I checked another item off of my 30 before 30 list this weekend. Taking a cooking class is now complete. And if I'm being honest, it is not going to be the last. If you live in Florida (or Atlanta) you can see if there is a Publix cooking school in your area. If so, I highly recommend attending one. They offer both demonstrations and hands-on classes, depending on whether you want to brush up on your knife skills or eat an entire plated meal complete with wine parings for each course.

I used proper knifes (that weren't bought wrapped in plastic), a mandolin and an emersion blender for the first time. As someone who gets giddy every time she walks into Bed, Bath and Beyond, I was having so much fun.

On the menu were holiday side dishes. If you are looking for the perfect (simple) recipe to bring to a holiday gathering, or if you are still finalizing the menu for your first year hosting Thanksgiving, here are my three favorite recipes of the night. Also on the menu were Creamy Garlic Turnip Mashed Potatoes and Crispy Rosemary Fennel.

The sides were heavy on the starch, butter, bacon fat and garlic. If you are looking to lighten up your meal, then pass these recipes over.

Creamy Three Cheese Truffle Macaroni

Serves 6

Ingredients 

2 tlbs. butter

2 large sweet onions, julienned

1/2 pound elbow macaroni

1 tlbs. white truffle oil

5 tlbs. butter or bacon fat

5 tlbs. all-purpose flour

3 cups milk

1/2 tsp. ground annatto

1/8 tsp. turmeric

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded

1 cup Colby Jack cheese, shredded

1/2 cup Havarti cheese, shredded

1 cup breadcrumbs

Method

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large skillet, melt butter on medium high heat. Add onions and cook until caramelized to a dark golden color.

Cook macaroni in boiling water for about 10 minutes until tender but still firm. Drain well. Place in large bowl with caramelized onions and a drizzle of truffle oil; mix well and set aside. 

In a deep skillet, melt butter on medium heat. Add flour to make a roux and cook, stirring, to remove any lumps. Pour in milk and cook until mixture is thick and smooth. Season bechamel with salt, pepper, annatto, turmeric. Remove from heat, stir in Cheddar and Colby Jack cheese until melted.

Add pasta and transfer mixture to a 9 x 13-inch baking dish; bake 10-20 minutes. Top with 1/2 cup havarti cheese and and breadcrumbs and bake for an additional 5 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Spaghetti Squash with Brown Butter and Sage

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 large spaghetti squash

1 ounce olive oil

4 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon sage, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Cut squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Coat squash with olive oil and place, cut side down, on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 20-25 minutes or until tender. Rest at room temperature until cool enough to handle. 

Scrape cooked squash with a fork out of its skin into a bowl and set aside. In a large saute pan, melt butter on medium-high until the color starts to change to  a slight brown. Add sage and toast for 10 seconds and then add squash. Toss until coated with butter, season with salt and pepper. 

Serve hot.

Zesty Orange Cranberry Relish

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 (8 ox) can mandarin oranges

12 ounce bag cranberries (fresh)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

Method

Drain oranges and reserve juice. In a medium sauce pan, combine cranberries, sugar, water, and mandarin orange juice. Bring to a boil, add oranges and reduce to a simmer until cranberries pop and oranges break down. Remove from heat, cool and serve. 

All recipes written by the Publix Apron Test Kitchen

I'm excited to be linking up with Samantha today for Cooks in the Kitchen. As you are well aware of by now, breakfast foods are my absolute favorite. Eggs and toast are eaten at all hours of the day and pancakes are acceptable morning, noon and night.

So of course, when I found a recipe for classic buttermilk pancakes on The Everygirl, I knew that I had to test it out. I am a self-proclaimed box mix pancake girl. And proud of it. So I went out on a limb taking the time to really make the batter myself. 

While it didn't turn out perfect, I'm turning to those cooking experts out there reading this that might be able to solve the problem. My guess is, I didn't take the time to sift the flour before measuring it. Whatever the problem, the batter resembled buttermilk biscuits more than pancake batter.

