Honey butter carrots

Years ago, when we lived in NH, there was a wonderful little Hungarian restaurant that we visited from time to time. For us, it was a trip down memory lane. In the fall of 1999, Doug and I did a study abroad semester in Budapest. It's a gorgeous city. We would go back in a heartbeat.

Anyway, this restaurant in Manchester had the most delicious carrots. They were soft, but not mushy, and drenched in butter. I think I got them every time I ate there. I had to have something to balance out the pastries and cake that filled the two cases at the front of the restaurant!

I've made carrots a couple of times, but have never been pleased with the results. So, I stopped cooking them and kept eating them raw. But, winging a simple dinner of baked chicken the other night, I decided to give carrots a try again because we didn't have enough salad left for everyone.

I am so glad I tried again. These carrots were so tasty. They are buttery with a light, sweet flavor. This is also an easy side dish to throw together. Preparation is minimal and you don't need any special ingredients!

Honey Butter Carrots (Weight Watchers = 4 PP per serving)
makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 lb baby carrots
• 3 T unsalted butter
• 1 T brown sugar
• 1 T honey
• 1/8 t ginger

Directions

1. Cook carrots in water for 15-20 minutes just until soft, but not mushy.
2. Drain almost all of the water, leaving about 1 tsp.
3. Add butter, brown sugar, honey, and ginger and stir.
4. Simmer on the stove for another 5-10 minutes until carrots are glazed in the mix.

What's your favorite veggie side for dinner? We do corn and green beans a lot, and tons of salad. These carrots are in the rotation now and I'd love to hear your favorites so I can add some more to our repertoire!

Linked up at Yesterfood, Mandy's Recipe Box, A Dish of Daily Life, Coco and Cocoa.

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

We are quinoa fans in this house.  I made up this recipe a while ago, but wasn't compelled to write it down until I needed to know how many points it was worth.  This is a very filling, healthy vegetarian meal.  I like to make it with this basic mix of veggies, but it would also be tasty with kidney or black beans thrown in, or even some sausage or ground beef.  You really can't go wrong with stuffed peppers.

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers (makes 4 servings)

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup quinoa, cooked
• 1/2 medium summer squash or zucchini, chopped
• 1/2 medium tomato, chopped
• 2 medium mushrooms, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan
• 1 T Italian seasoning
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 medium or large bell peppers, unseeded and tops cut off

Directions

1. Cook quinoa according to directions.
2. Cut the tops off the peppers and clean out the inside.  You can chop up the extra pepper bits from the tops to mix in with the other veggies if you like.
3. Chop up the squash, tomato, and mushrooms.
4. Mix the chopped veggies into the quinoa along with the Italian seasoning, garlic, and parmesan cheese.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Fill the peppers and nestle them into your crock pot.
7. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.

Weight Watchers: 3 PP per pepper