Stuffed Pepper Soup

Stuffed Peppers

are one of my most favorite dinners.  We eat them quite a bit actually.

They are not only yummy and filling, they are really quite good for you when you make them using brown rice and lean ground beef.

Here is my recipe for STUFFED PEPPERS.

The night I had ingredients out for stuffed peppers a couple of weeks ago, I decided I really wanted soup.

(it was 100+ degrees outside, 

yea... I'm nuts like that)

I have seen tons of recipes for stuffed pepper soup around, and I didn't know which to choose, so like normal, I just started throwing stuff in the pot until it tasted good!! :)

I made a big batch of this, and have some in the freezer.

Yay for me!!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

3 cups brown rice, prepared

2 pounds lean ground beef, browned and drained

1 onion chopped

2 green bell peppers, cut into smaller pieces

6 sweet vine peppers, tri colored, sliced

6 cloves of garlic

4 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes

1 (29 oz) can tomato sauce

4 cups low sodium beef broth

1 teaspoon marjoram

salt and pepper

Brown ground beef with a little salt and pepper in your skillet.  Drain.

Add to it the peppers, onion and garlic, and saute for about 5-10 minutes.

In your soup kettle or crock pot, add tomatoes, sauce, marjoram and broth.

Add beef/pepper mixture.

Prepare your rice, and set aside.

Simmer on the stove for about 45 minutes to marry the flavors.

Or cook on low in crock pot all day.

Before serving add rice.

Can be topped with cheese if you like.

Cucumber Ranch Salad

Growing up my Mom made cucumber salad, but made it with vinegar sugar dressing, which I still love, but this is how my Mother-in-law does it, and if you love ranch, you will love it!

Well...of course it helps to like cucumbers, too.

But chances are you wouldn't be reading a recipe for cucumber salad if you didn't.

Sometimes when I blog a recipe like this I wonder if ya'll think I am nuts to blog something that is so easy.

Then I remind myself, I had never had it until I was the ripe 'ol age of 22, so maybe you haven't?

Sometimes, I just blog these recipes, knowing that someday my daughter (the oldest one who doesn't like to cook) may want this salad she loves, and she can go to the internet and figure out how to make it!

So the whole thing is pretty darn easy, but better to make them in the morning, or the night before so they can soak, after you read the recipe you'll know what I mean.

So without further adieu....

Cucumber Ranch Salad

3 large cucumbers, washed, sliced in half then sliced in pieces.

(I leave the skin on, but you can peel it off if you prefer)

1 small onion, I like the sweet onions, chopped

1 cup Ranch dressing (more or less to taste)

Salt and cold water

Pepper

Slice cucumbers and place in a bowl.

Cover with cold water and give a good sprinkling of salt.

Place in refrigerator for a couple of hours to soak. This will keep the cucumbers firm.

Add onions, and toss with ranch dressing. (You can use any ranch you want, I make it with fat free, and it makes this salad nice and light!)

Give it a sprinkle of pepper and you're all done!!

Homemade "Frosty Paws" - 'Ice Cream' for your dog

My dogs LOVE ice cream

Like, our boxer... he won't mooch when you're eating a steak, but he hears the CRACK of the lid coming off of the ice cream bucket and he's drooling on your foot.

Whenever I take him to the vet, we stop at Mickey D's for a cone.

Yes, he is spoiled.

When my friend, Candi, over at The Devilish Dish, made these for her pooch a month ago, I knew I would be making them for Sully, for his birthday!

Devilish Dish Blog

Devilish Dish Facebook Page

Gabby is Sully's sister, and don't let her size fool you, she rules the roost.

She attended the "party" and loved the frosty paws as much as Sully Did.

This is the direct link to The Devilish Dish Recipe, I changed mine up a bit for what I had on hand, as she states, you can make them how she did or switch it up.

I didn't have banana, but had baby food carrots in my pantry... even though my youngest are almost 11, yea, don't ask.

Homemade Frosty Paws - Ice Cream for your dog

32 ounces of plain yogurt

1 jar of baby food carrots (or baby food meat or one mashed banana)

2-3 Tablespoons of Honey

2-3 Tablespoons of Peanut Butter

Combine the ingredients until smooth. I made mine a little sweeter, because he's a "sweets dog"-- I used 3 T of peanut butter and honey.

Pour into muffin tins, or cupcake liners.  I used the silicone ones, per Candi's suggestion, and they were AWESOME!

Freeze and let the doggies enjoy!

Makes about 12.