Even though they were extremely dense, once I added berries and bananas to the top, all doubt in the recipe slipped my mind. I microwaved frozen mixed berries until they became soft and the juice became the syrup. You can also add the berries to maples syrup as you're heating it for added sweetness.

*I will admit that I did not read all the details and about how this month's ingredient is semi-sweet chocolate. oops. But since I'm not the biggest chocolate fan, well, that's fine by me.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, sifted before measuring
1 tsp. salt
4 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups buttermilk
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
Maple syrup or Berry Syrup (see recipe below), for serving
Fresh fruit (sliced bananas, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries), for serving

Directions

Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix egg, buttermilk, and butter. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients. Whisk the batter to combine, until the flour is dampened and just a few lumps remain. Heat an ungreased griddle. Throw a few drops of cold water on the griddle--if they dash about briskly it's ready for use. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter quickly onto the griddle. When bubbles start to form and the edges begin to firm, use a spatula to flip the pancakes to the other side. Cook another minute or two longer, then remove. 

Sometimes sitting down in a chair to eat breakfast is not an option. Sometimes the snooze button gets the best of you. And sometimes you hair just doesn't want to cooporate. But that doesn't mean you have to forego the most important meal of the day. These apple oatmeal muffins are the perfect on-the-go breakfast or afternoon snack. With rolled oats and not a lot of sugar, they won't break your calorie bank. So go ahead; take your time getting ready, put your coffee in a thermos and grab a muffin for the road. 

If you enjoy baking and have leftover baking ingredients, try making apple oatmeal muffins. They make a perfect to-go breakfast, afternoon snack, or Christmas gift for your suitemates. 

Ingredients: 

2 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking oats)


1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour


1 TB baking powder


1/2 teaspoon salt


1/2 teaspoon cinnamon


2 large eggs, lightly beaten


1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar


1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly


1 teaspoon vanilla extract


1 finely chopped apple

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease well a 12-cup muffin tin. In a medium bowl, mix the oats and the milk and set aside for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, making a well in the center. Stir in the liquid ingredients and the oatmeal mixture until just combined, being careful not to over mix. Batter may be lumpy. Fold in chopped apple. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full. Bake for 16-18 minutes until lightly golden or a cake tester inserted into center of muffin comes out with moist crumbs attached.

*recipe from aggieskitchen.com

Elizabeth is one of those bloggers

who you feel like you can be best friends

with instantly. 

She's constantly sharing words of encouragement, 

a Harry Potter reference,

or a winter outfit post that has me (almost) wishing 

I didn't live in a tropical climate

so I could embrace the layered look. 

And now she has a delectable recipe that 

will impress you next gathering. 

And you all know how much I love baking and sweets.

Hello! My name is Elizabeth and I blog over at Oak + Oats. I am so excited to be guest posting here at A Stamp in my Passport! I love winter and the new year and snow and making treats and staying warm and feeding friends and drinking hot coco and such. I wanted to share with you my mother's secret recipe (that is all over pinterest now) because it is so easy and a great go to dessert for the holiday season! 

I make easy treats. I am not not much of a backer/ cook / person who enjoys spending time alone in my kitchen. These brownies are right up my ally because they are seriously the easiest thing ever. also, they are Ridings family tradition. my mom made these all the time growing up - school snacks, bible study dessert, birthday foods, potlucks, and all that. probably because she is a lot like me!

WHAT YOU NEED:

- box of brownie mix (& required ingredients)

       vegetable oil

       2 eggs

       water

- bag of york peppermint patties

WHAT YOU DO:

1. mix together the brownie mix following the instructions on the box

2. put in the oven for a couple minutes less than the box tells you to

3. when the timer beeps, add unwrapped mints to the top of the brownies

4. put back in oven for 3-4 minutes

5. use a spoon (sprayed with pam) to spread the melted mints on top of the brownies

6. let cool & enjoy!!!! 

