Eating healthy AND LIKING IT. ( Said in a domineering tone )

         Recently, we started committing to cooking and eating healthier. Don is being very disciplined about it and I applaud him for his resolve. I myself, have not been as stringent. I have had moments of weakness.
         Yes, I ordered myself a cheese bagel with light chive cream cheese and bacon from Bagels, Ect. yesterday morning. I was immediately struck down by justice's swift sword. When I opened the bag, I did not find my custom ordered bagel, I found a vegetable bagel with too much cream cheese. It was really bothersome, but I didn't let it weigh me down. I had even more upsetting meal earlier in week that evoked two of the worst feelings, guilt coupled with buyer's remorse.

Devastation.

          It was a cold, glum day and I was feeling particularly sorry for myself for no particular reason. First thought: get somethin' real greasy for lunch and put some cheese on it. "That will cheer me up", I says to myself, I says. So I go to a chain fast food restaurant and ordered their new sandwich, which was purported to be delicious. In reality, it was disgusting and I took two bites and returned it to its box. I was left to eat my french fries and ponder my life choices. 

         The upside of this new diet we implemented is that we are both excellent cooks and have really been rocking the mall with all of the BS healthy recipes. I have been very pleasantly surprised by how awesome some of our new dishes have turned out. I made this recipe up before we started the regiment, but the only real oil is non fat cooking oil spray. So it's not 100% on the level, but it's a hell of a lot better than deep-frying. 

FIRST! BEFORE YOU START COOKING, WATCH THIS SAUCY MINX TEACH YOU HOW TO ROLL EGG ROLLS. 

If you aren't familiar, they're easy to mess up and then you'll miss out on the hot mess that posted this video to YouTube. Fast forward to 2 minutes in, that's where she starts rolling. 

Come on to my house, aaaaaaaa-my house, I'm gonna give you......... some stuffed peppers

Today kicked my posterior, so rather than grace you some of my glittering wit, just read my recipe and make it! Ya hear? Ok........... BREAK! 

Jake's Stuffed Peppers with Chicken

Stuffed Peppers 

Ingredients 
4 green bell peppers
1 pound ground chicken 
1 yellow onion 
3 strips turkey or pork bacon 
4 cloves of garlic 
1 medium zucchini 
1 roma tomato 
1/2 cup green or kalamata olives 
1/4 cup of chicken stock 
1 tablespoon of cornstarch 
2 teaspoons of garlic powder
2 teaspoons of onion powder 
2 tablespoons of fresh chopped basil 
salt and pepper to taste 
1 cup good quality store bought marinara sauce 

Preheat oven to 375˚ F 

1- Dice the onions. Over medium heat in a large frying pan, sauté the onions with non fat cooking spray. 
2- Dice bacon into small pieces, and add to the onions. 
3- Finely chop the garlic. Once the onions are tender, add the garlic to the pan. 
4- Dice the zucchini, add to the pan. 
5- Add the ground chicken to the pan. As it cooks, continue to break up the chicken into small bits with a spatula. 
6- As the chicken browns, dice the tomato. Once the chicken is nearly done, add the tomato to the pan. 
7- Dice the olives and add them to the pan. 
8- Heat the chicken stock in the microwave. Once warmed, add the cornstarch to the chicken stock and mix well. 
9- Turn heat off, pour the chicken stock/cornstarch to the pan and stir well. Allow to rest so the stock will thicken up. 
10- Cut tops off the bell peppers and remove the cores, seeds and veins. 
11- Fill the peppers with 1/4 of the meat mixture. Top the peppers with 1/4 cup of marinara. 
12- Bake for 45 minutes until peppers are visibly cooked through and the top edges are starting to brown. 

Enjoy! PS, adding chicken sausage to the meat mixture is not a bad idea. Also, adding grated parmesan cheese to the top of the peppers isn’t a bad idea either. 

PSS- Also, adding some tomato paste and tomato sauce to the meat would really primo too!