Stuffed Pepper Soup

I don’t know why, but stuffed pepper soup always turns out better when I make actual stuffed peppers first. 

Mix the following together in a bowl:

1 pound ground beef

1 cup uncooked rice (I like basmati)

1 chopped onion

salt and pepper 

 

Cut the stem off and seeds out of green peppers, then stuff with beef mixture.

Cover green peppers in tomato sauce and cook in a 375 degree oven for 1 – 1.5 hours (depending on the size of your peppers, the larger the peppers the longer you will cook them). Cut open a pepper to make sure that the rice and meat are thoroughly cooked, if not cook longer. The peppers should be very easy to cut into and apart.

Allow to cool some and coarsely cut the peppers up creating small pieces of everything. Add more sauce and water until the soup is a thick and hearty consistency. Heat up or store for later. 

This soup freezes well.

Pseudo Meat Pie

Bill loves any meat-anything. So here goes one of my versions for him.  (Remove all dairy ingredients for a dairy-free meal)

Ingredients:

• 2 Pillsbury Pie Crusts (though i would have topped it with 2 more and I’ll make my own next time?)
• 3/4 lb. ground beef (i like it organic & really lean – at least 90/10)
• 4-5 small red potatoes (cut in small squares so they cook faster)
• 1 small/med onion -finely chopped
• 1-2 garlic cloves -smashed and finely diced
• 1 cup [frozen or fresh] peas
• 1 cup [frozen or fresh] green peppers (I would have loved to have yellow and/or orange)
• 1/2 cup [frozen or fresh] corn
• 1 cup [frozen or in a jar] artichoke hearts
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup shredded cheese (I use a Mexican blend for more flavorful cheese) + 1-1.5 cups (yes, i looove cheese) for topping (or skip it and top with crusts)
• 1/4 cup Parmesan
• salt, pepper, other seasoning salts to taste (i.e. celery salt, garlic salt, etc. – i dash a little of it all!)
• enough oil to brown meat and sautée vegetables

Preparation:

• Pre-heat oven to 375°F
• Brown meat in med-high heat, add seasoning salt & pepper
• Line your Pyrex or butter it, then place your crusts
• Add onions and garlic – mix around till fragrant
• Add potatoes (and I’d add carrots and broccoli now if I had them) and turn heat down to med-low
• Keep adding veggies to the pan (peppers, corn, artichokes and peas in my case)
• Mix and continue to season (I season every time I add something else, pretty much :P) letting them cook a little by covering them with a lid for about 10 more minutes or so, then turn off
• In a bowl, combine cheeses & sour cream
• Fold mixture into meat & veggies once the meat mix has cooled off a little bit
• Happy dumping into the pyrex! Spread evenly
• Since I had no other crusts to top it, I added a whole layer of cheese as its topping. 😛 (If topping with crusts, don’t forget to brush them with some egg to make them shiny and poke them with a fork to let them breathe)
• Bake at 375°F for about 20-25 minutes? I broiled at the end to gratinize (or to get the crust golden. Clearly, i achieved a darker tone, more like charcoal!:-O )

I’m hesitant to post the photograph (as I just think my food photographing skills just plain suck)…

But just to let it be a learning opp for someone else – it don’t have to be purty to be reeeeal tasty!  Also, it’s pretty versatile. You can use any veggie combo and even add cranberries or raisins (I just forgot them). Listed under vegetarian b/c you can easily replace the beef with TVP, seitan, or whatever you may fancy. As far as being soy-free, just be sure the [commercial] pie crusts and seasonings don’t have it hidden?

Hope you enjoy!! 🙂

Emma, Bill & I did!  Max said he doesn’t like “meat pie” and won’t even go near it this time around, but funny how I remember him eating 2 bowlfuls of it the last time I made it!