grandmas

Old-Fashioned Classic Stuffed Peppers

/ Jodi / 39 Comments

Old-Fashioned Classic Stuffed Peppers.

People stuff peppers with a lot of different things and prepare them many different ways.

But there is one classic, old-fashioned way I sometimes crave.
The way Grandma used to make them.

Simple.
Hearty.
Lots of tomato sauce.
And served with a side of mashed pototoes.

Last Sunday, I made them for dinner.

Here is my recipe – like Grandma made.

Old-Fashioned Classic Stuffed Peppers

  • Servings: 4 stuffed peppers
  • Print

Ingredients:

  • 4 large red or green peppers (best if you use the one with 4 lobes – or bumps – on the bottom as opposed to those with 3, so they stand nicer)
  • 1 lb. “Meatloaf Mix” (a mixture of ground beef, pork, and lamb)
  • 1 cup cooked rice
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. pepper
  • 1 large can tomato sauce
  • 1 large can condensed tomato soup
  • 1/2 cup water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine ground meat, cooked rice, onion, salt, and pepper.  Combine with your hands until evenly incorporated.

In another large mixing bowl, combine tomato sauce, tomato soup, and water.  Whisk until evenly incorporated.

Add 1 cup of sauce to meat mixture.  Combine well.

Cut tops from peppers and remove seeds.  Stand pepper “cups” in a deep roasting pan.  Stuff peppers with handfuls of meat packed and mounded.  Pour remaining sauce over all.

Cover and roast peppers for 1 – 1 1/2 hours until meat is cooked, sauce reduces, and peppers have softened.

Serve with mashed pototoes and ladle additional sauce over all.

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Cherish the Moments

/ Jodi / 69 Comments

gfc-gs

I am so fortunate to be surrounded by such wonderful friends.  Earlier this week, my sweet Bubby, who lives two hours away, asked if I wanted to meet the GFC Gang halfway between our homes for a holiday lunch get-together.

Well – invite me to lunch… or coffee… or dinner… or whatever…. with friends, and I’m pretty much one to drop whatever task at hand is on my holiday staycation schedule and do it.

And so I did.

And before I left, I decided to see if my daughter-in-law and granddaughter wanted to join us.  After all, among the many other things my Bubby and I share, we became first-time grandmas only five days apart several weeks ago when each of our eldest children (sons) blessed us with grandchildren.

My daughter-in-law (much like me), said “what time are you leaving?” and happily joined us.

Well – of course Bubby immediately called her daughter-in-law, and invited her and her grandson too.

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How sweet to watch these two new moms so lovingly care for our new little loves.  (Though our cute little “C” was not in the mood to pose.  She wanted to sleep.)

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What a joy it was to share this time together.  The babies were passed around between all the ladies, and we sure enjoyed the snuggles and squiggles.

gfc-gss

Until the phone rang – about halfway through lunch- with the sad, sad news of the passing of my brother, who is just 13 months younger than me.

The blessing in disguise is that I was surrounded with love…
surrounded with support…
allowed to process the shock, the grief, the anger, the sadness, the anxiety…
by being with some of the people
who have grown to become family to me,
who understand the circumstances,
who help make up for the family I’ve lost.

Friendship is truly a gift to cherish.

And I sure do cherish
these sweet special ladies.

I believe life is truly all about relationships.
Please take the time to cherish the ones you love,
the ones you call friends,
the moments you share.

Those moments can be taken away from you
in a blink…
in a moment.

Today is my birthday.
I am cherishing the moments.
I hope you will too.

gfc-g-2

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi