pep it up

i have seen people make stuffed peppers before
and i've always wanted to try them...
so when i saw this healthy, meaty recipe for them
i knew i had to jump on it...

stuffed red peppers

1 lb ground turkey
1 garlic, minced
1/4 onion
1 tbsp cilantro or parsley (i used both..yum!)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin powder
salt
3 large red bell peppers
1 cup fat free chicken broth
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
olive oil spray
1/4 cup cheese

heat oven to 400 degrees.
start rice.
spray olive oil in pan.
add onion, garlic, and cilantro.
saute 2 minutes and add turkey.
season w/ salt, garlic powder, and cumin.
brown meat until cooked through.
add 1/4 cup tomato sauce and 1/2 cup broth
mix well and simmer for 5 minutes
combine cooked rice and meat.
cut bell peppers and remove seeds.
place in baking dish and spoon mixture into peppers.
pour remaining broth into dish.
cover with aluminum foil and cook for 35 minutes.
top with shredded cheese!

i love birthdays

it has been a wonderful birthday weekend....

friday


first, i had my work lunch with my lovely fellow PDs
at my favorite bar on mass ave, especially
in the winter...
b-day lunch: scotch eggs, tuna sandwich,
and massive onion rings
peppered with wonderful conversation
and great friends


then, lph took me to dinner at a wonderful
little italian joint, iaria's
iaria's is a nice family joint with one
of the best atmosphere's ever.
b-day dinner: BREAD!, salad, minestrone,
and spinach ravioli with 2 meatballs.
(picture from here)

saturday

i got myself pampered with a hair cut (finally!)!
i went to a new salon, orange moon.
they gave me a shoulder massage and a mini
facial before my haircut
the people there were awesomely lovely
and i have healthy hair again.
score!


aftewards, i met aj at bourbon street for a bloody mary
and he procured for me a picture i've wanted in there
for 6 years!! it is a painting of downtown indy
back in the day when women wore huge gowns
and everyone used the horse and buggy for transportation


then i moved on to BW3s for wings and football with
mr. scott laham & company.
others filtered in throughout the day
and of course i got a present from mr. pierre garcon...
COLTS WON!!!
so now we have the AFC championship game next week
couldn't be more excited....

sunday

woke up early to pamper myself a bit...
then met the parents for lunch at qdoba!! yumm-o!

after that, i got to spend some quality time with my
old best friend from my childhood.
the children's museum had a bad ass barbie exhibit....

then, we had dinner with the parents and came home
for movie night. apparently it was time for us to a pick
a bad one...do NOT see "beyond a reasonable doubt."
hideous.

monday

we had lunch at the cheesecake factory with the parents.
and i have a piece of red velvet cheesecake
for dinner tonight.

we're currently having a movie marathon...

basically, i ate my way to my 27th birthday :)
guess i'll be hitting the gym this week!

snow wed

i'm in love with this picture.
always thought a winter wedding sounded atrocious.
but this makes you think completely differently.
found here.

german is as german does...

every christmas eve we have a huge party for lph's mom.
it's her birthday so we invite over her friends, family, etc.
this year was her 60th so we wanted to do something really special.

i decided i would attempt to make black forest cake.
there is this wonderful german cafe called the heidelburg
in indianapolis and everytime we go
she always orders a piece of this cake...
it's quite an exquisite cake if i do say so myself
and when i found the recipe i felt extremely nervous.
luckily we told no one i was trying to do it
so if i failed we could go get a bakery cake!

luckily, it turned out WONDERFUL!!!
i'm not going to lie, i tooted my own horn all night.
it was moist, full of flavor, and looked beautiful....
and did i mention mouth-watering delicious????

so without further ado, here is the recipe i stole from cooks.com

black forest cake

2 cups + 2 tbsp of flour
3/4 cup of cocoa
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup milk
3 cups whipping cream
1 can cherry pie filling
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp powdered sugar

combine dry ingredients in large mixing bowl. stir until mixed.
add shortening, eggs, milk, and vanilla.
beat 3 minutes at low speed.

grease two (2) nine (9) inch cake pans and add wax paper.
pour batter into pans.
bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
let cool.
then split cakes horizontally.
crumble one of the top layers into a separate bowl.

beat whipping cream until foamy.
gradually add powdered sugar.
beat until it resembles whip cream.

place one bottom cake layer on a platter.
use some of the whip cream on the cake.
then use some of the pie filling.
place the other bottom cake layer on top and repeat.
then place the top layer on the cake.

frost sides of cake and top layer.
reserve some for dallops on top of cake for decoration.
pat cake crumbs generously along the sides of the cake.
put dallops on top of cake.
fill top with rest of the pie filling.
chill well (i chilled it overnight).

p.s. i had beautiful pictures of it, but our friend nick
didn't leave them for me....hmmm...