Stew for a cold day:

Large package or 2 of stew meat

1 medium onion chopped

1 stalk of celery chopped

1 med bag of baby carrots

1 bag of baby red potatoes

3 cans of v-8 juice

bouillon 

water

saute onion in butter

add meat and cook till browned

salt and pepper meat to taste

add vegetables

pour in v-8

use enough water to cover the meat and veggies

add 4 cubes of beef bouillon 

cover and simmer on medium heat until vegetables are tender

after potatoes get soft, you can smash to make a thicker broth

serve with cornbread or saltines:) 

Bell Peppers (stuffed) ALA Aunt Ellena

*Nana says if Aunt Ellena recommends it, it's gotta be good*

STUFFED BELL PEPPERS
(from Houston Junior League Cookbook. 1968, p. 113)

½ cup uncooked rice ½ to ¾ can Rotel tomatoes
6 large green peppers salt and pepper
1 pound ground beef 1 can condensed tomato soup
1 medium onion (chopped) 1 ½ cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup finely diced celery 1 soup-can water, or a little more
2 tablespoons bacon drippings 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 ½ teaspoons celery seed




Cook rice until tender. Cut tops off peppers, remove seeds, and boil pepper cases for 5 minutes. Drain. Saute beef, onion and celery in bacon drippings. Add rice, 1 cup grated cheese, celery seed and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper;. Stuff pepper cases with mixture and place in greased, or foil-lined baking dish. Make a sauce by mixing soup, water, tomato sauce and remaining ½ cup grated cheese; pour over peppers. Bake uncovered, in 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes. Baste several times during cooking. The stuffed peppers can be frozen before cooking. Freeze separately in plastic bags with a generous amount of sauce over each pepper.

Serves 6

Post-production thoughts:

We used domestic basmati rice. Variety probably is unimportant.

We used “chunky style” Rotel tomatoes. A whole can (10 oz. probably would work.

Smaller bell peppers (about the size of a medium orange) give a more satisfactory pepper to filling ratio. This recipe would probably fill 8 or 9 peppers this size.

For future reference . . . we’ll soften (boil) a head of cabbage and try this filling, sauce and cooking time and temperature on lemon-sized stuffed cabbage rolls

Tahtee's V8 Texas Chili

Early Spring and we never know what kind of weather we are gonna have! This March 2008 is no different. Last night we had typical Texas Hailstone bombard our house for about 15 minutes and leave the skies clear and starry for a beautiful night. So what's for dinner...

Chili Tahtee style (a bit healthier than from the can) and a whole lot more adaptable to different tastes.

* 1/4 lb per person (for the purpose of this recipe we will figure 2 lbs)

Lean natural (or organic) beef (or you can use free range ground turkey)

*4 T good fresh chili powder (you can season more or less according to your taste for heat)

*1 large onion (chopped)

*T butter

*garlic (to taste... I use lots!!!!) minced

*2 pkgs of Taco seasoning

*1 medium size bottle of V8 juice (not the lemon kind... you can use low sodium)

optional: beans, corn, sour cream, avocado, and cheese

-in cast iron pot put 1-2T of butter to melt

-saute onion and garlic in butter till transparent

-add meat

-cook until browned

-add spices and seasonings (Salt and pepper to taste) Stir to mix

-add V8 until it covers mixture and let it simmer for at least an hour to mingle seasonings

*you can add any of the optionals for a fancier bowl of chili (its pretty to layer the chili, cheese, avocado, and then a dollop of sour cream)

*you can also do the good ole standby Frito pie with this great chili... wonderful and better than the can stuff!!!!

*good on a baked potato too

enjoy any time of the year, but especially a great Tornado season dish!

Moddie's Taco Soup (also called Santa Fe Stew by my friend Karen)

Moddie's taco soup! (Will's favorite)

Today is Valentines Day!! Elly called Will's mom, Moddie to get Will's favorite soup recipe. Here it is..... We're having it with warm tortillas and a big ole fresh fruit salad (Em says the strawberries are monstrous at Sams!) blackberry & apple cobbler w/ice cream for dessert! Ymmmm! (Elly and Em are doing the cooking tonight!)

Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2008 9:44 AM

To: Elly Doran

Subject: Taco soup

Good morning. My theme song these days is... If I only had a brain...I found your copy safe and sound in the floor board when we got home. (had to include Gaye's wonderful humor... she's one of the funniest... most fun people I know... I'm glad God put her in Elly's family!)

Regarding the soup.... It is my opinion that the longer you let it simmer,the better it is.

1 lb ground beef

1 chopped onion

1 pkg ranch style dressing mix

1 pkg taco seasoning mix

1 1/2 cups water

2 cans Mexican stewed tomatoes

1 can pinto beans (drained)1 can black beans (drained)

1 can crean style corn ( 2 if you want)

1 pkg corn torillas

grated cheese

Brown beef and onion, drain

Add all remaining ingredients and simmer for at least 30 mins.

Cut tortillas into 1/2" strips and bake until crisp

Serve with grated cheeseI did not do the tortillas strips. It is probably very good.

Love ya, Gaye