Love Thy Leftovers: Black Bean Chili Stuffed Peppers

I love stuffed peppers.  Not only are bell peppers a tasty and healthy alternative to a bread bowl, but they can also be used to hold so many different things.  I used some of the leftover black bean chili, but you could also use any leftover regular chili, taco meat, thick beef stew, a layer of mashed potatoes topped with a stew, etc etc etc.  If the bell peppers are large or won't stand up on their own, slice them length wise.  If they are small, slice off the top of the pepper and then fill them up.

You will need:
2-4 green bell peppers (either one small one per person, or 1/2 large one)
A few cups of leftover black bean chili (recipe here) or other filling
A few handfuls of your choice of cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped parsley to taste

Start the leftover chili warming on the stove, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  As it warms, wash the peppers and then cut them either 1) length wise, leaving the stem on the pepper so the filling won't fall out, or 2) cut off the top of the pepper as close to the stem as you can.  Clear out the ribs and seeds from the peppers and put a pinch of salt and pepper into the bell peppers.  Once the chili is warm, taste it and adjust the seasonings as necessary.  Add a small handful (about 1/4 cup) into the chili and stir until it melts.  Cover a cookie sheet in foil, and place the peppers on top.  Fill each pepper to the top with the chili mixture.  Cook for 25 minutes.  After the 25 minutes, cover the tops of the peppers with a small handful of cheese and cook 3-5 more minutes until the cheese has melted.  Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes before serving.  Top with chopped parsley if desired.

Recipe: Grilled Cheese with Arugula and Plum Preserves

Alternate title: Grown up Grilled Cheese #1.  The grilled cheese is such a wonderful thing, even its basic form of plastic wrapped American Cheese on white bread is simple toasted perfection.  Luckily, we live in a world where some perfection can be built upon for something even better (and no more difficult).

This version combines several wonderful flavors.  The saltiness of the cheese is played off the sweetness of the little bit of preserves (feel free to use your favorite, I used plum but cannot wait to try it with fig), which in turn plays off the slight bitterness of the arugula. If you have it, a thin slice of prosciutto would probably be lovely as well.  This came together with what I had on hand, but feel free to switch up the bread and cheese to your liking.

You will need:

One good slice of munster cheese (2 slices if pre-sliced)
2 pieces of bread (I used a multigrain sandwich bread)
Small handful of arugula leaves, gently washed and dried
Plum preserves
Small pat of butter

Bloggers Note: I'm assuming you know how to make a grilled cheese/know what to do from here...but for the sake of the post, I am going to explain anyway.  Thank you for your indulgence.

Start off by assembling the sandwich: On one slice of bread smear a thin layer of the preserves, top that with one layer of arugula leaves, top that with the slice of cheese, and finish it off with the top piece of bread.

Melt the pat of butter in a saute pan over medium low to medium heat.  When it has melted place the bread preserve side down and cook until the side is golden brown.  Flip and repeat.  The sandwich is done when both sides are golden.  Enjoy immediately.

Recipe: Cheese Toast with Fig Preserves

So this is a really simple recipe and is great as a breakfast, however, it could also easily be made into an appetizer.  The picture at the bottom is how I made it for breakfast, and in the future I would try and cut the cheese just a bit thinner but it worked out fine.  I will provide both how I made that and how I think the appetizer would be made.  Cheese wise I would stick to a white cheese, and perhaps on the milder end.  I would also warn recommend cutting from a block of cheese as sandwich cheese tends to have a bit less flavor. Munster is what I used but a provolone, baby swiss, or mild white cheddar, among others, could all work.  If you are the type that would like the cheese melted, simply stick it under the broiler after it is assembled for a minute or two and the cheese and preserves will be hot and bubbly.

For the breakfast version you will need:
1 piece of bread
Fig preserves
1 slice of Munster from a block of cheese

Toast the piece of bread in the toaster between settings on the setting that will make it just crisp and brown (about 3.5 for mine).  When finished spread a layer of fig preserves on the bread and top with the slice of cheese.  The sweetness of the fig and crunchiness of the bread pairs very well with the cheese.

For the appetizer version you will need:
1 french baguette, cut into rounds
Fig preserves
Slices of Munster from a block of cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 and toast the rounds of the baguette for 6-8 minutes or until browned.  Top each with a smear of fig preserves and a slice of Munster.  Broil in the oven if you wish to melt the cheese.

In the picture the piece of toast closer to you was broiled in the oven after assembly for a few minutes, the farther piece is as described above.