Stuffed Pepper Soup

We have been gone and this morning we were home and the weather was cool.  So, we picked all the good stuff out of our garden.  I could not bring myself to freeze all of it and, did I mention, the weather is cool.  So, the logical conclusion is...SOUP!

 

So, after looking on-line for a recipe, twice because my youngest takes great humor in closing my tabs or clicking on and opening ads.  I came across this recipe and proceeded to follow it very loosely, which for me is NEVER done with a new recipe.  But, did get great reviews from my husband.  :-)
So, after reading the recipe, I decided to start by browning my hamburger because I do not want all that grease in my finished soup which would be added if I added my raw hamburger to my veggies.
After browning the hamburger, while it was draining, I sweated my veggies.  These are the veggies at the beginning of cooking.

Once the veggies were tender, they looked like the picture above, I put the hamburger in.

I, then, added the rice and began adding tomatoes.  I'm not really sure how much tomato is in there.  I just kept pulverizing and adding till I thought it looked good.

So, here is my version of the recipe...

1 onion chopped
3 stalks celery chopped
4 small bell peppers chopped
1 pound hamburger browned
Garlic (Definitely used more than a clove)
1/2 cup white rice (uncooked)
Tomatoes
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp sugar (I will probably use less next time)
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Cinnamon

Brown your hamburger and drain.
While your hamburger is draining, put your onion, bell pepper, celery, and fresh chopped garlic in your soup pan.  (I used some of the hamburger grease that remained in the pan to sweat my veggies.  Or, you can use a little cooking oil.)
Let veggies cook until they are soft.
Put hamburger back in the pan.
Add rice, water, tomatoes, sugar, salt, and pepper.  Put a lid on it and let it cook till the rice is tender, roughly 45 minutes.  Watch it and stir it occasionally.  If it is looking like there isn't enough liquid, add more tomatoes.
Taste the soup at this point to make sure you like it.  You can add more salt, pepper, sugar.  When it is to your liking and the rice is cooked and a good sprinkle of cinnamon.  Stir and serve.  (I served with saltines because I thought it might need a little extra salt but didn't want to risk screwing up the goodness I already had going by adding to much salt.)

Beef Fried Rice

•  1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 3 cups cold cooked rice
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons chunky peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

• In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Pour eggs into skillet. As eggs set, lift edges, letting uncooked portion flow underneath. When eggs are completely cooked, remove to a plate; set aside.
• In the same skillet, cook beef and onions over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Stir the rice, bean sprouts and cilantro. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients until blended; stir into skillet. Chop egg into small pieces; stir into skillet and heat through. Yield: 4 servings.

On facebook, I am a member of a group called Food & Cheer.  One of the ladies in the group posted this recipe a week or so ago.  I made it for dinner Friday night.  Before I had even taken a bite, my husband was raving about how good it was.  I, also, took it to our church's potluck today.  Where my father-in-law requested the recipe.

Strawberry Salad

This recipe from Penzey's is similar to this Spinach and Strawberry Salad but it is a nice change up with the melon and dressing. 

Spicy Glazed Pecans:
1/2 c sugar
2 T water
1 t salt
1/2 t cayenne pepper
2 1/2 c pecan halves

Salad:
1 lb baby spinach leaves
3 T olive oil
1 c sliced strawberries
1 c diced melon (cantaloupe)

Dressing:
2 T balsamic vinegar
1/2 t. chocolate syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with grease parchment paper (or foil).  Combine the sugar, water, salt and cayenne in a heavy saucepan (non-stick).  Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.  Boil, WITHOUT stirring, for 2 minutes.  Turn off the heat and add the pecans, stirring for 1 minutes until the pecans are coated with the syrup.  Transfer pecans to the cookie sheet, spreading and separating them as evenly as possible.  Work quickly.  Place in oven; bake until the pecans start to brown, approximately 10-12 minutes, depending on the oven. (WATCH CLOSELY.)  When browned, carefully slide the parchment off the pan onto a cooling rack.  Separate the pecans with a fork and shake around a bit so they are not stuck to each other or the parchment.  Cool completely.  They will store in an airtight container.

Toss the salad.  Mix the dressing. 

Serve.

Tortillas

I am still perfecting making homemade flour tortillas.  Here is where I saw the original recipe.

1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
1 T. coconut oil
Start with 2/3 c. water.

Mix dry ingredients.  Add coconut oil mix until small 'peas' form.  Add water slowly until a soft dough forms.  I add more water if necessary.

Pinch dough into 12 balls and roll on a floured surface.  Heat on cast iron skillet.

After you cook them on both sides IMMEDIATELY put them in a dish towel.  Wrap them up together.  This keeps them warm and moist. 

Apple Pecan Pudding

6 peeled and cored apples, dried
2 cups milk (We use goat.)
2 cups pecans
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbsp cinnamon
5 dried dates
2 cups sun-dried apples
Soak dried apples in milk overnight.
Blend with remaining ingredients and place in small ceramic ovenware bowls.
Cook at 200 degrees for 20 minutes.
Cool in refrigerator before serving.

Another recipe complements of Sarah Albright.
The recipes says it will serve 3-6. I found it filled 7 bowls.
I placed the bowls on a cookie sheet to ease in getting them in and out of the oven.
A little Cool Whip would be wonderful on these. However, I haven't progressed that far in my cooking for Bear.
The next time I make these, I will chop the sun-dried apples and add them by stirring them in with a spoon. The food processor did wonderful up till I added the sun-dried apples and then it wasn't happy.

Green Beans and Sausage

1 qt, green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 carrot, chopped
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
8 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb sausage, either ground or link cut into 1 inch pieces
1. Combine all ingredients except sausage in slow cooker.
2. Cover. Cook on high 3-4 hours. Add sausage and cook another 2 hours on low.
The recipe is from Sarah Albright.
This recipe should be served with bread or something as the sauce/juices are really flavorful and need help getting off your plate and into your mouth.
Also, I used more than a quart of green beans (fresh) and a large bell. And more thyme than just a 1/4 tsp.
 I used Andouille links from the smoke house at the local grocery store. YUM!
Additionally, this is SUPER easy. The hardest part of snapping the green beans.

Crockpot Beans & Rice

1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 cup brown rice
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp dried onion flakes

Put olive oil in crockpot.  Add rice and swirl in oil until coated.
Drain and rinse beans.  Add to crockpot.
Drain tomatoes, but save liquid in measuring cup.  Add tomatoes.
Add water to measuring cup with tomato liquid.  Add mixture of liquid with water to crockpot totalling 2 cups.
Add seasoning, stir well, and cover.
Cook on low for about 6 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours.  It is done when the rice is tender.
*Can, also, cook rice on stove and microwave other ingredients.

Above is the recipe as it was shared with me by Sarah Albright.
However, the next time I make this, I am going to use Cajun seasoning in place of the Italian seasoning and add Andoulli sausage during the last 1/2 hour or so of cooking.  Going for a red beans and rice idea.
I was pleasantly surprised to see how well the brown rice cooked up.  I cooked it for four hours on high.  You don't want to over cook this because at the end of the 4 hours there was condensation on the lid but that was about it for water left in the crock.