Since it’s summer and the vegetables are rolling out of the garden quite regularly, we thought we’d share a recipe of our for Stuffed Bell Peppers. We’ve enjoyed this recipe for years, and it’s been handed down a couple time throught our family. I’m sure we’ve made adjustments to this recipe over time, and this is our current formulation of Stuffed Bell Peppers.

Stuffed Peppers Ingredients
The number of steps listed below make this look like a complex recipe but honestly stuffed peppers are a simple meal to make.

• 3 or 4 large peppers (We prefer red peppers because we feel they have a sweeter taste than green peppers but, they can be any color you choose.)
• 1 pound lean ground beef (or ground turkey works as well)
• 1 small onion chopped, finely
• 1 tsp fresh chopped garlic (We prefer to use Nina’s chopped fresh chopped garlic because it’s so easy to use and for some reason imparts a better garlic flavor into foods)
• 16 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
• 1 cup uncooked basmati rice
• 14 ounce can low sodium beef broth
• 1/4 cup unseasoned fine bread crumbs
• 2 tbsps Parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 tbsps butter, melted

To make Stuffed Peppers

1. Place beef broth in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Add the basmati rice to boiling beef broth. We prefer basmati rice and you’re welcome to substitute your favorite rice instead of basmati.
3. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 12 – 15 minutes.
4. Cook lean ground beef (or turkey) with black pepper, chopped onion and garlic.
5. While rice and beef are cooking you can cut the tops off the peppers and remove the seeds. If you want to speed up the cooking time at the end you can blanch the peppers first but cooking in boiling water for about 5 minutes.
6. If necessary drain any grease from the cooked ground beef.
7. Mix the cooked basmati rice with cooked ground beef.
8. Add tomato sauce to beef and rice mixture. Only add enough to bind the beef and rice together. (Depending on what our mood is and what I have on hand in the pantry I may use tomato soup which is not as zesty as sauce or beef broth)
9. Melt butter in a microwave oven.
10. Add bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese to melted butter. This will create a crumb topping for the stuffed peppers.
11. Place cooked beef and rice mixture into peppers.
12. Top peppers with crumb mixture.
13. Cook stuffed peppers for 1/2 hour at 350 degrees (if you blanched the peppers first) or for 1 hour at 350 degrees (if peppers were not blanched first.)

This is a recipe for a deliciously different beef stew made using Old Bay Seasoning. The ingredients are for the most part the standard beef stew items. The difference in this recipe is the seasoning, which is, of course, Old Bay. We love Old Bay Seasoning, and are always seeking new uses.

Old Bay Beef Stew Ingredients

• 1/2 pound beef rib eye steak
• 3/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 1/2 tsp chopped garlic
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped red pepper
• 1 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
• 1 can mushrooms, stems and pieces
• Fingerling potatoes

To make Old Bay Beef Stew

1. Cut the rib eye steak into about 1/2 cubes.
2. Place beef in a 3 quart stock pot, and cook until browned.
3. Add chopped onion, celery and chopped garlic. Cook 3 – 4 minutes or until onion is translucent.
4. Add chopped red pepper, and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring often.
5. Season with 1 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning, and cook for 5 – 10 mintues.
6. Add 10 – 15 fingerling potatoes (or 1 potato chopped fine).
7. Cook, stirring often, for 20 minutes.
8. Add canned mushrooms, and cook for another 5 minutes.

Spaghetti sauce is a good weeknight meal because you can go from idea to table in 30 minutes. You don’t need to buy the expensive prepared sauces from the grocery and can make a better sauce at home almost as quick. We’ve seasoned our sauce in the recipe below using McCormick Spaghetti Sauce Mix, but you can feel free to replace the mix with 1/4 to 1/2 tsp basil leaves, 1/4 to 1/2 tsp oregano leaves, 1/8 tsp black pepper, and about 2 tbsp whole wheat or white flour [as a thickener]. We simply find the mix is a little easier to use as all of the ingredients are in the proper proportions already. Note in the pictured recipe we used whole wheat spaghetti noodles for the pasta.