For dessert on Thanksgiving day, mom and I made the apple-pecan carrot cake from the November issue of Southern Living. It's a combination of my three favorite kinds of cake, so I had no doubts that I would love it. This cake exceeded all of my expectations. By grating both the apples and carrots, you don't run into the issue of taking a bite of mushy apple. It is moist, dense and flavorful. Because it has 1 1/2 cups of carrots I tried to convince my family that it is in fact considered a vegetable side dish. They didn't buy it. 

The real stars in this recipe are the apple cider caramel sauce and the mascarpone frosting. The caramel sauce calls for regular apple cider, but all we had was spiced cider and I think it gave the cake an even better flavor. You pour the sauce in between the two cake layers and let it soak in. And now let's talk about the frosting, which is somewhere in between cool whip and cream cheese frosting and is ten times better than both of them. Because the sauce is extremely sweet, the frosting's mellow flavor is the perfect complement. 

It was decided that this cake was going to become a new family tradition at the holidays. While it was fairly time-consuming, the final product is worth the hour or two spent in the kitchen. Mom made the cake the night before and let them sit to soak in all the flavors. While she was fixing the rest of the lunch, we made the caramel sauce and frosting and assembled everything right before we sat down to eat. 

_________________________________________

Mar of To and Fro

BLOG|INSTAGRAM|TWITTER|PINTEREST

I started this blog back in 2010 as a way to communicate with friends and family when an unexpected move took us over 4000 miles from home in Toronto to the land of the midnight sun, Alaska. Alaska immediately stole our hearts and gave us both opportunities we never could have imagined, but like all good things, it had to come to an end and we decided it was time for the next adventure. I am a travel addict, animal lover, photography junkie, outdoor enthusiast and my hockey-playing hubby's #1 fan and love blogging about our adventures living in Toronto and working as a professional hockey player and environmental educator/animal handler at an aquarium.

What is your favorite Christmas song?:

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas (it reminds me of elementary school, when all the students would gather in the gym to sing carols)

What you should be reading: This Isn't Goodbye | The Ultimate Road Trip | In the Blink of an Eye

Ella of Paper Umbrella

BLOG|INSTAGRAM|BLOGLOVIN|PINTEREST

Brief description of you/what you blog about: I am a recent college grad living in Portland, Oregon. I work in a special education classroom by day, and blog by night! I love sharing DIY projects, recipes, design and fashion inspiration, music, photos of my daily life, and anything else that inspires me. I'm the type of person who will elaborately package your sandwich in washi tape and craft paper because I think it's important to put thought into the smallest details and make life more beautiful in every way you can.

What is your favorite Christmas song?: It's so hard to choose just one!...Probably "Merry Christmas, Baby" by Otis Redding.

What you should be reading: DIY Wire Rings | Anthropologie Inspired Tassel Pillows | Thai Noodle Soup

Jess of Foreign Room

BLOG | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | BLOGLOVIN

I'm just a girl that believes in photographing every day life, drinking mass amounts of iced coffee, adventuring whenever possible, cuddling with my pup, enjoying life's small moments, hoarding mason jars, and blogging about it all.

Favorite Christmas song: "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" by Michael Bublé. I'm just smitten by his whole Christmas album!

What you should be reading: Let's Talk About Stress | In the Quiet Moments: First Baby Shoot | Thankful Project: Something About My Guy

Then make them Shortbread Sundae Bites. 

Trust me, they will sing your praises

through the holiday season.

It's all in the presentation. 

Make it look pretty and they'll

never guess you spent less than 

20 minutes fixing it. 

The key is to use Talenti gelato.

Tahitian vanilla bean, butter pecan, & belgian chocolate 

to be exact. 

(No, I did not receive payment from Talenti for this post, 

but I am open for collaboration in the future. Got that, Talenti PR pros?)

