There are probably countless recipes for unstuffed peppers and now I've added my own version. Some might find this kinda bland but I actually prefer the more mellow, simple flavors on busy days. It preps in less than 30 minutes plus clean up is easy. A wooden spoon works really well with this dish.
Ingrediants
3 cups cooked brown rice
1 lb ground turkey
3 large bell peppers (any color) small chunks
1 onion diced
2 small tomatoes coarsely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic crushed
1-2 tsp your choice of dried seasonings (I use italian and basil)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup your choice of cheese (I love parm. cheese but generic chedder is cheaper)
1) While the rice is cooking, brown and crumble the ground turkey in a large skillet and drain off the grease
2) Toss the veggies, garlic, salt, & seasonings in with the turkey. Continue cooking until peppers turn a bright color. Turn the heat down to low (for cast iron) or med-low.
3) Carefully fold in the cheese and then the rice. Heat and toss until cheese melts and everything is distributed evenly.
Number of servings: well, it depends...
It might feed my sister Amy's family of five (with two teen boys) if she serves it with a side dish, like salad. Or it would feed my other sister's Ang's family of six (with no teens boys) with leftovers for her hubby's lunch the next day. In my case, I eat a little for dinner and put the rest in containers, which I take to school and work. This dish will provide me lunches for a week. However long this dish lasts, I like how you get starch, fresh veggies and protein all in one dish so easily.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Growing Up Pigeon Conclusion
Growing up in Sandy, I found a bird's nest from a fallen tree while cleaning up yard debris. I was like, Oh cool! a perfectly formed bird's nest. Being the dumb blond that I am, I reached down to pick it up. All of a sudden, my skin felt like it was crawling and itchy. I had touched a mite-infested nest.
Fast forward ten years later. I waited for Toby to finish sweeping his apartment balcony. He came inside looking rather absent-minded at a grocery bag. "Why are you scratching your head, Tob?" I asked him. "I don't know. My head itches." Uh oh. When Toby adopted the little pigeon, he also adopted their parasitic companions of the avian variety.
Poor Toby! He tried get all animal rights activist and the pigeons left him scrubbing down his balcony with a 10% bleach solution. The mite have settled into each plant pot and bags of potting soil. We both hope that such an invasion will end once the frost arrives and the mites just freeze over.
That's right. The pigeons left, baby and all. After falling off the balcony a couple times, the squab figured out that his wings are for flying in addition to soft landings.
As I survey the previous posts about this silly little family, I can't think of anything profound to end their story. This mini series about pigeons feels a lot like TV shows that run for too long (i.e. reality shows get old after like, 10 minutes).
I suck at writing descriptive pieces even with the help of pictures. Many writers can capture a moment and relay it to their readers as if they themselves have experienced it. In the previous posts, I mentioned a few cute things but only described a fraction of their daily behaviors. However, I feel that if this narration of pigeon life continues, it would induce a snore fest from readers.
I tried to upload the last couple pictures of the squab looking a lot like a real pigeon but for someone reason its just not working out. Oh well.
So I will just end by saying this: despite the scattered dirt, mite infestation, and layers of poop, the pigeons did provide some interesting entertainment this summer. In addition, they illustrated a God-driven purpose by diligently watching over their offspring and living a simple life. Even with their imperfections (like leaving a mess on Toby's space) I think they glorified the Creator in their sweet, humble way. How about us? Can we as humans achieve the same kind of success?
Fast forward ten years later. I waited for Toby to finish sweeping his apartment balcony. He came inside looking rather absent-minded at a grocery bag. "Why are you scratching your head, Tob?" I asked him. "I don't know. My head itches." Uh oh. When Toby adopted the little pigeon, he also adopted their parasitic companions of the avian variety.
Poor Toby! He tried get all animal rights activist and the pigeons left him scrubbing down his balcony with a 10% bleach solution. The mite have settled into each plant pot and bags of potting soil. We both hope that such an invasion will end once the frost arrives and the mites just freeze over.
That's right. The pigeons left, baby and all. After falling off the balcony a couple times, the squab figured out that his wings are for flying in addition to soft landings.
As I survey the previous posts about this silly little family, I can't think of anything profound to end their story. This mini series about pigeons feels a lot like TV shows that run for too long (i.e. reality shows get old after like, 10 minutes).