Spaghetti Sauce Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup finely diced onion
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup finely diced green pepper
• 1/2 tsp chopped garlic
• 1/3 cup McCormick Spaghetti Sauce Mix
  
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 can water
• 1 can mushroom stems & pieces
• Grated Parmesean Cheese

To make Spaghetti Sauce

1. Brown the ground beef in a 3 quart non-stick sauce pan. Drain any grease.
2. Add the diced onion, and pepper to the ground beef and simmer about 4 – 5 minutes until onion is translucent.
3. Add the tomato sauce and water, mix in McCormick Spaghetti Sauce Mix, and stir well.
4. Simmer to spaghetti sauce, stirring often at least 10 minutes, until desired thickness is reached.
5. While the spaghetti sauce is simmering, prepare your favorite pasta noodles according to directions on package.
6. Add mushrooms last, stir, and serve with spaghetti noodles, grated Parmesean cheese and garlic bread.

Garlic Bread

• Any white bread or rolls. We use 2 sub rolls, tops and bottoms.
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tsp chopped garlic
• Grated Parmesean Cheese

1. Cut butter in small 1/4 – 1/2 slices and place in a pyrex cup.
2. Microwave the butter about 10 – 15 seconds at a time until butter is melted.
3. Add chopped garlic and stir well.
4. Let the butter garlic mix sit about 5 mintues. Stir.
5. Meanwhile, preheat broiler and place a layer of aluminum foil on a cookie sheet.
6. Place bread on sheet, and spoon and try to evenly spread top of bread with the butter garlic mix. Be careful not to add too much garlic to any single slice of bread. If making a large amount of garlic bread you can double the garlic butter quanities as required.
7. Spinkle top with grated Parmesean cheese and broil about 1 minute. Watch carefully as this will burn quick.

Since it’s Saint Patrick’s Day today, we thought we re-share a favorite recipe of ours, Old Bay Seasoned Corn Beef and Cabbage. We shared our unique and different recipe here with our original post to the blog back in December. Our staff had been considering making a different recipe for corned beef and cabbage to share today, but in the end we decided our recipe using our favorite seasoning (Old Bay) is so good it was best just to re-visit our original and classic recipe.

The picture to the right shows the recipe for Old Bay Corned Beef and Cabbage in a dutch oven all prepared and ready to cook. Note the tea ball in the center of the pot. It contains the pickling spices is a neat trick to keep the mustard seeds in the pickling spices from spreading throughout the pot, yet lets the pickling spices season the food.

This is a delicious and fairly easy to make recipe for Beef Stew. Since the recipe includes Adolph’s Tenderizer, you can use the tastier (and tougher) cuts of meat to make this beef stew, such as chuck or brisket. The Adolph’s Tenderizer combined with slow cooking will break down the tough fibers in the chuck or brisket, and make for a tender meal.

Beef Stew Recipe Ingredients

• 1 – 1/2 lbs beef for stew
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp Adolphs Tenderizer
• 1 tbsp Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
• Canola oil
• 1 tbsp Worcershire Sauce
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 2 tsps beef base
• 4 cups water
• 1 can diced tomatoes or whole crushed tomatoes with juice
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 small cans sliced mushrooms
• 1 1/2 cups baby carrots, sliced
• 2 medium potatoes, diced

To make Beef Stew

1. Put flour, tenderizer and seasoned salt in plastic bag and mix together.
   Place beef in bag and toss to evenly coat beef.
2. Heat canola oil in large dutch oven. Place beef in oil and brown, stirring to cook all sides.
3. Add celery and onion to the dutch oven. Cook about 5 minutes or until onion is translucent.
4. Add Worcershire sauce, tomatoes, beef base, and water; mix thoroughly.
5. Bring to a boil and then add bay leaves, mushrooms, carrots, and potatoes.
6. Simmer the beef Stew for 2-3 hours.
7. You adjust consistency and make a little thicker with a little water and cornstarch mixed together and then adding to Beef Stew. Stir, and cook for 10 minutes more, stirring a few more times.
8. Serve Beef Stew with hot biscuits or corn muffins.