Fall Cooking
September 20th, 2012 | 
Author: So what are you all cooking with all of the fall fruits and vegetables available now? I’m dying to be in the kitchen but have too many other responsibilites right now. I did cut up a pile of green peppers for the freezer plus stuffed some for in the freezer. We will probably buy another basket to stuff and freeze since I only got about 11 so far. They are great for the winter! Our Amish market has huge heads of cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower for good prices, baskets of apples…still some corn-on-the-cob, tomatoes, etc. Those tomatoes are pricey this year! $2.73 yesterday for two nice size ones….ugh… I think we need a pot of some kind of soup on the stove today…it’s chilly outside! This is the one I have in mind at the moment:
Unstuffed Pepper Soup
This one is a family favorite. You can spice it up or down as desired.
1-½ lbs. lean ground beef (I used 1-3/4 lbs.)
3 large green peppers, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 cans (14 ½ oz. each) beef broth
2 cans (10 ¾ oz. each) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes, undrained
1 can (4 oz.) mushroom stems and pieces, drained (I skipped)
1-½ c. cooked rice
In a Dutch oven or large saucepan, cook the beef, green peppers and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain if greasy. (I use very lean ground beef and don’t drain). Stir in the broth, soup, tomatoes and mushrooms. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add rice; heat through. Yield: 10 servings.
Posted in * Recipe Requests
Oh, this sounds good. Wish we had some peppers.
Our garden didn’t do well with peppers at all this year. Tomatoes were okay, not overly abundant but okay.
Thanks for this recipe.
I do hope you enjoy it as much as we do. The Amish stand has half bushels of red/green bell peppers for $5 now. We really do need to pick up one or two more baskets…good deal I think. We didn’t have the soup last night. Instead, I made this one posted by Jeannie on 6-30-99. It is really good, and we have leftovers for today.
Spaghetti Squash Casserole
1 – 2 spaghetti squash (the one I used was probably around 4 lbs)
1 large (26 oz. or better) jar spaghetti sauce
1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded or sliced
Butter
Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350.
Split spaghetti squash in half; scoop out seeds and place cut side down on greased baking sheet.
Bake for 35-45 minutes. Scoop out and drain. Reduce oven temp. to 300.
Butter 9 x 13 casserole dish and place a layer of spaghetti squash about 1/2 inch thick in bottom.
Cover with sauce and a layer of mozzerella cheese. Repeat layers.
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until heated through and bubbly.
Serve with a sprinkling of {armesan cheese.
P.S. I just cook my spaghetti squash whole in the microwave with several knife stabs into the center for steam release. It took about 13 minutes on high last night. I should also add that in the past, I did blow up a spaghetti squash in the microwave. I had left the room after adding some more time…like 15 minutes…then the boom. What a mess dried spaghetti squash is to clean out of the microwave. Live and learn… and I learned from that mistake. NEVER want to do that again…..not ever!
Here in Santa Fe it’s Green Chile Season! You drive along and see road side stands selling a bushel of fresh green chile.You buy it and then they roast it for you in big tumblers and pop it in a plastic bag and tie it up. By the time you get home, it’s steamed and you can take the peel off easily along with the stem and the seeds. THEN you can use it allll winter! Huevos Rancheros! Green Chile Enchiladas! Yesterday I took some left over leg of lamb and sauteed it with some onions and added some green chile and wrapped it in a flour tortilla! I can’t wait until lunch time today to do it again!
So fall weather here is definitely for Green Chile!
skip
Oh Sherry, that soup sound wonderful!!! I wonder how it would be to use half the amount of peppers and add a cup or so of shredded green cabbage. That could also help replace the missing mushrooms as I think I would leave them out as well. Ohhhhhh, it sounds so good and will be on the menu soon.
Wish we could find an Amish stand around here. Will have to ask at work.
That’s rough about the exploding squash. A future tip if that would unfortunately happen again is to take a glass measuring cup of water and heat it up in the micro. Let it come to a good rolling boil and go for a minute or two. Then let it sit in the closed micro for 10 minutes or so and it will loosen up the dried up gunk and it will be much easier to clean up.
Skip, sure would love to visit you! Would love to be able to grab some of that fresh green chile and then pick your brain for the best recipes to use it in.
Hi Sweets! Thank you for the microwave tip. That happened in my very early microwave days and a lot has been learned since then….hopefully! I think that recipe is fairly versatile. Let us know how it turns out! This is what is going into the soup pot for today. I think this recipe came from Mimi’s too and is probably in the archives. Someone needs to be given credit for this incredible recipe~~I’m sure I’ve made a couple of changes over the years from the original. We love this stuff! We will miss that crusty Italian bread with it this time with DH’s sugar being high…
Etruscan Peasant Soup
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. Italian sweet or mild Italian sausage – cut into half –inch pieces
½ lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts – I use 2 or 3 halves – cut into 1 ½ inch pieces
¾ c. chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. fresh spinach, washed stemmed and rough chopped
48 oz. can College Inn chicken broth
2 cans diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano. (I use 16 oz. cans)
48 oz. jar great northern beans, drained
½ tsp. crushed red pepper (optional) I skipped it
2 tbsp. Grated Parmesan cheese
In a heavy 6 qt. pan heat oil. Brown sausages and chicken until no pink remains. Drain any fat. Add onion, garlic and stir fry until softened. Add spinach, broth, tomatoes, beans and red pepper. Heat to a boil and simmer 15-20 mins. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Serve with crusty Italian bread.
Did you happen to see that bit in the August/September Taste of Home about cooking corn-on-the-cob for a group called Cooler Corn? Husk it (or have everyone help), pile it into a clean cooler and add boiling water, 2 qts. per dozen, close the lid and it cooks in about 30 minutes. Drain the cooler and keep the lid closed. The corn is to stay warm with a just right texture for about 2 hours. Has anyone tried this? I’ve never poured boiling water into our picnic coolers before. Fascinating…Good for a picnic or tailgating…