I suck at writing descriptive pieces even with the help of pictures. Many writers can capture a moment and relay it to their readers as if they themselves have experienced it. In the previous posts, I mentioned a few cute things but only described a fraction of their daily behaviors. However, I feel that if this narration of pigeon life continues, it would induce a snore fest from readers.
I tried to upload the last couple pictures of the squab looking a lot like a real pigeon but for someone reason its just not working out. Oh well.
So I will just end by saying this: despite the scattered dirt, mite infestation, and layers of poop, the pigeons did provide some interesting entertainment this summer. In addition, they illustrated a God-driven purpose by diligently watching over their offspring and living a simple life. Even with their imperfections (like leaving a mess on Toby's space) I think they glorified the Creator in their sweet, humble way. How about us? Can we as humans achieve the same kind of success?
Friday, July 31, 2009
Growing Up Pigeon
Early this week, the pigeon family experienced a tragedy. Toby noticed that one of the babies lay motionless in the nest and the parents behaved very strangely, fluttering to the roof, the balcony railing, the nest, and back again, all the while cooing wildly. That day, the pigeon parents grieved the loss of one of their babies. They even left the nest for several hours. Toby and I can only guess what happened. Perhaps the heat wave took it's toll on the helpless squab.
Fortunately, the pigeons are moving on and still taking care of their remaining offspring who grows rapidly.
You can see that he (it could easily be a female squab but how to tell?) has started to grow feathers and the yellow fluff steadily disappears.
Now, when I see a baby duck or goose I say "awww how cute!" On the other hand, I see the baby pigeon and chuckle a little. Look at him! He has an appearance only a parent can love. Squab is such an appropriate name for a baby pigeon because ugly outweighs cute. It's funny because when it eats, the sounds that come out is like a high-note squeaky toy.
Today, Toby offered it a couple wheat berries. The squab simply scooted farther away from Toby's hand. We then had a discussion on its eating habits. "Tob" I said, "The baby bird only eats regurgitated grains. He's too little to eat whole berries" Toby says "Well, at some point, its going to eat regular food"
I'm sure it is. The neat part is that we'll probably be able to see the squab eat whole foods. I found out through my mad research skillz that squabs leave the nest only when they have grown to the same size as the parents.
Right now though, our little squab looks nothing like its mom or dad. However, they now leave the nest for hours at a time, coming back to feed him. Squab's parents stay very close, though. One or both parents will sit on the roof top to look after it.
Even though Toby initially disapproved of the pigeons taking over his apartment balcony, he is still a thoughtful guy. Notice the piece of cardboard? He put it there to provide additional shade when the parents flew away after the other squab died. Toby thought they had abandoned the remaining baby.
I guess I shouldn't be so quick to judge its appearance. After all, because he looks a lot like the dirt he sits on, predators will fail to see him as a afternoon snack.
Well, I don't know what the future holds for this little family. It will be fun to see the little one reach adulthood, don't you think?
Fortunately, the pigeons are moving on and still taking care of their remaining offspring who grows rapidly.
You can see that he (it could easily be a female squab but how to tell?) has started to grow feathers and the yellow fluff steadily disappears.
Now, when I see a baby duck or goose I say "awww how cute!" On the other hand, I see the baby pigeon and chuckle a little. Look at him! He has an appearance only a parent can love. Squab is such an appropriate name for a baby pigeon because ugly outweighs cute. It's funny because when it eats, the sounds that come out is like a high-note squeaky toy.
Today, Toby offered it a couple wheat berries. The squab simply scooted farther away from Toby's hand. We then had a discussion on its eating habits. "Tob" I said, "The baby bird only eats regurgitated grains. He's too little to eat whole berries" Toby says "Well, at some point, its going to eat regular food"
I'm sure it is. The neat part is that we'll probably be able to see the squab eat whole foods. I found out through my mad research skillz that squabs leave the nest only when they have grown to the same size as the parents.
Right now though, our little squab looks nothing like its mom or dad. However, they now leave the nest for hours at a time, coming back to feed him. Squab's parents stay very close, though. One or both parents will sit on the roof top to look after it.
