Crab and Mushroom Stuffed Peppers with Citrus Tomato Rice

Once upon a time, there was a girl who was hungry. Her parents invited her over to eat, but only if she cooked it. And so she did.

That's an over-simplified version of the origins for this recipe, but it works. My dad bought the ingredients, and I packed up the offspring and the puppy and we made an evening of it (on a school night--gasp!). I combined cream cheese, crab meat, and mushrooms to stuff into anaheim pepper halves. The rice dish was added to make this a complete meal (mmmmm, carbs).

Crab and Mushroom Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

1 tbs light olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 oz baby portabella mushrooms, chopped

4 oz cream cheese, softened

8 oz crab meat, chopped

1 c red onion, diced

1 tbs fresh oregano, minced

1/2 c bread crumbs

1 tsp lemon zest

juice of 1 lemon

1/4 tsp salt (more or less to taste)

1/4 tsp pepper

dash hot sauce, if desired

6 large Anaheim peppers, sliced in half lengthwise, seeds and ribs removed

1/2 c shredded asiago cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F.

Heat medium saute pan over medium heat. Add oil and saute garlic for one minute. Add mushrooms and saute until soft, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine mushrooms, cream cheese, crab, onion, oregano, bread crumbs, zest, juice, pepper, and hot sauce (if desired). Mix until very well combined and salt to taste.

Arrange anaheim peppers on a lightly greased baking sheet. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the crab filling on each pepper half and top with asiago cheese. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until filling is heated through and tops are a golden brown. Allow to rest 5 minutes, then serve. Serves 4-6 people as an entree. For hors d'ouerves, cut each pepper into 2" portions.

Citrus Tomato Rice:

Ingredients:

1 tbs light olive oil

1 med onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbs fresh oregano, minced

2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp cayenne

1 tsp lemon zest

2 c prepared rice

1/4 tsp salt

1 large tomato, diced

juice of 1 lemon

Directions:

Heat oil in a medium pan over medium heat. Saute onion 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add garlic and saute one more minute. Reduce heat to medium low and stir in oregano, paprika, cayenne, and zest. Stirring constantly, cook an additional 2 minutes and remove from heat.

In a medium bowl, combine rice and the sauteed onion. Stir in tomato and salt, adjusting seasoning to taste. Finish by stirring in fresh lemon juice. Makes 6 servings.