Stuffed Pepper Soup

I am so DELIGHTED to be finally sharing this recipe! Stuffed Pepper Soup is a staple in my kitchen and in my family but it's been so HOT outside that I haven't been able to make it until now! Lucky for me, North Florida has a lovely fall season and I finally got to bust out this classic :) As I said, I've been eating this meal as long as I can remember. My mom is not a huge fan of cooking but she LOVES making this, and everyone loves eating it. The French bread and butter is an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY. The soup is just not the same without it. Don't skip that step. It really doesn't get much more simple than this! So few ingredient, but so much flavor, it amazes me really. The beef, peppers, and tomato flavors blend beautifully together with just one standard seasoning - salt. That's it, but I promise the basic ingredients come together in a wonderful way.

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Stuffed Pepper Soup

Makes 4 Servings

Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1/2 cup rice

1/4 cup water

1 egg

46 fl oz tomato juice

46 fl oz water

3 green bell peppers

1 loaf French bread

1/4 cup butter

Salt to taste

1. Mix tomato juice and water in a large pot and turn heat to high. Mix ground beef, rice, water, and egg in a large bowl.

2. Slice off the top third of two of the bell peppers. Cut around and discard the stems. Discard any seeds. Tightly pack meat mixture in the hollowed out bell peppers.

3. Cut the remaining bell pepper and top pieces into 1 1/2 inch cubes, discarding stems and seeds. Form the remaining meat mixture into meatballs 2 inches in diameter.

4. Add stuffed peppers, meatballs, and pepper chunks to the pot. When the pot comes to a boil, cover and turn heat to low. Simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Add salt to taste. Serve with sliced French bread and butter. 

Mix the tomato juice and water in a large pot and turn the heat to high. To make your life easy simply pour the tomato juice in, fill the tomato juice container with water, add that to the pot, and mix!

Mix the ground beef, rice, water, and egg. Simple ingredients.

Slice the top third off of two bell peppers. The larger bases will hold some of the stuffing! Discard any seeds and stems. Don't waste the pepper pieces around the stems though!

All clean.

Tightly pack the meat mixture in the hallowed out bell peppers and add them to the pot.

Chop up the other bell pepper, discarding the stems and seeds like before.

Form the remaining meat mixture into 2 inch meatballs and add all meatballs and peppers to the pot!

When the pot comes to a boil, cover and simmer on low for an hour and a half. This is another one of those meals that makes your house smell scrumptious!

Salt to taste and serve with French bread and butter. This recipe is perfect for feeding large groups of people! Depending on the size of your pot, you could fill it with more stuffed peppers and meatballs for a larger crowd. I've even had two pots going on the stove at the same time for large groups! It's definitely hungry-man approved - my boyfriend puts in requests for this soup! The flavor tastes as if you put 49189173679 times more effort into the recipe than you really did, which is always good! Enjoy this easy and hearty family recipe :)

Stuffed Grape Leaves (Dolmades)

This is a very special post for me! My parents recently gave me my grandparents' handwritten recipe book and it brought me to tears! I've mentioned so many times how much I regret not writing my family members' recipes down while they were still with us, and little did I know, someone already did! Why my parents neglected to tell me about this book until now, I have no idea, but I'm sure grateful it's finally mine! 

This picture is of me with my Papou :) my Dad's father, and the little card box he gave me. He used to come to our house and cook for us a few times a week. Food is pretty much the only tie I have to my Greek heritage so I am thrilled to have the recipe book of memories and traditions to pass on to my family some day! These Stuffed Grape Leaves, or Dolmades (I'll admit we only ever called them stuffed grape leaves) are my Papou's recipe and I am delighted and proud to share them with everyone :)

Stuffed Grape Leaves (Dolmades)

Makes about 30 stuffed grape leaves

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes

Ingredients

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1/2 Tbsp parsley

1/4 cup canned diced tomatoes

1/4 cup Uncle Ben’s rice (Papou’s recipe said specifically Uncle Ben’s)

1/4 tsp pepper

3/4 lb ground beef

30 grape leaves (about half of a 1 lb jar)

1 lemon

1. Chop onions, parsley, and tomatoes as finely as possible.

2. Mix ground beef, chopped onion, parsley, tomatoes, rice, and pepper.

3. Pat grape leaves with a paper towel to dry slightly. Place the shiny side of a grape leaf down and spread open. Place about 1/2 to 1 Tbsp of ground beef mixture at the base of the grape leaf. Fold the bottom part of the grape leaf around the ground beef mixture and roll up tightly. Place in a large pot seam side down. Repeat until all of the ground beef is used. Make one tightly packed layer in the pot before creating another layer.

