2.21.2010 Tex-Mex Stuffed Peppers and Mixed Fruit Tart with Vanilla Cream

This week I picked the stuffed peppers and a fruit tart. I am anxious to try the stuffed peppers since it seems to be a meal in one! Hope that you all get a chance to try them out.

Tex-Mex Stuffed Peppers (page 168):

Cooking Spray
1 cup instant rice (white or brown)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teason dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
One 15-ounce can Santa Fe corn, Fiest Corn, or regular can corn, drained
One 15 ounce can pink beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 large red or green bell peppers, stems ends neatly cut out
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a shallow roasting pan with cooking spray.
2. Cook the rice according to the package directions.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the beef and cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Add the chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute. Add the cooked rice, corn, beans and sour cream and cook for 1 minute to heat through. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro.
4. Stuff the beef mixture into the bell peppers and arrange them side by side in the prepared pan. Top with shredded cheese. Bake until the peppers are soft and the cheese is golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Mixed Fruit Tart with Vanilla Cream (page 290):

One 9-inch refigerated piecrust
One 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups assorted seasonal fruit, such as pitted and sliced peaches, plums or nectarines; hulled and sliced strawberries; blueberries, blackberries or raspberries; and/or peeled and sliced kiwis.
1/2 cup apricot preserves

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Press the piecrust into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Bake until the crust is golden brown, 9 to 11 minutes.
3. Beat together the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth. When the tart shell is cool, spread the cream cheese mixture over the bottom and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula. To with fruit.
4. Place the preserves in a small bowl and microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds, until warm and thin, then brush over the fruit. Serve at room temperature or chilled.