Summer Veggie Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Put all of those fresh garden & farmers market veggies to tasty use with this recipe for Summer Veggie Stuffed Poblano Peppers...

This recipe first appeared on the Bridgeport Farmers Market Let's Get Fresh site.

I am on a mission once again this outdoor farmers market season to show you all how you can create a delicious recipe purchasing mostly locally grown & raised produce and meats at your local farmers market. I started this locally inspired recipe series last summer, and I am thrilled to be continuing the series this year as well. Each month I will be sharing a recipe here to the blog inspired by and featuring some of my own personal favorite fresh & local finds from my local market. 

For the month of August, I am sharing the recipe for these Summer Veggie Stuffed Poblano Peppers. I spotted some gorgeous poblano peppers at the market, and I knew I had use them in my next farmers market inspired recipe for you all. 

Poblanos happen to be perfect for stuffing, & what better to stuff them with than a bunch of fresh veggies from the other farmers at the market? ;)

Creamy Mushroom & Lentil Soup

Packed full of fiber rich lentils & meaty mushrooms, this vegetarian and vegan friendly Creamy Mushroom & Lentil Soup is comforting and filling without the extra fat and calories...

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Kroger. The opinions and text are all mine.

Just like many of you all may have also done, I made goals to eat healthier at the start of the new year. I have really been trying to make strides to rotate in at least two new healthy recipes into my meal plan each week to keep things fresh. 

And like many of you all, I often find my inspiration for new recipes to try from Pinterest. In fact, I created an entire board to dedicated to just Healthy & Tasty Recipes.

One of my favorite sites to browse for new recipes is Kroger's Inspired Gathering site. Recently, I was searching for some hearty and healthy soup recipes and came across the recipe for this Creamy Mushroom & Lentil Soup on their site. 

Packed full of fiber rich lentils & meaty mushrooms, this vegetarian and vegan-friendly soup is comforting and filling without the extra fat and calories.

Roasted Spinach & Garlic Hummus

This simple, flavorful, & budget friendly homemade hummus is packed full of the good stuff & is ready in minutes...

I sort of have a thing for homemade hummus now.   

Once I discovered how incredibly easy it is to make at home and how crazy budget friendly it is, I was hooked. 

I mean, seriously folks.  I can pick up a can of garbanzo beans for less than 70 cents at my local ALDI.  

And it is crazy versatile.  It lends itself to all kinds of flavor profiles- from the mild to the flavor packed.

This Roasted Spinach & Garlic Hummus definitely errs more on the side of flavor packed. And you get all this rich, delicious flavor from just a few minutes of roasting in your oven! From start to finish, you can be dipping your baby carrots and pita chips in this tasty & fresh dip in around 20 minutes...

My Chocolate Banana Zucchini Bread Veganized!

I am thrilled to have Sandra from Vegan Mother Hubbard guest posting on my blog today.  Sandra was my Blog Angel from October, and emailed me about doing a vegan makeover for one of my recipes.  I was completely game for that! :)  Sandra is sharing with us all her vegan version of my Banana Chocolate Zucchini Bread...

In October, I had the opportunity to work with Carrie from Frugal Foodie Mama, as part of Blog Angels. Being vegan, I still like to read non-vegan food blogs, because I get inspiration for dishes that I change and make vegan. The recipe today is a vegan version of Carrie's Chocolate Zucchini Banana Bread.

I made a couple changes to the recipe, in part to make it vegan (soy yogurt rather than egg), in part to accomodate my pantry at the time that I made the recipe (I didn't have vegan butter on hand, so I used canola oil), and in part because I couldn't bring myself to peel the zucchini (so I used shredded, rather than peeled and pureed).  Here's my recipe:

Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Banana Bread

1/4 cup canola oil

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large bananas

1 cup finely shredded zucchini

3 tbsp vanilla soy yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup white flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil and sugar. Add the bananas and mash with a fork or potato masher. Stir in the zucchini, yogurt, and vanilla. In a separate, medium sized bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Gently stir the dry ingredients and chocolate chips (if using) into the wet ingredients using a fork, until well combined. Pour the batter into a greased 9 inch bread pan. Bake for about 55 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan for about 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack, if you can resist it that long.