4. Squeeze 1/2 lemon juice over the top of the grape leaves. Place a glass plate upside down on top of the grape leaves (to hold them down while they cook). Add water to the pot until it just reaches the edge of the plate. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes. Cut one grape leaf open to see if the meat is fully cooked and no longer pink. Cook longer if necessary. Serve with lemon wedges. Enjoy! 

Chop the onions, parsley, ....

... and tomatoes as finely as possible.

Mix chopped onions, parsley, tomatoes, ground beef, pepper, and rice. The rice must be Uncle Ben's rice! Why? Papou said so apparently. And I listened. Hah!

The grape leaves come in a 1 lb jar and this recipe used about half of it. You can find them in the ethnic section of your grocery store, or by the pickles. Pat them with a paper towel to dry them a little. 

Place 1/2 to 1 Tbsp of the meat mixture at the base of the grape leaf in a little cylinder shape.

Wrap the bottom parts around the meat.

Wrap the sides in.

Roll up!

Wrap it tightly! Some of mine fell apart when they cooked and I think it was because I didn't roll them rightly enough. 

Repeat until all the meat is used. Place them seam side down in a large pot in a tightly packed single layer before you start a second layer. 

Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the top and add water to just cover the grape leaves.

Place a glass plate on top of the grape leaves upside down. There should be just enough water in the pot to come to the edge of the plate. The plate is to hold the grape leaves down as they cook! Bring the water to a boil and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 45 minutes. Cut one open to make sure they are done!

Serve with lemon wedges! It is kind of hard to describe how grape leaves taste to someone that's never tried them before. I attempted to explain them to my boyfriend and couldn't think of something to compare them to. I told him to just trust me! And he ended up loving them :) The jarred grape leaves are salty and have a very unique texture, definitely leafy but sturdy. The meat mixture contains all standard ingredients everyone has had, but the grape leaves are very unique. I found them in my grocery store, so stop by the ethnic section next time you're shopping and enjoy some Greek finger food!

Italian Beef Sandwiches

I remember the first time I smelled this glorious dish being cooked in the slow cooker... It was love at first whiff. This is my boyfriend's mom's recipe for Italian Beef Sandwiches and the first time I tried it I HAD TO HAVE THE RECIPE! I make it on a regular basis now and it really doesn't get much easier and tastier than this, folks. Throw everything in the slow cooker, let it cook and get super tender for 8 hours, melt some cheese on a sandwich roll, and stuff your face. That's what happens when this sandwich is on the plate in front of you - pure happiness and face-stuffing. And your house will smell FANTASTIC and did I mention it was easy? Ugh. Yum (*does happy-food-dance).

Thank you Mrs. E for sharing the recipe with me!!! :) 

Italian Beef Sandwiches

Makes 6 sandwiches

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Inactive Time: 8 hours

Total Time: 8 hours and 10 minutes

Ingredients

2 lb bottom round roast or chuck roast

1 onion

6 Italian rolls

6 slices provolone cheese

12 fl oz (1 jar) hot banana pepper rings

0.7 oz Italian salad dressing mix (dry packet)

Enough water to cover the roast in the slow cooker

1. Slice onion. Add roast, onion, banana pepper rings (including the juice from the jar), and salad dressing mix to the slow cooker. Add enough water to just cover the roast. Cook on high for 8 hours. (This can be done with a larger roast as well, up to 3-5 lbs. Add more onions and water to the slow cooker for a larger roast)

2. Shred beef with two forks and discard any fatty pieces. Slice rolls in half and put provolone cheese slice on one side. Broil to melt the cheese, about 2 minutes.

