Arancini Bites (ALDI)

Like a good American, I’m a lush for just about anything deep fried.  I couldn’t tell you the last time that I disliked something deep fried and I really don’t imagine there ever being one.  Something about the process of breading and item and tossing it in hot oil, makes it taste delicious.  However, there are some things that I enjoy submerged in oil better than others.  Cheese is quite possibly the best thing to ever get thrown into a deep fryer, and when I spotted some arancini appetizers in the freezer section of ALDI, they had to be mine.  I guiltily threw them into my cart full of healthy fruits and veggies, throwing off any chance of a winter cleanse.  Here’s what I thought of them:

As soon as I arrived home, I was a little curious about these Italian cheese balls.  I really didn’t read too much about about them and they seemed familiar to me, but I couldn’t quite place where I had them or what was in them.  Putting this frozen product under my microscope, I discovered that these were balls of rice and fontina cheese, breaded and fried.  It’s the kind of thing that a mozzarella stick lover like me would absolutely enjoy with it’s crisp outer shell and melted cheese center.  I was really starting to crave these, so I filled a deep pan with a 1/2 inch of vegetable oil and set it over medium high heat.  There were only 14 bites in the box, and once the oil was to temperature, all 14 of these bites were going to destroy any chance I had at eating healthy tonight. After about 7 minutes cheese began to ooze from some of the cracks in the deep fried balls, alerting me to the fact that these were finished bathing in hot oil.  I lined a plate with paper towels, spooning the arancini on to it allowing the oil to soak in.  Then, the Italian cheese balls were transferred to a long serving plate and a small bowl of marinara was sat next to the arancini, ready to dip.

A few moments passed as I allowed the deep fried goodies to cool off.  I carefully picked up the warm arancini ball and submerged it into the marinara.  Trying to avoid a severe mouth burn, I took a small bite and was greeted with warm fontina cheese and the subtle texture of rice.  These were much better than mozzarella sticks, and had bumped their cheesy counterpart out of my appetizer agenda.  These little guys were refined and could easily be served with a toothpick.  They weren’t the awful stringy mess that a mozzarella stick presents, and easy to eat as you pop one after another into your mouth.  It wasn’t long after I had these thoughts that all 14 of those bite-sized balls were cleared.  I had to hang my head.  This wasn’t the healthiest choice.  FORK, I guess that cleanse will just have to wait.

Stuffed Vegetarian Green Peppers

I’m a big fan of stuffing food full of food.  Flavors marry, and things stay incredibly moist using this method.  Peppers make one of my favorite vessel and there aren’t too many peppers you can’t stuff.  From mild bell peppers to spicy jalapenos, you can cram anything from cheese to rice in these edible containers, making appetizers, entrees, and desserts.  Ok so, desserts with peppers, may take some creative culinary crafting, but it can be done.  I didn’t go that route with today’s dish, however, going with the ever-so-popular stuffed green bell pepper.  Here’s some images to get your imagination running:

Cutting board action!

It all starts out with mincing 2 cloves of garlic and chopping a 1/2 cup of onions, throwing them into a frying pan over medium heat with two tablespoons of olive oil. As those begin to sizzle, dice 1
1/2 cups of eggplant and a 1/2 cup of portobello mushrooms, adding them to the browning garlic and onions. Stir every 2 minutes allowing the medley to cook down and toss 2 tablespoons of curry powder to the mix. As this is cooking down, preheat your oven to 375 and slice the tops of your 3 medium sized green peppers off, removing the seeds. Add 2 cups of cooked brown rice to the frying pan (i suggest making it easy, using Trader Joe’s Frozen Brown Rice). Stir in a 1/4 cup of soy sauce, and stir for about 2 minutes to coat the rice and veggies. Finally stuff those peppers, using a spoon, and top with panko bread crumbs.

Ready for the oven, placed on a cookie sheet, slide those stuffed peppers into the oven and allow to roast for 30-40 minutes. Once the panko is slightly browned, the peppers are ready to be plated. Allow 5-10 minutes to cool, and enjoy.