What you will need: 

2 in. tart pan (this is important. 4 in. pans are a tad too big for a single serving)

1 c. butter

1 c. brown sugar

2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

ice cream of your choice (see recommendation above)

cocunut shavings

toffee bits

chocolate and/or caramel sauce

strawberries to make it pretty

To make the shortbread torte: Preheat oven to 300. Gently cream together softened butter and brown sugar. Whisk flour, salt and baking powder together and gently fold into the creamed mixture, handling as little as possible. Dough will be crumbly. Lightly press dough into small torte pans. Bake at 300 for 15-18 minutes. Check often, do not overbake.

Use a small scoop to create vanilla ice cream balls. Roll in shredded coconut and freeze. For chocolate (and butter pecan), use a larger scoop and roll in toffee bits. Freeze. Melt 8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips in microwave for 1-1.5 minutes or until creamy. Do not overheat. When ready to serve, place one vanilla and one chocolate (or butter pecan) ice cream ball on each shortbread torte. Add a strawberry and top with melted chocolate (or caramel sauce.)

*recipe from "A Gathering of Friends Vol. 1" cookbook

_____________________________________

Meet Caroline of A Batonnet a Day

BLOG | BLOGLOVIN | INSTAGRAM

Caroline blogs over at A Batonnet a Day when she is not busy at cooking school in Portland or spending time with her cat, Willow. I'm sure if you asked her, she could come up with a dozen more recipes to impress a dinner party. In case, like me, you were wondering what a batonnet is: "A bâtonnet is one of the first knife cuts that you learn and one that you use every day, the dimensions are .25"x.25"x2". At school you start by cutting potatoes, lots of potatoes, only potatoes (with the occasional onion). In fact, the entire first week is based on cooking potatoes! (And as you can probably guess, cutting A LOT bâtonnets.)"

What are you most thankful for? 

My family and friends. They are always there for me, no matter what, any time - day or night. I know that I can always count on them for anything. 

What you should be reading: Vegan Pumpkin Muffins | Baked Feta | DIY Glitter Leaf Garland

Need I say more? Nothings ushers in the fall season like pumpkin desserts. I personally don't understand why pumpkin dump cake can't be served year round, but some like to reserve our favorite orange (fruit? vegetable?) for October and November. Their loss.

So yes, I love pumpkin baked goods. And then when you add a Biscoff streusel topping, well then now we are talking about a culinary masterpiece. My only change to the recipe would be to put the creme cheese layer in the center of the muffin instead of on top under the streusel topping. 

Yet again, I've armed you with the best way to make new friends in the office. Trust me, if you leave a dozen of these on the break room table, they will be devoured by noon.

Recipe from Lil' Luna

Biscoff Streusel Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients:

1½ c. all-purpose flour

1 c. sugar

¼ c. brown sugar

1 c. pumpkin puree (not pie filling)

2 eggs

¼ c. vegetable oil

¼ c. unsweetened applesauce

¼ c. water

¾ tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. vanilla extract

Streusel:

¼ c. all-purpose flour

¼ c. sugar

¼ c. brown sugar

¼ c. finely crushed Biscoff cookies

2 tbsp. Biscoff spread

3 tbsp. butter, cold

4 oz. original cream cheese, cold and cut into dime size slices

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line one standard size muffin pan with liners* or lightly grease with baking spray, set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer with mixing speed on low, combine sugars, puree, vegetable oil, applesauce, water, and vanilla extract. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until just combined.

3. In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and ground cinnamon. With mixing speed on low, gradually add in the dry ingredients, mixing until no flour pockets remain. Remove bowl from stand and set aside.

4. For the streusel, in a small mixing bowl combine sugars, flour, crushed cookies, and ground cinnamon. Using a pastry blender, cut in cold butter and Biscoff spread. Continue working the mixture with the pastry blender until it resembles chunks about the size of a rice krispie.

5. Pour batter into prepared muffin pan, dividing evenly. Top with slices of cream cheese, then sprinkle streusel over top. You will want to be generous with the streusel, but you may have a few tablespoons left over. Gently pat the streusel into the batter to help it bake into the muffin.