Even though Toby initially disapproved of the pigeons taking over his apartment balcony, he is still a thoughtful guy. Notice the piece of cardboard? He put it there to provide additional shade when the parents flew away after the other squab died. Toby thought they had abandoned the remaining baby.
I guess I shouldn't be so quick to judge its appearance. After all, because he looks a lot like the dirt he sits on, predators will fail to see him as a afternoon snack.
Well, I don't know what the future holds for this little family. It will be fun to see the little one reach adulthood, don't you think?
Saturday, July 25, 2009
New Family part 2
A lot has happened to the pigeon family since I last introduced them.
First, baby pigeons are growing up fast. Friday morning we saw babies for the first time. The week before Friday, Toby and I were concerned because he noticed that one of the eggs was cracked and we didn't see the second baby for a while. The babies must have hatched quite a while before we noticed them because they look three times bigger than the eggs. The following pictures shows them right after we found out they had hatched. According to "Some Very Basic Pigeon Facts" baby pigeons are called "squabs" So for now on, I will refer to the baby pigeons as squabs.
The mom and dad pigeons take turns feeding just like when they took turns sitting. According to the above website, both parents feed squabs from their crops containing a cheesy substance. Yum. Squabs eat crop milk for about a week or so. Then they graduate to partially digested grains that Mom and Dad throw up.
In this picture, Dad is feeding one squab. The twin must be on other side.
The male parent.
The cooing, Toby thinks, is the parents talking to their young. They must be having a family meeting. Sorry, not a very flattering shot but it's difficult to catch both parents at the same time. Mom is on the left and dad is on the right.
Do you see the two yellow fluffyness underneath the parent? those are the two babies it's hard to tell from this picture. Toby tries to disturb them as little as possible when taking pictures.
The nest sits right along side these tomatoes.
Sometimes the parents puff themselves up which creates an obese appearance. Toby and I have to idea why, maybe to provide more coverage for the young. This is the female parent.
Remember the above pictures were taken a week ago. In the next post, we'll see what the family looks like now.
First, baby pigeons are growing up fast. Friday morning we saw babies for the first time. The week before Friday, Toby and I were concerned because he noticed that one of the eggs was cracked and we didn't see the second baby for a while. The babies must have hatched quite a while before we noticed them because they look three times bigger than the eggs. The following pictures shows them right after we found out they had hatched. According to "Some Very Basic Pigeon Facts" baby pigeons are called "squabs" So for now on, I will refer to the baby pigeons as squabs.
The mom and dad pigeons take turns feeding just like when they took turns sitting. According to the above website, both parents feed squabs from their crops containing a cheesy substance. Yum. Squabs eat crop milk for about a week or so. Then they graduate to partially digested grains that Mom and Dad throw up.
In this picture, Dad is feeding one squab. The twin must be on other side.
The male parent.
The cooing, Toby thinks, is the parents talking to their young. They must be having a family meeting. Sorry, not a very flattering shot but it's difficult to catch both parents at the same time. Mom is on the left and dad is on the right.
Do you see the two yellow fluffyness underneath the parent? those are the two babies it's hard to tell from this picture. Toby tries to disturb them as little as possible when taking pictures.
The nest sits right along side these tomatoes.
Sometimes the parents puff themselves up which creates an obese appearance. Toby and I have to idea why, maybe to provide more coverage for the young. This is the female parent.
Remember the above pictures were taken a week ago. In the next post, we'll see what the family looks like now.
Upcoming Freeway Closures I-405 Part 2
I recieved another email about I-405 road construction and there has been some changes. I'm having a stroke of laziness right now so instead of relaying the info right here, you can go to this link and see all the road projects in Oregon to your hearts content.
tripcheck.com for Oregon
pretty useful site
tripcheck.com for Oregon
pretty useful site
Friday, July 24, 2009
New Family
I talk lot about myself on this blog. Now I'll shift your attention to
some other things.
Several weeks ago, Toby kept getting woken up by cooing sounds in the early mornings. A male pigeon used Toby's apartment balconey as a dating pad. Apperently, Mr. Pigeon is quite the stud because when Toby almost had enough of the unsolicited alarm clock, another bird showed up. After a few days, Toby found this where he was trying to grow onions.
A couple days later, another one appeared
Actually, it doesn't even look like much of a nest, she just smashed the green onions down and plopped her eggs there.
