Stubborn Genes
My son, he’s really something else. He gets his mind set on something he wants to eat and hurricane force winds couldn’t blow that idea out of his mind.
I wonder where he gets it…
Last week Jacob told me every day that he wanted stuffed peppers. But I live in Indiana, and we’re not in pepper season right now. We’re in down coats and wool socks season.
“No good peppers,” I told him.
“Pleeease Mommy,” he replied.
“Make That Baby Some Stuffed Peppers!”
After school on Tuesday the next week, a friend of mine named Cathy asked what I was making for dinner. Jacob piped up, “She is making me stuffed peppers.”
I looked him dead in the eye and said that dish would have to wait. But Cathy, with her Texas drawl, replied, “You make that baby some stuffed peppers!”
There was nowhere to run. I was outnumbered.
Making Due
So I stopped for peppers on the way home. They were pathetic, of course. After digging through about 27 of them, I found 3 that were firm and large.
I decided to make my usual filling but with a little more tomato flavor. And instead of filling the peppers, I just cut them into large chunks and tossed them into a pot for ‘stuffed pepper soup.’
Jacob was grinning when I brought his plate to the table. Looks like my improvisation cut muster.
Stuffed Pepper Soup
Ingredients
- Several peppers, chopped
- 1/2 - 1 cup brown rice or quinoa
- 1 pound lean ground meat
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 small can of tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small zucchini
- 1 can of tomato sauce
Cooking Directions
- Cook meat until done in a large skillet.
- Add onion and garlic, and saute until soft. Transfer contents to a larger pan.
- Stir in zucchini, peppers, dried basil, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and salt and pepper (to taste).
- Remove from heat when peppers are tender and serve over rice/quinoa.