6. Place in the oven and bake for 18-22 minutes or until the tops spring back and the streusel is golden brown in color (note: baking times may vary depending on how much you streusel you add and the heat of your oven). Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

I'd like to think that I'm a much better baker than cook. I can follow a recipe like my life depended on it. I love the exact measurements, the precise cooking times and the detailed instructions. None of this "eyeballing" business. Needless to say I end up with a disproportionate amount of sweets to dinner food ratio. And I'm ok with this. 

When Lauren shared this recipe for banana bars and raved about how easy they were to make/a crowd pleaser, I knew I had to try them. Also, I had two bananas that had seen better days. When life gives you mushy bananas, make banana bread...or bars (which was perfect because I don't have a loaf pan to make banana bread anyways.)

I tweaked her recipe a tad and added chopped pecans and used Duncan Hines cream cheese frosting instead of making my own. It tastes just the same to me and I don't have to deal with cleaning up all of the powdered sugar that inevitably lodges in every nook and cranny of the kitchen. I have a hard enough time cleaning up all of the flour left over. There was so much white powder everywhere, the kitchen looked like the set of Breaking Bad. True story.

Back to the banana bars...they are simple and a crowd pleaser. win-win situation. I love that you make them in a 9x13 pan instead of a loaf because you can feed three times the amount of people, if needed. Or you can keep the whole batch for yourself. No judgement. They are perfect for breakfast, afternoon snack or second dinner.

BARS:

1 cup sugar

2 mashed bananas

2 eggs

1/3 c vegetable oil

1 c flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

FROSTING:

1 regular pack of (light) cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup of butter

2 cups powdered sugar

splash of vanilla

METHOD:

Preheat your oven to 350.

Mix the bananas, sugar, eggs & oil together in a bowl until it's a nice yellow, sloppy mix.

Stir in remaining ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon & salt).

Pour into greased pan (9x13) and put into oven for 25-30 minutes... 

or until a knife/toothpick comes out clean when inserted from the center.

Leave to cool for one hour.

Now is great time to toss the cream cheese & butter out on the counter to soften.

After you've run an errand, eaten some lunch or watched a little tv

while the banana bars cool,

come back to the kitchen and start on the frosting.

Mix all four ingredients in a bowl.

You can beat by hand or in a mixer... both will be yummy.

Spread on the cooled bars & cut into 6x4 rows.

I am somewhere in the middle of my culinary journey. Gone are the days of being ok with living off Ramen and peanut butter sandwiches, but I lack the funds to cook full meals all week.

Enter the $5, fully cooked whole rotisserie chicken. I don't know why I have been paying the same amount for a few chicken breasts that I would still have to take the time to cook. What was I thinking? I shredded that bad boy up and had two meals of chicken with broccoli and rice, added chipotle mayo and pecans for chicken salad and also made the best pasta salad. Since it is sans mayo, it is perfect for picnics and bbqs.

I found the recipe on Pinterest and you can view the original here.

Sherry Shallot Vinaigrette1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup Sherry Vinegar
1 Shallot, chopped
1/ 2 clove Garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Salt
Lots of fresh ground black pepper to taste

Puree the ingredients together in a small processor or blender. Set aside.

Tomato Zucchini Pasta1 pound riccioli shaped pasta, or any favorite shape
2 medium sized zucchini, or 1 large thinly sliced into half moons
1 cup chopped scallions
3-4 ripe Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 recipe Sherry Shallot Vinaigrette
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil the pasta according to the package directions in heavily salted water. Drain and rinse in cold water.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the Sherry Shallot Vinaigrette.

3. Toss the pasta together in a large bowl with the dressing and the rest of the ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately or store covered in the refrigerator until chilled.

I cut the pasta recipe in half, but used the whole dressing recipe. Also, I used red wine vinegar because my grocery store was severely lacking in their vinegar selection and I thought it was the closest thing to sherry vinegar. It still tasted good, and is perfect to make if you have a cold because smelling the vinegar will immediately open your sinuses up. 

