Stuffed Peppers

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The other day, the local grocery store had large, organic, beautiful peppers on sale.  They were the perfect size to be stuffed!  Since we will have to wait quite a while for our own peppers to be planted, grow and be picked, I wanted to have that 'garden grown' flavor now.

 

Our method of stuffed peppers is pretty basic and the recipe is never the same.

 

Ingredients  - give or take

 

1 pound of hamburger

3 gloves of garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

1 (15.5 ounce) can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

smidge of brown sugar

splash of Worcestershire sauce

small can of tomato paste

1 1/2 cups of chicken broth

4 green bell peppers

 

 

 

Directions

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

 

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add ground beef, stirring constantly, cook until brown and crumbly.  Pour off the grease, , then stir in the garlic, onions, tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce.  Cook and stir until the onions are soft, about 4 minutes.  Stir about 1/2 of the cheese into the mixture, set aside.

 

Cut the top of the peppers and remove the veins and seeds.  Rinse well.  Fill each pepper with the ground beef mixture and then carefully pour some of the chicken broth over the hamburger mixture.  Place in muffin tins or a bread pan so they stand upright while baking and replace the tops.

 

Bake for approximately 30 to 45 minutes or until peppers are soft. 

 

they were steaming hot out of the oven

 

Remove peppers from the pan.  I then take off the top and sprinkle the remaining cheese.

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Just a note:

 

The Rotel tomatoes it adds quite a bit of 'heat'.  If you prefer a 'cooler' pepper just use regular diced tomatoes.

 

 

I hope you have a great day and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

 



Sorting the Seeds

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Oooh, excitement is starting to build.  It is almost time for starting the seeds indoors for this year's garden! 

 

 

We typically cannot start planting here in Minnesota until the end of May and sometimes until as late as the beginning of June.  Many old-timers say after the first new moon in June ..... others say after the long weekend in May.  I just wing it and take a chance when I think the temperatures will be warm enough overnight to prevent the seedlings from freezing.

 

What to plant this year?  Hmmmm.  We have some plans for a bigger garden and raised beds so decisions will have to be made soon. 

 

 

Last year, I saved some seeds from heirloom plants and will attempt to plant them and hope they grow.  The veggies and fruit we gleaned from those plantings were delicious!

 

Tomatoes, beans, broccoli, peppers, radishes, cucumbers, squash, carrots, zucchini and herbs are our old standby and are planted each year. If all works out with the larger addition, I would like to try pumpkins too!  We use quite a bit of pumpkin puree around this homestead once winter hits so there is nothing better than the taste of growing your own!

 

 

 

So I better get busy and start drawing up the plans for which plant goes where.  We make sure each plant is rotated as not to deplete the soil of valuable nutrition the plants need. 

 

Have you started your seeds indoors or have you already begun to plant outside?  I would love to hear what you have planned.

 

 

 

Happy planting and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

 

Adding to the Fruit Trees

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Friends of ours, Barb and Dave, own the local greenhouse here in town.  In the spring and summer they sell everything from flowers to trees to bushes to shrubs to vegetable seedlings to soil.  They then close up for the months of July and August.  

They re-open again in September and sell fall flowers such as Mums and pumpkins, ornamental squash, straw, cornstalks and anything that one would use to decorate their home for the season.

Locals love their greenhouse and products as Barb and Dave take great care in providing only the best for their friends and customers.  The other day, the hubster and I stopped in to check out their new stock and say hi as we don't see much of them when the shop is open.

Around the corner I noticed an adorable and very healthy looking tree.. a Redwing American Cranberry Bush.  The leaves were already a glorious red and they looked almost like a maple leaf.  Well I just had to have it and the price was perfect!  Only $14.95!!!  This bush was already five feet tall!

We have been slowly adding fruit trees to the property and this will be a wonderful addition.  The berries are edible .... just imagine .... my own homegrown cranberries for Thanksgiving dinner!  That will, however, have to be next year as the berries have already gone through their cycle.

Loading it into the trunk, we drove our new little baby home but a heavy frost was threatening that evening and since I didn't want the leaves to fall off just yet, we brought the bush indoors for the next couple of nights.

Yesterday the threat of deep frosty nights had passed and it was time to put the bush in the ground.

After digging a hole big enough, I added a bag of Miracle Grow soil to the bottom to give the bush some extra nutrients for a good head start.

I then added a bucket of fresh water and dropped the bush into the hole.  Finishing up, I gave it another good bucket of water.

Hopefully the deer will leave the bush alone and let it grow into a large, fruit producing tree that we can enjoy for many years to come!

Do you add fruit trees to your property?  If you do, which ones have been successful?

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Just Reflecting.....

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It was a fairly quiet weekend.  A weekend with quite a bit of rest and it was spent.....

collecting garden goodies in aprons...

having a cold one with old buddies not seen in a while.....  ( just look at those two!!!  Hubby on the right...grey hair and all .... just after a short nap. LOL )

and watching nature turn as the seasons do.

I hope your weekend was a great one and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Super Green Veggie Powder

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Oooh, oooh, I found something really neat while surfing the web one night and I just had to try it and I love, love, love it!

