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It’s about peppers today––the sweet tasting green, red, yellow, orange and chocolate veggie that, for us, produced amazingly this summer and fall.

Do you remember the ditty, “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, a peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where’s the peck of pickled peppers that Peter Piper picked?”

That peck of peppers is tucked away as stuffed peppers in my freezer! Last week I “put by” 22 stuffed peppers covered with a kind of V-8 type juice that I made as part of my tomato canning this year. What a wonderful aroma in the whole house as the peppers cooked atop the stove, sending the fragrant combination of tomatoes and green peppers into the air.

Looking through a monthly cookbook that I get, I came across three or four stuffed peppers recipes that sounded so good I wanted to try all of them. I settled on two different recipes and here they are.

MEXICAN-STYLE STUFFED PEPPERS

1-15 oz. can kernel corn, drained

1-15 oz. can red kidney beans, drained

1 c. salsa (your favorite)

1-1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1/2 lb. ground beef, browned and drained (optional)

1 t. chili powder

1/2 t. ground cumin

6 large bell peppers, tops cut off and seeded

1-15 oz. can tomato sauce, heated to boiling in small saucepan

In bowl combine corn, beans, salsa, 1 c. cheese, ground beef and seasonings; mix well. Stuff peppers.

Place in Dutch oven or small roaster, standing peppers on end close to each other. Pour tomato sauce around peppers; sprinkle with rest of cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serves 6.

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And, we shall stuff peppers as the Greeks do.

GREEK STUFFED

BELL PEPPERS

2 c. orzo pasta, cooked according to package directions

1-10 oz. pkg. frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and well-drained

6 oz. crumbled feta cheese

6 bell peppers, tops cut off and seeded

12 pitted black olives, halved

Combine pasta, spinach and cheese in bowl. Spoon into peppers. Arrange in a greased Dutch oven or small roaster. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until done. Garnish with olives. Serves 6.

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This is a colorful Chinese-style dish to satisfy most anyone’s palate.

SPICY BEEF WITH PEPPERS

2 T. cornstarch, divided

4 T. dry sherry (not cooking sherry) or beef broth (divided)

4 T. soy sauce, divided

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 to 1 t. crushed dried red pepper

1 lb. top sirloin, thinly sliced diagonally

1/2 c. water

3 T. cooking oil

1 medium green pepper, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch strips

1 medium sweet red pepper, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch strips

cooked rice or chow mein noodles

In a medium bowl, combine 1 T. cornstarch with 2 T. of sherry or broth, 2 T. soy sauce, garlic and red pepper flakes. Add beef and toss to coat; set aside.

In a small bowl, combine water with rest of cornstarch, sherry and soy sauce; set aside.

In a wok or skillet, heat 1 T. oil on medium-high. Add peppers, stir fry one minute. Remove peppers to platter. Add rest of oil and half the beef; stir-fry until beef is no longer pink. Remove and stir-fry rest of beef. Return peppers and beef to pan. Stir in cornstarch mixture and add to pan; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook one minute. Serve immediately with rice or chow mein noodles. Serves 4-6.

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This recipe is kinda like a broken down green pepper omelet. It’s one of my favorite lunch meals.

SCRAMBLED EGGS AND GREEN PEPPERS

2 T. olive oil or canola oil

1 large seeded green pepper, cut into 3/4-inch cubes

1/4 c. diced onion

3 eggs (I use one whole egg and 4 whites)

3 T. water

salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in skillet; saute pepper and onion until tender. Beat together egg and water; add to peppers. Cook, stirring constantly until eggs are set. Serves 1-2.

Also, a warm muffin or a slice of fruit bread makes this a delightful lunch. And when the wild mushrooms that I pick are in season (2 weeks ago) I add a 1/2 cup to the green pepper and onion––m-m-m good!

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Thought for the day: From the pepper plant of knowledge, red bell peppers contain nine times more vitamin A than green peppers. They also have as much vitamin C as their green counterpart. Did you know that? I didn’t either!

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