefers Progresso over my homemade soups – and you know what a soup whore I am! Just look at all the soups I’ve made!
So I made a batch of my buffalo chicken chili, four stuffed peppers (recipe below – and this is one dish Tony loves!), pumpkin and coconut soup with thai chili wontons, skinny reuben sandwiches with a potato/green bean pesto side dish, and a steak and sweet potato wrap with a spinach blue cheese sauce – don’t worry – recipes will follow this week. I told my co-workers what was on the menu this week and they both loved what’s in store this week. š
For breakfast I just made a breakfast burrito – these whole grain burritos I found are 4 points but totally filling at 6 grams of fiber. I sauteed some red peppers, deli ham, 1/2 ounce pepper jack cheese and baby spinach – 8 Points Plus total.
I knew I wanted to do a 5k at lunch, but with my blood sugar at 165, I knew I needed some more fuel, so I ate 3 points of peanut m&m’s – it did the trick. It’s amazing how just not working out on Saturday and Sunday how hard it is to get back in the groove – I ended up running the 5k in 8/2 increments – 8 minutes running, 2 minutes walking and finished in 39:11. Not bad! When I got back to the office, my blood sugar was 85 – nice!
So I found these peppers on my $1 rack – I have no idea what kind they are, but they are sweet, but in the shape of a poblano pepper which are usually hot to me.
I threw all the veggies in the food processor for the chili:
I had a work obligation, so all I had time for was to heat my lunch and go – so imagine it looked like this, with 1 serving of tortilla chips on the side – lunch was 9 points:
I snacked on a delicious apple later in the afternoon:
Not only did I buy those red peppers on the $1 rack – I also bought the same amount of green and yellow peppers, so stuffed peppers definitely made the menu this week. I played around with some cooked brown rice that I had, and decided to add spinach to the mix too.
Stuffed Peppers
- makes 4 servings – each pepper with 1/2 ounce of cheese of choice – 8 PointsPlus
Ingredients:
- 4 large green peppers, tops removed
- 8 ounces raw 85% lean ground beef
- 8 ounces cooked brown rice
- 3 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 ounces of cheese of choice (I used cheddar)
Direction:
- Heat a pot of water to a boil. Blanche the peppers for about 5 minutes, or until slightly tender, but still crispy. Drain and set peppers aside.
- In same pot, cook ground beef until cooked through – drain fat. Add cooked brown rice, baby spinach and one cup of the marinara sauce and cook until spinach starts to wilt.
- At this point, I weighed the filling and divided by 4, so each pepper got 6.6 ounces of filling.
- Place remaining cup of sauce in an oven proof dish. Put filled peppers on top of sauce and top each pepper with 1/2 ounce of cheese. Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes, until the pepper is tender and the cheese is browned.
- Serve with pasta on the side – optional.
My plate: 1 pepper (7 Points) 1/2 ounce cheese (1), 1 ounce dried pasta cooked (3), sauce is zero because I made it from fresh tomatoes. š 11 points total.
Stats for Monday:
- 36 points (including wine)
- 50 minute treadmill – 39:11 time for 5k
- average blood sugar was 101
Hannah and I are not leaving for Oak Park until around 10, so I am scratching off one of my goals of swimming and heading to the gym this morning. Looking forward to hanging out with Hannah, my Mom and sister. Not sure where we are going to eat, but we’ll have fun! š
Check out this week’s BSI – host – Heather from Girlichef chose: Lemons!
Have fun in OP today! Happy belated birthday! I’m just getting around to catching up with blogs after my eye surgery, sorry I missed it…but all the very best belated birthday wishes! Your menu this week sounds SO good! Can’t wait to see all the recipes!!
I’m always impressed by the deals you get at the grocery store! Ours will put produce on clearance, but it’s usually only bagged salads. That may be a good thing b/c I’m never able to resist a sale like that, but I also would never use the stuff before it went bad. You are so cool for actually using everything you buy in time.
I always drool over stuffed peppers…but just the filling as I’m not a huge green pepper fan. I need to make this!
my mouth is watering!! i love stuffed peppers!
Hope you had fun today! I am always experimenting on John with food. He likes a lot of it, but there are reasons he often fixes his own meals LOL!
You are the best bargain shopper Biz. I’m always afraid the really cheap stuff will be rotten or old. I’m lucky that my husband likes most everything I make – I used to think he liked things better when he knew I’d toiled over them for hours! Hope you had a great day off.
