Happy Birthday!

I've been playing around with the idea of doing a blog and am finally just going to get started.  I want a place where I can post pictures and recipes of all the things I am cooking and baking, as well as a place where I can give healthy recipes or food tips for those looking for ideas.  

Today is my husband's birthday. He doesn't care if he gets any cards or gifts and hardly remembers that its his birthday. I, on the other hand, have to cook and bake something for him! Fortunately, that seems to make him happier than almost anything else I could do.

Tonight's menu was Mary Gang's Rolls whole-wheat rolls, Italian Stuffed Pepper Soup and Peach cake.  The rolls are a long-time family favorite that is super-easy but is always on the table for Thanksgiving.  The Peach cake is one of my husband's favorite comfort foods and the soup was a new recipe that turned out so yummy that it will be going on our regular menu rotation.


Italian Stuffed Pepper Soup

2 large onions, chopped 

2 cups pre-cooked ground beef

2 cans petite-diced tomatoes

4 cups green, red or yellow peppers, cut up into small squares 

          (I used 5 peppers - 2 green & 1 each of red orange and yellow)

1 small box mushrooms, chopped fine

2 tbs beef-flavored bouillon 

2 tsp. Italian seasoning

6 cups water

Sauté onions and peppers with 2 cups water in stock pot.  Add remaining ingredients. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer about 40 minutes, or until peppers and onions are tender.  Serve over hot rice.

This soup could easily be made vegetarian (as was the original recipe - Thanks Joe!), just replace the beef with vegeburger or reconstituted tvp (or textured vegetable protein).  You could also add other veggies that happen to be handy when you are making it.

Peach Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1/2 stick of butter, melted.  Pour and spread just enough butter to coat the bottom and sides of a 9"x13" glass baking dish, reserve the rest of the butter.

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar (today I used raw sugar for its brown-sugary flavor)

2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 cups milk

1 egg

Whisk batter together and pour into the buttered dish.

2 cans sliced peaches

Use a fork to place peach slices on top of the batter. Drips of juice just make it tastier! Drizzle remaining butter over the top of the peaches.

Bake for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown. Don't burn your tongue on the very-hard-to-resist just-out-of-the-oven cake!!! Also tasty topped with vanila ice cream.