Two Ingredient Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Last year on Pinterest there was a picture going around how to make pumpkin muffins with a yellow cake mix and a can of pumpkin.

I pinned it right away.  That sounded too good to be true!!

This year as fall approaches, I saw it hit facebook again yesterday.

I asked the gal who posted it, if she had ever tried it.

She hadn't but another lady I know, posted that she had and that they were awesome!

She said, it's only better when you use a spice cake mix!

I LOVE Spice Cake and Pumpkin, and guess what I had BOTH items in my pantry!

I baked up a batch today...and Yum!!

They are super easy and super moist, and only have about 108 calories! (based on 16 muffins)

Two Ingredient Pumpkin Spice Muffins

1 box of Spice Cake Mix

1 - 15 ounce can of pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare 16 muffin tines with non-stick cooking spray or cupcake liners.

In a bowl, combine cake mix and pumpkin and stir until smooth and combined.

Divide between 16 muffin liners.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool.

Cherry Torte Cupcakes

When I made the Cherry Torte for my step-Dad's birthday, I made three 8x8 layers of cake.

I had just enough batter to experiment with six cupcakes.

The cake was amazing!!

You can find it here: Cherry Torte

But if you were in a bit of a rush, and wanted the same flavors, the cupcakes are the way to go.

This is the perfect combination.

It's like combining a cake with a pie with a cheesecake.

Crazy?

I know!!

Cherry Torte Cupcakes

1 box white cake mix 

1 can of cherry pie filling

whipped Cream Frosting (RECIPE FOUND HERE)

Prepare cupcakes as instructed on box, cool.

Core out a hole in the middle of the cupcake.

Poke two cherries and some filling down in the hole.

Top with whipped cream frosting and a cherry on top!

Keep in the refrigerator.

Cherry Torte

My step-dad is one of my favorite people to bake for.

He has a big 'ol sweet tooth!

We celebrated his 70th birthday on Labor Day, 

and his favorite cake if you would ask him is "wedding cake." 

Loves white cake!!

His favorite pie is cherry.

I decided to incorporate the two into one, and made this cherry torte!

Six layers of white cake, whipped cream frosting and cherry pie filling!

Candles for the birthday boy!

Here's Grandpa Joe while everyone sings him Happy Birthday!

You may think this looks hard to make, really it's quite simple.

Here's how!

Cherry Torte

2 boxes of white cake mix

2 cans cherry pie filling

Double batch of whipped cream frosting (RECIPE HERE)

Prepare Cake mixes according to the box instructions.

I made 3 8x8 layers, and did 6 cupcakes. 

If you want a taller cake, make 4 layers.

Open one can of cherries, and mash with a potato masher.

It will look sort of like a jam.

With a large bread knife slice the layers in half.

Spread a spoonful of cherries on bottom layer, the layer above it will get whipped frosting on the 

BOTTOM of the layer.

Keep alternating.

It looks like a stack of pancakes!!

Take a spoon or a rubber spatula and tidy up the sides.

Place cake and frosting in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.

Pull out and "fill in" the sides where the layers are with frosting then do an all over "crumb coat layer."

Put it back in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.

Frost the cake.

I piped on a circle of frosting at the base and on the top of the cake.

Chill until ready to serve.

From second can of cherries, pull out the cherries, avoiding a lot of sauce, and place on the top of the cake inside the frosting circle.

There ya go!! 

I hope you like it as much as the birthday boy did!!

<3 p="">

Whipped Cream Frosting

When I made the Peaches and Cream Spice Cake for my Mother-in-law's birthday two weekends ago, I knew it wouldn't be the same without this frosting.  I don't know why I never shared it with you before?

If you like whipped cream and you like cream cheese or cheesecake, 

this will make you SWOON!!

Honestly, I don't think it really tastes like frosting at all?

So, this weekend when I made a Cherry Torte and Cherry Torte Cupcakes (recipes coming soon) I decided to snap a photo of it in the mixer and share it with you!

Whipped Cream Frosting

1 - 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup of granulated sugar

2 cups heavy whipping cream

In your standing mixer, with whisk attachment,  combine the cream cheese, sugar and extracts until creamy, scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl a couple of times, to make sure it's all incorporated.

Turn it on again and slowly pour in the cream.

Beat until frosting forms peaks, much like a whipped cream does.

I have found that if my stainless steel bowl of my mixer and whisk attachment are cold it peaks better.

This will frost a two layer cake.  Makes about 5 cups or so.

If this actually makes it to a cake...instead of eating it straight out of the bowl, 

make sure you keep it in the fridge.  

It'll melt!!