Enjoy!

Mom has been perfecting this recipe since I went back to school in January, and now it is one of my all time favorite summer desserts (behind jell-o poke cake...yum!)

Now, Ina Garten, aka Barefoot Contessa, has a famous fruit tart recipe and you can't really argue with Ina. Yes, we're on first name terms. However, Ina probably does not know that frozen pie shells exist and she requires you to make your own crust. While I love Ina and her show, I like shortcuts in baking/cooking. Sidenote: I will not fly to Africa to pick my own vanilla beans to make vanilla extract. If I lived in the Hamptons, you better believe that I would not spend all of my time in the kitchen prepping. No ma'am, I would be celebrity watching and schmoozing with the rich and famous. 

Back to the tart... 

Since it is piled high with a plethora of fresh fruit, I think it can hardly be considered dessert. Am I right? Or am I right? 

Recipe:

2 Prepared frozen pie crusts (with ridges, but not deep dish)

Filling

2 packages cream cheese (8 oz), softened
1 cup shifted powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Orange Sauce:

½ cup granulated sugar
¼ tsp. finely shredded orange peel
¼ tsp. finely shredded lemon peel
1 cup orange juice
2 tablespoon lemon juice
4 tsp. cornstarch

Directions:

Fresh fruit: sliced peaches, nectarines, strawberries, kiwi, bananas, grapes, apples, mandarin oranges, and/or raspberries.

1. Bake pie shells (empty) as instructed on package

2. Prepare filling: in medium mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until fluffy.

3. After pie shells have completely cooled, spread cream cheese mixture over both crusts. Decorate with fruit.

4. To prepare orange sauce: Combine sugar, orange and lemon peel, orange and lemon juice and cornstarch in small saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture is thick. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Cover and cool the sauce without stirring.

5. When glaze has cooled gently spoon over fruit topping. Chill until ready to serve (at least an hour).

Enjoy!

               

If you know me, you know that my idea of cooking involves nuking something in the microwave or heating precooked foods in the oven. Originally I blamed this lack of desire to cook on not having a kitchen in my freshman and sophomore dorm room. And maybe that was the case. But last year, I got to have a full kitchen {oh, joy!}. 

But that didn't put an end to my lack of desire to cook. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE watching other people cook on tv. "Brunch with Bobby Flay" {or any show with Bobby Flay if we are being honest} is becoming an obsession. I still made a beeline for the frozen foods section in the grocery store.

That being said, you should know that when I share a recipe with you it truly means that it is full-proof. Anyone can make it and impress friends and families. 

Wednesday is my day off from my internship and so I graciously offered to cook dinner for my parents on Wednesdays. I had been seeing all of these recipes on Pinterest for stuffed bell peppers and I thought "I could make those." Well one thing led to another and some didn't have recipes attached to them or had ingredients I didn't really cared for. So I took a leap of faith and just made up my own recipe. No measuring cups, no real directions and a lot of impulse ingredients went into this. This is a true Jess Boyd original recipe. You're welcome world. It's pretty genius. 

Sausage and brown rice stuffed bell peppers
yields filling for three peppers

Ingredients: 
1 bag of brown rice {I used Uncle Ben's Boil in a Bag. Judge me all you want.}
2 links of Italian sausage
1/2 yellow onion
2 cloves minced garlic
Handful of sliced mushrooms
3 basil leaves
1/2 cup - 1 cup liquid {I used tomato sauce, but Worcestershire would be good too}
3 peppers {I used green, but I think the flavor of red peppers is better}
Optional: cheese to melt on top

Directions:
1.Prepare rice according to directions on the box. 
2.Preheat oven to 375. 
3.Cook Italian sausage. Add onions, garlic and mushrooms. Cook until ?{tender? browned? You know what mushrooms and onions look like when they are cooked}
4. In a bowl, stir the rice, sausage mixture and liquid together. 
5.Fill the mixture into the hollowed-out peppers. 
6.Bake for 45 minutes. Enjoy.