Blooms & Recipes

I would like to share some photos of the vegetables that I have growing in my garden and some of our favorite recipes for cooking these vegetables. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful afternoon.

Bell Pepper. My family loves stuffed peppers. I thought I would share our favorite recipe for stuffed peppers with you.

Stuffed Peppers

6 lg. bell peppers
1 lb. ground beef or ground turkey
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1/4 c. chopped bell pepper from tops
1 (16-oz,) can tomatoes, cut up but
undrained
1/2 c. long grain rice, uncooked
1/2 c. water
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper,
1-1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Cut tops from green peppers, discard seeds and membranes. Chop enough of the tops to make 1/4 cup and set aside. Cover whole green peppers in water and boil uncovered 5 minutes. Remove and turn peppers over on paper towels to drain. In a skillet, cook meat, onion, and the 1/4 cup green pepper until meat is brown and vegetables are tender. Drain off fat. Add tomatoes, rice, water, salt, Worcestershire sauce and black pepper and cayenne pepper if desired. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and cover and simmer 15-18 minutes (or until rice is tender). Stir in 1 cup of the cheese. Stuff peppers with mixture. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Place in baking dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Yellow squash that my husband loves cooked into a casserole.

Squash Casserole

4 cups sliced yellow squash

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 sleeve buttery round crackers (such as Ritz)

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

2 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon salt

ground black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 350. Put squash, onion, and about a cup and a half of water in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until squash and onions are tender, about five to ten minutes. Drain well. Add half stick of margarine and let melt.In medium bowl, crush crackers and stir in cheese. Add salt and pepper, stir. Stir half of the cracker mixture into the squash.In small bowl, mix together milk and two eggs. Pour into squash mixture. Stir well. Pour into casserole dish. Top with remaining crumb mixture and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until top is browned.

Green tomatoes that my husband likes to eat fried or ripened.

Picking the Green tomatoes to fry:
Make sure that the green tomatoes that you pick are mature (full-sized) but not yet ripened at all. They should be light green to whitish in color. They need to be hard and completely green, with not even a hint of pink or red, but they should be far enough along that they have reached full size and the seeds inside are fully formed.

Fried Green Tomatoes
4 green tomatoes
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 cups flour
1 cup corn meal
1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder (optional)
1 tsp ground red pepper (optional)
frying oil
1. Wash the green tomatoes, remove stems, and cut them into rounds of about 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch thickness. The thinner they are, the crispier they will be, but thicker slices maintain more of that tart green tomato taste.
2. Beat the eggs in a small bowl, with milk.
3. In a shallow bowl or plate, mix the flour and cornmeal. Then add the ground black pepper, salt, and if desired, garlic powder and ground red pepper. Mix well.
4. Dip each green tomato slice in the egg-milk mixture until fully submerged, then pull them out and coat them with the flour mixture and set aside on a plate.
5. Fill the bottom of a heavy skillet with about 3/4 inch of frying oil and heat it over medium-high heat (medium on a gas stove) until a little flour dropped in sizzles and bubbles.
6. Carefully place the breaded green tomato slices into the oil. Fry the slices, rotate and flip them, until both sides are golden brown. When done, remove each slice and place it on paper towels to soak up the excess oil.
7. Enjoy!

Future cucumbers for making freezer pickles.

Freezer Pickles
8-9 c. thinly sliced cucumbers

1-1/2 c. thinly sliced onions

1/3 c. canning salt

2 c. granulated sugar
1 c. vinegar
1/2 tsp. celery seed
Combine cucumbers, onions, and canning salt in a large bowl. Cover with water and let soak 3 hours. Pour liquid off. In a saucepan, combine sugar, vinegar, and celery seed. Heat, but do not boil. Pour over the cucumbers and freeze in freezer containers. Thaw in the refrigerator before serving.

Yield: 4 pints.