Stuffed Peppers and Pudding Pops

I am finally getting back in my groove after my two trips home to Utah. I feel so blessed that I was able to go home to see Nick and go again for his funeral. If you would like to read about his funeral go to nick-raitt.blogspot.com. Nicholas was just the coolest guy ever...plain and simple. We love Nick!

It has been nice to come back to Bear and get life back in order. Before the summer, I think Austin had this vision of me making gourmet meals every night, him coming home to a clean apartment and fresh cookies waiting on the counter. That has not happened yet, but I still have a few months to redeem myself before we move back to Utah!

A co-worker of mine brought stuffed peppers to work for her lunch one time and they looked sooo good! Ever since then I've wanted to make them so this week I finally did!

Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

• · 6 green bell peppers
• · salt to taste
• · 1 pound ground beef
• · 1/3 cup chopped onion
• · salt and pepper to taste
• · 1 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
• · 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• · 1/2 cup uncooked rice
• · 1/2 cup water
• · 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• · 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed tomato soup
• · water as needed

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the peppers in half (remove stems), and remove the seeds. Cook peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes (completely submerged); drain. Sprinkle salt inside each pepper, and set aside.
2. In a large skillet, saute beef and onions (add garlic salt) for 5 minutes, or until beef is browned. Drain off excess fat, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes, rice, 1/2 cup water and Worcestershire sauce. Cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until rice is tender. Remove from heat, and stir in the cheese.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (175 degrees C). Stuff each pepper with the beef and rice mixture, and place peppers open side up in a baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine tomato soup with just enough water to make the soup a gravy consistency. Pour over the peppers.
4. Bake covered for 25 to 35 minutes, until heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly.

While I was making these I was a little worried that they wouldn't be good, but I really liked them! They weren't too hard and it was fun to make something different. I even had some of the guys come over for dinner and they approved.

Tips:

• Make sure you boil your peppers for AT LEAST 5 minutes
• Season your meat with taco seasoning, otherwise it will be a little bland
• Serve with sour cream and tortilla chips

Next we have Pudding Pops...

Isn't Austin cute in all his Vivint glory??

These are so easy and fun to make! I love vanilla pudding so making it into a popsicle sounded like a fabulous idea. I bought the popsicle molds at Target. All you have to do is:

• Prepare a small package of pudding as it directs you on the box (I used vanilla)
• Add fruit, candy, cookies, etc. (I used Heath Bars)
• Mix it all together, freeze for a few hours (I did it overnight), and voila! you have a popsicle!

Some ideas that I have found and want to try are:

• White chocolate pudding with rasberries
• Vanilla pudding with peanut butter and bananas
• Vanilla pudding, vanilla yogurt and strawberries
• Chocolate pudding with crushed Oreos (I think mint Oreos would be awesome!)

Pretty much do whatever combination that sounds good to you!

You also could make these a healthier treat by just using yogurt.