Somehow we always manage to find time to cook together with J. during the weekends. Cooking is the kind of hobby that gives us the opportunity to have a bit of ‘quality time’ with each other. Nothing fancy or complicated, just ‘Lunch together’, chatting, listening to some music, or simply watching that movie we’ve been planning to watch for a while. Luckily Lia is a great napper, and she loves taking her naps on time! And that’s the moment we snick into the kitchen and start chopping, mixing, boiling, etc. That’s our moment! Sharing the kitchen and cooking together as new parents are always fun for us, particularly because J. and I tend to forget to use our regular tone of voice and start to whisper to each other while in the kitchen! Thinking that Lia is going to wake up! Until we realize that she has been ‘happily – deeply- napping’ during the entire time of our home cooking ‘date lunch adventure’.
So there’s always something funny to laugh about, and even though finding a bit of time to talk or have a moment of lazy thoughts and countless cups of tea (like we used to in our previous non-parent- life :)) do not come as often, we get to the conclusion that even with all the demands and responsibilities we have, like most parents. We couldn’t have it any other way. To share with each other as much as we could to make every second precious is everything in our lives. And we won’t change what we have for anything in the world. So here it is one of our lunches, ‘Roasted Bell Peppers with Spinach and Ricotta’! We make this one often, just because it is very easy; it doesn’t take a lot of time to prepare, and it looks great!
To Love + Family, friends. Happy Valentine’s Day!
ROASTED SPINACH & RICOTTA STUFFED BELL PEPPERS
I usually serve this dish with quinoa or rice, and sautéed tomatoes. This is a very hearty dish, great for lunch or light dinner. Feel free to experiment and combine any fillings of your taste! You'll love it! If for any reason you're unable to find ricotta, don't worry because you can make your own Ricotta; recipe here.
2 Large Bell Peppers, cut into halves
1 C. Cooked Spinach
1 Medium Yellow Onion, finely chopped
6 tsp. Ricotta, {1 1/2 tsp. for each half of pepper}
Parmesan cheese, to taste
Nutmeg, to taste
Salt to taste
Butter vegetable oil, to cook the onions
Olive oil, to brush the peppers {about 3 tsp}
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 200C / 392F.
1-In a frying pan add butter or oil and cooked the onion until they turn transparent and tender. When ready, in a bowl add the cooked onions, cooked spinach, nutmeg, salt and parmesan cheese to taste. Combine all ingredients well. Set aside. In a separate bowl add ricotta, salt, and parmesan to taste. Mix well. Set aside.
2-Brush peppers with oil and transfer to baking dish. Fill the peppers, half spinach mixture, and half ricotta. Sprinkle parmesan on top if you like! Bake for about 20-25 minutes. And then enjoy!!!
