The Bee Bakery

Colorful, healthy, and fairly easy, these stuffed peppers make a delicious meal! Great for multitasking, too, as they sit in the oven for an hour. Prep time: 10 min Cook time: 20 min Bake time: 1 hr Serves 6. Ingredients: 6 bell peppers, whichever color is your favorite 1 tablespoons butter 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 3 stalks celery, chopped 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce 2 clove garlic, crushed or minced 1 teaspoon dried leaf oregano 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf basil 2 teaspoons salt, divided 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided 1 egg, lightly beaten 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef or chuck 1 1/2 cups cooked long-grain rice Preparation: Preheat oven to 350F If rice isn't cooked, cook according to directions. Cut tops off peppers and remove seeds and membrane. Rinse peppers under cold water Chop edible part of tops and set aside. Place bottom of peppers in a large pot of water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain peppers and set aside. Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat until hot. Sauté chopped pepper tops, chopped onion, and chopped celery for about 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Add canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, crushed garlic, oregano, basil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Simmer for about 10 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, combine egg with remaining 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Gently stir to blend; add ground beef, cooked rice, and 1 cup of the tomato mixture. Mix well. Stuff peppers with meat mixture and place in a 3-quart baking dish. Pour remaining tomato mixture over the stuffed peppers. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes.

I don't, but if would probably use my apple pie recipe without the crust!

For my boss' birthday, I tried my hand at this classic French pastry: the Mille-feuille, or the Napolean. He told me it was 95% as good as the kind he gets from French pastry shops! which is high praise from this man! In fact, everybody seemed to like it. It is a bit time intensive, but not too difficult, especially if you use pre-made pastry puff like I did. And definitely worth it! 1 1/2 (17.5 ounce) packages frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed 40m at room temp or overnight in fridge. Filling: 1/4 cup cornstarch 4 cups milk, divided 1/3 cup cake flour 7/8 cups powdered sugar (original recipe called for granulated sugar, but I used powdered by mistake, and it actually turned out great!) 3 eggs yolks 1 tablespoon butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 (12 ounce) jar apricot jam Frosting: 3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar 1 tablespoon lemon juice 3 egg whites (left over from above) or milk Red and blue food coloring Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) (or package-designated temperature) Roll out three sheets of puff pastry, each to the same size and a thickness of 1/8 inch. Prick with a fork, and place on baking sheets. Pricking with a fork is very important so they don't puff up too much in the oven and become extra fragile. Bake in preheated oven until golden, about 10 minutes, or according to package instructions. For the filling: In a medium bowl, combine cornstarch and 1/2 cup milk with fingers until smooth. Stir in cake flour and half the sugar. Beat in egg yolks. Set aside. In a saucepan over medium heat, bring remaining milk and remaining sugar to a rolling boil. Stir in egg yolk mixture; continue stirring and bring to a boil again. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Let cool. Consistency should be similar to pudding. In a small saucepan or in the microwave, heat the jam until runny. For the icing topping: Beat together confectioners' sugar and lemon juice Add enough of the egg whites (or milk) to make a creamy consistency like that of a cream soup. Milk can be used if you are wary of raw eggs, as this is not cooked. I washed my eggs very thoroughly in warm water with antibacterial soap prior to use. Working quickly, color a small portion of the frosting with red food coloring and a bit of blue food coloring until dark in color. To assemble: Place one sheet of pastry on a board (I used a foil baking pan, as I was transporting the dessert) Spread with COOLED pastry filling to a thickness of 1/2 inch. Place a second pastry sheet over the cream. Brush with apricot jam. Spread remaining pastry cream over glaze. Top with final pastry sheet and gently compress layers, using a baking sheet to press. Frost the top and sides of the assembled pastry with white icing. Pipe parallel lines of red icing on top of dessert, then draw a pick or knife crosswise through icing to make the traditional design. Let icing set before cutting into bars.