Quick and Cuss-less

Did you see the movie Fantastic Mr. Fox? I loved that movie. Nearly peed my pants I thought it was so funny. Which is strange, because my Mother in Law didn't think it was funny at all. Maybe it was the dry humor. You either like that kind of thing, or you don't. This explains a lot, actually.

In the movie, which is billed as a kids flick, the characters cuss a lot. They say "cuss" as in "Why the cuss didn't I listen to my lawyer?" or "This is gonna be a total cluster-cuss for everybody," or "You scared the cuss out of us." Brilliant. Not exactly kid-safe, but brilliant. Being a bit of a sailor mouth myself, I adopted it immediately.

Like today. I did something bad to my body and my hips hurt. The pain is somewhere between whining and crying, settling in at wincing and cussing. Give me a good hamstring or Plantar Fasciitis to complain about. Those sound hard-core and athletic! But to complain about your hips? Sounds... old. Which very well might be the case, but I am too young to admit it. Either way, it is cuss-worthy and I have been throwing them out like candy.

Sitting elicits the worst of the cuss. This is unfortunate, as the post I want to write is going to take more butt-to-chair time than I can muster at this point. I will save it for when my hips are not on fire. Instead, how about a nice quick side-dish? A nice quick side-dish and no quippy story. I am in too much pain for quipping. Cussing quip-less!

This is a great veggie side-dish that goes with just about anything you might grill during the summer. I don't know where I originally found this recipe, but the picture clearly shows Garbanzo Beans in the filling. Very strange, as there are no chickpeas in the ingredient list. I think that beans would work, though, so you might want to add a drained can for fun!

Grilled Peppers with Corn and Cheese

3 large Red Bell Peppers, halved, cored and seeded
Oil spray (like Pam)
3/4 cup fresh whole kernel corn, or frozen, thawed and drained
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
4 oz Monterey Jack cheese, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 tbl lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground coriander

Prepare grill at medium high. Brush and oil grates. Spray both sides of peppers with oil. Combine everything else in a bowl.

To grill: Grill peppers on both sides, 8-10 minutes total, until lightly charred and softened. Off grill, fill each pepper with corn mixture. Grill covered for 4-5 additional minutes until cheese is melted and peppers are hot.

Recipe Notes:

Here are all my ingredients.  We were out of Monterey Jack Cheese, so I used Colby-Jack instead.  I wouldn't suggest this, as it doesn't melt in the same way!  Tastes good, though.  This is a summer favorite of ours, yet I always seem to make it with frozen corn.  I buy a bag or two of the "white" variety and always have some in the freezer. 

Peppers on the Grill.  Don't they look glossy and beautiful?

We always take the peppers totally off the grill (and bring them inside) to fill up.  Then, they can sit until you are just finishing your other grilled items.  Throw them back on for the last 5 minutes and enjoy!