Cooking Corner and much, much more!!

The Cooking Corner by Jancey Smith

If someone were to take an opinion poll of people in the Midwest about what’s their favorite summer food, I would bet two of the most popular items would be tomatoes and corn. Sometimes there is just nothing like fresh out of the garden goods. Those who have gardens always seem to be good about sharing their overflow. There’s just no sense in wasting good food. So when it’s summer and tomatoes are plentiful, I like to get creative in the kitchen, like a bold marinara sauce with herbs from my garden. What bright flavor. Over the years I’ve tried stuffing tomatoes, pasta salads, grilled tomatoes and salsa are always fun, too. But the hubby likes his tomatoes best picked, washed and sliced on the plate. He’s a no-frills kinda guy. Last summer I learned that it’s really easy to freeze tomatoes. You don’t have to do all that blanch and peel stuff. Just wash, core and deseed, then chop or dice and throw in a freezer bag. I can remember summers when I’d heat up the kitchen to parboil the tomatoes, dip them in cold water, peel, deseed and dice. Can’t you just picture the mess? I can take out the whole kitchen dripping water, juices and seeds everywhere. Thank you so much “sister-in-laws.” Skipping all of that saved so much time and not to mention mess. I had tomatoes for soups, chili and spaghetti sauce all winter long, right out of the garden. What’s nice here in the Midwest is that just about the time the tomatoes are popping is that peppers are ready for harvest, too. These two veggies are a great combination, not only in sauces, soups and salsa, but also in one of my summer favorites, stuffed peppers. Here’s how I do it. Preparation-

Continued next page Pour uncooked rice in medium saucepan. In measuring cup add 2 cups water and 2 beef bouillon cubes. Microwave until hot about 2-3 minutes. Stir to dissolve. Pour in pan with rice and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Stir and set aside to cool. In large skillet, brown 1 lb. ground meat. When meat begins to brown, add onion and peppers. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. When meat is almost done, add garlic. Cook a couple of minutes more, then drain fat and add spices. Add tomatoes to meat and veggies, stirring to mix well. Stir in rice until well blended. This can also be used for stuffing tomatoes or as a side for tacos.

Spanish Rice

Ingredients:

1 cup rice 2 beef bouillon cubes 1 lb. ground meat (beef, pork or turkey) 1/4 cup red and vidallia onion each, chopped 1/4 cup green bell pepper, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp. cumin 2 tsp. chili powder 1 tsp. paprika 1 T. cilantro (or parsley) 6-8 grape or cherry tomatoes, washed and diced

Spanish rice

4-5 bell peppers, any color but usually green 1 cup Spanish rice shredded Mexican cheese Preparation-

Wash and remove tops from peppers. Clean out seeds and veins. Place in slow cooker with tops up. Fill peppers with Spanish rice. Pour just enough liquid (beer, water or chicken stock) to cover bottom of slow cooker and heat on low for 6-8 hours. Top with shredded cheese to serve.

Stuffed peppers in the slow cooker