Unstuffed Peppers

I sitting here asking myself "can't I just post the food porn and skip all the Chron's stuff" I just don't think that would be right. There are so many issues us Crohnies face that need to be addressed, more so then our obsession with food.

One of the big ones for me is the exhaustion. I'm always tired and there's so much to do that much of it doesn't get done. I'm don't want to be perceived as a "whiner" so I rarely ask for help. Right now, all things considering, I'm feeling good. The Crohn's is behaving itself, the histo has it's own issues but I have more energy now then when I was having constant Crohn's flares.

I'm back on Flylady, I use both google calendars and Cozi to organize my life and today I'm going to start Orginized Christmas. Being organized is against my nature. I make my living being creative and like most creative my brain just does not function in an organized manner. But I think with Crohn's it needs to. Any illness, especially if you are chronic like I am, takes to much away from us. We have very little energy to waist. We can't afford to take an extra 10 minutes running around the house looking for the car keys. That extra 10 minutes running around, bending up and down search under things for our keys is going to turn into 20 when our guts kick in from all the movement and send us running back to the bathroom.

So I know it's hard to go from a care free wild child to an organized got it together, lists and all, but it's worth the try. Give it your best and see if it makes things easier. That's all I ask.

Now when you want a little chaos back in your life you can make this:

It's Stuffed Peppers without all their beautifully organized lives. It's more real life, it's unstuffed peppers. It's ugly, it's messy, it's delish. As a matter of fact my Mr. Man said it's better then stuffed peppers!

The recipe came from here Almost Stuffed Peppers modified a bit from the reviewers suggestions.

Unstuffed Peppers

1 pound ground beef

2 cups water

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 large green pepper cut into 1/4-inch slices

1 medium onion, thinly sliced (I ran mine through the food processor, can't have the kids seeing them!)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cups uncooked instant rice

1 14.5oz can tomato soup

I also set some shreaded colby jack on the table for people to add to their rice dish. I love lots of cheese, but Mr Man does not.

  In a large skillet, brown beef; drain. Set beef aside and keep warm. (I added a little garlic powder and pepper to the meat while it was browning)

In the same skillet, combine water, tomatoes, green pepper, onion and seasonings; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until vegetables are tender. (I deglazed the pan with olive oil, scrapping up the good bits, added the peppers and sauteed them for a while so they wouldn't be so crunchy, then added the onions and sauteed until the onions were translucent. Added back in the beef and the can of tomato soup.)

Stir in rice; cover and remove from the heat. Let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in beef; return to the stove and heat through. (I cooked my rice in the microwave and added to Th meet mixture once it had cooled a bit and soaked up all the extra liquid.)

Histoplasmosis

More to the point: Disseminated Histoplasmosis
That's what you get when your immune suppressants drop your immune system into the gutter and you live in the Midwest where histo is everywhere.

Bad News: I can't take any meds for the Crohn's because they are all immune suppressants & then the histo could come back

Good News: The Crohn's is doing better then it did on the immune suppressants anyway. My Dr says that there were a few cases of Chronies getting histo and having to go on the anti fungal medications that went into full remission. AWESOME! It nearly killed me but I'm doing much better. :)

Sooooo onto the food porn:

Garden Fresh Veggies, got to love them. Especially when they make such great salsa!!! 

This is a modified version of this recipe found at One Particular Kitchen

I used 18 tomatoes. We had a lot of small ones this year in the garden. Cut in half
1 large yellow onion cut into quarters
1 jalapeño pepper - cap removed
4 cloves garlic

Put everything on a pan and roast at 375 for about 30 minutes or until the onions are translucent, the tomatoes are soft and when you turn the peppers they are starting to blacken.

Allow to cool for just a few minutes then pop everything into the blender and blend. I personally think cilantro tastes like dish soap but if you like it this is the time you would add it, just blend it in with everything else.

Now Eat.