Over at The Nourished Kitchen, Jenny came up with a wonderful idea to use all the greens .... beet and turnips tops, carrot tops, kale, Swiss chard, peppers (with seeds removed), celery leaves, even herbs......she later mentions that she also uses tomatoes, onions, or anything that is in excess in her kitchen or garden now so it isn't just 'green' veggie powder.  I will also be including the chives that need to be trimmed once the next batch of 'greens' is done drying.

from this morning's breakfast...to be added to the dehydrator

After a batch has been dried, I ground the greens in my little coffee grinder....it actually worked very well instead of using my mortar and pestle.  As they turned to a powder, I would add more until the whole batch was turned into my super powder. 

Now what do you do with the powder you ask?  I will sprinkle it in stews, soups, casseroles...even scrambled eggs, quiches and omelettes.  Almost like my own homemade Mrs. Dash!  The combination of flavors from all the vegetables will add so much to my dishes....not to mention the added nutritional value!

For now I am storing my super powder in a glass canning jar until I find something more suitable for my spice cupboard. 

Can you imagine using every, single part of the vegetable?  How cool is that?  Thank you so much Jenny for thinking 'outside the box' and sharing it with us all.  My dehydrator will be working overtime for many weeks to come.

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Cooking Squash

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Squash has been on our nightly menu plan for over a week now and it will continue for a while yet.  We love squash...all types although this year was the first year I tried buttercup and crooked neck squash.  

Last night was buttercup from our neighbors Brian and his father Larry who brought us some the other day.

Since I have not tried this variety before I had to look it up on the Internet.  Finding a method that I thought would be tasty, I gave it a shot.

Cutting the buttercup in half with a sharp knife, the recipe suggested peeling the outer layer....

and clean out the seeds membrane (I used a melon scoop).

Adding about 1 inch of water in the bottom of a 9x13 inch cake pan, I turned the peeled and gutted squash upside down in the water.  I placed the pan in a preheated 375 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes or until a fork can be easily pierced all the way through the squash.

Carefully placing the cooked squash on the dinner plate, I liberally spread butter and brown sugar over one whole side.  Is this how you prepare yours?  I would love to try different methods and recipes so please share!  

Please remember to give your loved ones a hug!

The Generosity of Neighbors

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We were truly blessed this week by neighbors who have bountiful harvests.  The garden goodies just kept coming through the door to our surprise.

Our neighbors knew how our summer went and have been so generous and we are ever so thankful.

Onions, snap beans and zucchini from neighbor Dave who in my opinion is one of the best gardeners I know.  This was the third time he has brought us goodies...he mentioned next will be acorn squash as he has waaaay too many for Liz his wife and himself to eat.  Yummy!  The zucchini has been frozen, the snap beans have been eaten and the onions will be used unless we get more which I will then dehydrate them.  I love using dehydrated onions in stews, soups and chili.

Next up was the 5 gallon pail of potatoes...are they not just beautiful?  Our neighbor Bill did a wonderful job this year!  He also mentioned there would be many more to come....his crop is huge and he is a single man.  I have a batch of potato chips in the dehydrator as I type this....the first time I have attempted such a thing but the potatoes were so large, I couldn't resist trying.  If they turn out well, I will make more and dehydrate some more just plain for stews and soups which we eat in abundance during the winter.  

Can you see the apples in the background?  Our neighbor John brought a bushel...they are not crab apples...regular apples which are surprisingly very sweet.  I have already made applesauce with them and it is oh so delicious!

Then neighbor Brian and his father Larry carried in buttercup squash, crooked neck squash and cucumbers!  I had never tried either type of squash so off to the Internet to check to see how they were to be cooked and boy oh boy are they delectable!  Now one of my favorites and they will be added to the seed list for next summer.  

Funny how things work out isn't it?  I was thinking that we would not be enjoying garden fresh veggies except through a farmer's market but here we are munching and loving the generosity of such good neighbors and friends.,,,for this we are truly thankful.

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Linking up with Amy over at Homestead Revival

My Poor Garden!

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Bob decided to only plant potatoes and onions in the large garden this year while I was away and the peppers, broccoli and tomatoes would be in the little garden.  He figured that is all he would be able to handle on his own.

Our large garden started out 20 by 60 feet and this is what it looks like now.....

yes, there are potatoes in there...see?  LOL

My poor garden.  It will take alot of work to get it back up to point where I can plant again next year.

Here is the small garden....he has been harvesting some items from it...we will be enjoying three stuffed peppers tonight and have been enjoying the few tomatoes as they are ready.

Well I better get at it....lots of work today.

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Changing the Deck

Pin It We had a great last few sunny days...just perfect to get some work done around my Mom's yard.

She had a small cement block patio deck outside the back patio doors and since she had a new front deck built and installed, we decided to use the old front deck for the back yard!

First we had to move all the old cement blocks....those suckers are heavy!

After laying down more black garbage bags to keep the weeds down, we re-laid the blocks after we put the wooden deck in place.  

We think it turned out pretty good...perfect for sitting out in the morning sun, drinking our tea and coffee and cool enough in the evening after the sun has passed over the house.  The last finishing touch will be to add some sand between the blocks.  This will prevent any weeds from finding their way through the cracks.

Not bad for two old ladies!  Remember to give your loved ones a hug!