Stuffed peppers are on my “list.” Yours look great!
Great job on the 5k. And, yes, it is hard to get back to exercising after just a few days off… Hope you enjoyed your swim this morning.
Have a wonderful day with your mom, sister, and Hannah today!!!
Wow, awesome shopping trip and deals!!! I love the aerial shot of the peppers in the processor. And that stuffed pepper just made my tummy growl!!! I hope Tony is on the mend soon š hate reading that he still is feeling bad.
Because of you I have been checking out the discount produce rack and I’m amazed at what I have found and how cheap it is, thank you!
If it’s any consolation, given the choice, Dennis would probably take a good, sodium rich processed meal over many of the healthy ones I make. That said, he IS grateful for home cooking…. Good score on those red peppers! And the stuffed ones look SOOOO good!!! Have a great belated birthday dinner!!!!!
Tasty and frugal are an award winning combination in my opinion.
Best,
Bonnie
I love looking at the pictures of your food. Everything looks so healthy, filling and delicious.
My husband only likes Kraft mac & cheese. I can make (and do make) the fanciest, yummiest, most fabulous mac & cheese recipes and he never likes them. It baffles me.
I never find peppers on the sale rack (I wish!) – I’m jealous b/c we LOVE stuffed peppers!!
Have fun today, Beth! Enjoy the day!
Wow, you really cooked up a storm! I love stuffed peppers, and those look great! Too bad my boyfriend doesn’t like peppers… maybe he would eat the filling on a wrap!
Okay I can NOT believe Tony doesn’t like most of your food! I am always drooling when I read your blog! You can send his leftovers to me :).
– Beth @ http://www.DiningAndDishing.com
My husband is the same! haha I tell him his taste buds have been warped from a childhood full of processed foods…lol ya know, after omitting a lot of processed stuff from the diet, you really can taste the non natural ingredients….
LOVE stuffed peppers. Peppers were on sale this past week at my store too…( although I didn’t do as fantastic as you did with the bill! wow! good for you!) I am planning on peppers and sausage one night…I don’t know why I didn’t think to do stuffed ones!
congrats again on the great time running! And happy to hear your bs didn’t tank! lol
I thought of you the other day when I passed by the dollar rack at my grocery store – of course, the only things remaining on it were bread products, lol!
Have a great time with the ladies today! š
Haha, barely anyone in my house eats what I make! They don’t know what they’re missing, right?! š
Yum to it all, Biz! Have a great day off!
Everything sounds and looks totally delicious! I really want to try the chili. The produce sale rack rocks! I love when they have old bananas on there. Have fun on your trip š
Yeah, I want to live near the dollar rack too. They would never do anything like that here. Sigh.
I love stuffed peppers too – that is an awfully pretty plate. Yum.
Tell Tony that Skippy said to stay out of that canned soup – there is way too much sodium and Momma’s [your’s] soup is much better for him.
You are such an amazing cook, I can’t believe he would like processed food better.
So I have never had stuffed peppers. I am going to try this recipe, after my teen leaves for college. Picky eater:(
I think a lot of men are just sort of meat and potatoes guys and ‘fancy’ food doesn’t appeal to them. And soups? Mr. Helen will swear up and down that he likes soups, chilis, etc. Every single time I make them, he will eat one serving if I actually serve it as a meal, then after that he never touches the leftovers or helps himself to any! He doesn’t really like soup/chili in my opinion š
Have a great time today Biz!
How can Tony not lke 75% of the food you make? Boys are strange…. š I love, love, love stuffed peppers! They are my favorite!
Your posts make me so hungry! I can’t wait to try your recipes – so glad I stumbled upon your blog last week!
My husband doesn’t often eat what I eat either. Luckily I have a brother who lives with us who eats like I do. Plus, I love leftovers!
Nice on the chilis! Love getting a great price! Thanks!
I’m jealous of the things you find on the $1 rack, the commissary never has good sales on produce…I can’t wait for the Farmer’s Market to begin so that I’m at least paying for some really good stuff!
My husband isn’t a fan of soups in general, so whenever I make them he eats it, but sure doesn’t go back for seconds š
You find some really nice produce on your $1 rack! I love stuffed peppers. Yum! Your upcoming menu sounds fabulous, can’t wait to see it all.
My husband probably doesn’t like 75% of what I make either, but he’s polite and eats it anyway, LOL. He’d rather have Campbell’s and Chef Boyardee. š