3. Use a slotted spoon to scoop Italian beef, onions, and banana peppers onto the rolls with cheese. Drizzle juice from the slow cooker over the beef or serve with a side of the juice for dipping. Enjoy!

Want to know how easy this recipe is? This is the hardest step - slicing an onion.

Put the roast, sliced onion, banana peppers with the juice, salad dressing mix, and enough water to cover the roast in the slow cooker and cook on high for 8 hours. Yay for setting it and forgetting it!

Oh my. Just look at how beautiful it is after 8 hours!

It is so tender that it falls apart when you take two forks to it. Shred it into small enough pieces for a sandwich.

Use a slotted spoon to scoop out the meat and onions and peppers but you'll also want to either ladle some of the juice onto your sandwich or get an extra little bowl of juice for dipping! 

Brown the sandwich bun and melt the cheese in the broiler for a few minutes, assemble the sandwich, stuff face. Mmmm warm, tender meat with very VERY little work. And whatever you do, don't let the delicious juice go to waste! Either drizzle some directly on the sandwich or have a little dipping bowl like above.

Italian Meatballs

I FINALLY got the recipe for Aunt Annette's famous meatballs! My boyfriend's family is part Italian and when we went to visit them in Michigan recently I couldn't leave without learning the tricks of the meatball trade. I've never thought the meatballs I used to make were anything special and thankfully I never served them to a large number of people, because after having these, I realized the meatballs I used to cook were not acceptable! I didn't know any better but my meatballs were sub-par, and these are OUTSTANDING, and I'm thankful that I will only cook and eat delicious and moist meatballs from now on! The key things that make these meatballs great (I think) are the fresh parsley and more water than you think you need. You'll "feeeeeeel the meatballs" like Aunt Annette says, and if it feels like there's slightly too much liquid, it's perfect. You almost think that they're so moist that they will fall apart when they cook, but they don't. And the parsley, cheese, and garlic... Mmmmm. Tasty Italian comfort food. 

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Italian Meatballs

by Saucy Jocey's Kitchen June-18-2012

Aunt Annette's classic Italian meatballs that are incredibly juicy and flavorful.

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup Romano Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 clove garlic

Instructions

1. Chop parsley and mince or crush clove of garlic.2. Mix all ingredients together. Form into balls about 2 inches in diameter if simmering in step 3, 1.5 inches in diameter if roasting in step 3.3. Gently place in sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Alternatively, roast in a 400 degrees F oven on a greased cookie sheet for 7 minutes. Flip and roast for another 7 minutes or until the interior is completely brown and cooked.4. Serve with spaghetti and sauce! Enjoy!

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 1 hour 30 mins Total time: 1 hour 40 mins Yield: 14 meatballs

**** DISCLAIMER: These pictures are from a batch made to feed a ton of people... We used 4 lbs of meat. The proportions in the recipe above are adjusted to use ONE POUND of ground beef and it makes about 14 (pretty large) meatballs.****

 The ingredients! Nothing surprising, but I'm telling you, everything is fresh and the proportions are just right so these meatballs turn out perfectly. 

Flavorful Italian bread crumbs. I suppose if you haaaaad to you could use the store-bought kind, but I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND the homemade Italian Bread Crumbs version.

Garlic crusher. My new favorite kitchen tool!

Add the Romano Parmesan cheese, an egg, parsley, Italian bread crumbs, water, salt, and pepper.

Now the fun part... don't be afraid to get messy!

Form the mixture into balls. 

Gently place in the sauce and bring everything to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low and cook for an hour and a half. Stir the sauce occasionally but be very gentle with the meatballs!

If you don't have the time and/or sauce quantities to simmer the meatballs, roast them in a 400 degree F oven on a greased cookie sheet for 14 - 15 minutes flipping once halfway through the roasting time. This cooking method makes the recipe very weeknight friendly!

Aunt Annette and her outstanding meatballs! Sauce recipe also coming soon! Thank you for sharing your recipe with me Aunt Annette :)

 Moist and flavorful meatballs and spaghetti. These will have you doing your happy-food dance.