"They kinda just moved in...living at my place" Toby commented.
For a couple weeks, Mr. and Mrs. Bird as Toby calls them, have taken turns sitting on the eggs. Toby notices that they change shifts around 11 am.
Notice Toby's one tomato and the eggs in the background?
One parent sits diligently on the eggs at all times. They used to fly away whenever Toby came out to water the plants but would come right back as soon as he went inside. Now however, neither parent seems to mind Toby's or my presence at all.
I know God has a message somewhere in here about this little family. You'll just have to stay tuned in to see.
some other things.
Several weeks ago, Toby kept getting woken up by cooing sounds in the early mornings. A male pigeon used Toby's apartment balconey as a dating pad. Apperently, Mr. Pigeon is quite the stud because when Toby almost had enough of the unsolicited alarm clock, another bird showed up. After a few days, Toby found this where he was trying to grow onions.
A couple days later, another one appeared
Actually, it doesn't even look like much of a nest, she just smashed the green onions down and plopped her eggs there.
"They kinda just moved in...living at my place" Toby commented.
For a couple weeks, Mr. and Mrs. Bird as Toby calls them, have taken turns sitting on the eggs. Toby notices that they change shifts around 11 am.
Notice Toby's one tomato and the eggs in the background?
One parent sits diligently on the eggs at all times. They used to fly away whenever Toby came out to water the plants but would come right back as soon as he went inside. Now however, neither parent seems to mind Toby's or my presence at all. I know God has a message somewhere in here about this little family. You'll just have to stay tuned in to see.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Upcoming Freeway Closures I-405
Public Confession: I've been on the grouchy side lately. When that happens I try to do something nice to distract me from doing something not so nice. What do I have to be negative about? That's not the point! The point is I received an email from work notifying staff of upcoming freeway closure to help with commute. And I thought, wow this is really good info and wouldn't it be nice to share it with people. I don't know if I'm allowed to give out any names online but the credit goes to someone in Legacy Health security. Hope this helps with your commute should you need it.
Now you can avoid these hassles...that's helpful, right?
I-405 paving project through Downtown Portland begins
ODOT has started work on a repaving project on I-405 from the Marquam Bridge to the Fremont Bridge. The pavement is severely rutted and will be filled and paved to improve highway safety. The project will also install new lighting and signs along the I-405 corridor.
Closures: Construction work will require four weekend full single-directional (north or south) closures, shown below. Single-lane nighttime closures will also occur throughout the duration of the project. During the full directional weekend closures, I-405 will be completely open in the opposite direction. (i.e., when I-405 North is closed, I-405 South will be open).
Scheduled Weekend Closures (weather dependent)
Closures take place from10:00 pm Friday to 5:00 am Monday on I-405 between Fremont and Marquam Bridges
July 25-26
Northbound I-405 lanes and ramps closed (I-405 South will be open)
August 1-2
Northbound I-405 lanes and ramps closed (I-405 South will be open)
August 15-16
Southbound I-405 lanes and ramps closed (I-405 North will be open)
August 22-23
Southbound I-405 lanes and ramps closed (I-405 North will be open)
Now you can avoid these hassles...that's helpful, right?
I-405 paving project through Downtown Portland begins
ODOT has started work on a repaving project on I-405 from the Marquam Bridge to the Fremont Bridge. The pavement is severely rutted and will be filled and paved to improve highway safety. The project will also install new lighting and signs along the I-405 corridor.
Closures: Construction work will require four weekend full single-directional (north or south) closures, shown below. Single-lane nighttime closures will also occur throughout the duration of the project. During the full directional weekend closures, I-405 will be completely open in the opposite direction. (i.e., when I-405 North is closed, I-405 South will be open).
Scheduled Weekend Closures (weather dependent)
Closures take place from10:00 pm Friday to 5:00 am Monday on I-405 between Fremont and Marquam Bridges
July 25-26
Northbound I-405 lanes and ramps closed (I-405 South will be open)
August 1-2
Northbound I-405 lanes and ramps closed (I-405 South will be open)
August 15-16
Southbound I-405 lanes and ramps closed (I-405 North will be open)
August 22-23
Southbound I-405 lanes and ramps closed (I-405 North will be open)
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