Stuffed Peppers

Last night I made stuffed peppers for the first time. I was surprised how easy they were to make and they look quite fancy on the dinner table.

There are many different stuffed pepper recipes online. To make the peppers just cut the tops off and carve out the inside. Boil the peppers for five minutes and then stuff them with whatever filling you would like. I used a tuna casserole-style filling: tuna, celery, onion, pasta and cream cheese, salt and pepper. Then I topped them with bread crumbs and chedder cheese.

They were pretty good but next time I think I will try a spicy ground beef mixture, maybe with some guacamole and lemon juice.

Hawaiian or Mexican Wedding Cakes

These are awesome. they taste great and they look pretty. I used them last year in cookie boxes that I made for Christmas. Everyone loved them. There are plenty of recipes online, but they're all pretty much the same. There are just a couple of variations depending on if you are making Mexican Wedding Cakes or Hawaiian Wedding Cakes. I also double the recipe because...um, I want more cookies!

1/2 cup butter (soft)

1/4 cup icing sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup flour

1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (almonds or walnuts for Mexican or Macadamia nuts for Hawaiian)

(1/2 cup candied pineapple or coconut...if desired, for Hawaiian)

extra icing sugar on the side

Cream together the butter, icing sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Beat in flour, nuts and pineapple or coconut (if using). Roll cookies into 1/2 inch to 1 inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 F for 12-15 minutes (mine took 11, but my oven sucks). Roll each cookie in the icing sugar that you kept aside. Don't burn your hands, let them cool for a second.

They preserve for a couple weeks if stored in a sealed container.

OK, you're done now, go eat them!