YA GOTTA LOVE STUFFED PEPPERS!
Last night I decided to make stuffed peppers. I got out the old number 8 dutch oven that used to belong to my parents, the bowl for mixing the stuffing, spices and what have you. Stuffed peppers have been in the family for so long that I could make them by heart. That said, what I add to the pepper stuffing is a lot different from what mom used to add. Forgive me mother, but yours were a bit bland for my liking.

Candace likes her peppers to be red or yellow, mine by tradition have to always be green. Basically, you could stuff bell peppers with anything. Here's what I've been working off of. It's just been of late that the ingredients have been comitted to writing. Enjoy!

Stuffed Peppers Ala` Watson

This recipe goes back to my dad’s family who settled in the San Joaquin Valley in the 1800’s. His father made a living farming and supplemented the family income on weekends by playing the fiddle in local taverns. On one of those evenings Joaquin Marietta and Three Fingered Jack wondered into the tavern. They enjoyed the fiddle music so much that they forced old grandpa by gun point to play and play and play into the wee hours of the morning. This recipe has prevailed and changed some over the years. It remains a favorite at family gatherings.

4-6 bell peppers (yellow or red can be substituted)
1 pound very lean or 7% fat ground beef
1 cup of uncooked brown rice
2 cups or an 8 ounce package of grated sharp cheddar cheese (non fat can be used)
1 large onion diced (white or sweet variety)
2 teaspoons minced or crushed garlic
4 16 ounce cans tomato sauce - reserve 2 cans
1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
5 tablespoons of chili powder (not the hot variety) – reserve 1 tablespoon
2 teaspoons ground pepper
2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
Options to add – 1 15 ounce can whole corn, a dozen chopped baby carrots, one medium onion chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cook the brown rice according to package directions. Add a cube or two of chicken or beef bullion to the water.

After the rice is done cooking and in a large mixing bowl thoroughly combine the ground beef, all of the cooked brown rice, grated cheese, diced onion, 2 cans tomato sauce (reserve remaining two), can of diced tomatoes, 4 tablespoons chili powder (reserve the 5th), the ground pepper, salt, red pepper flakes and garlic powder.

Use a number 8 sized Dutch oven (with lid) or a pot with at least 4 inch sides that is suitable for oven use (with lid). Add to the pot the two remaining 16 ounce cans of tomato sauce and blend in the remaining tablespoon of chili powder along with a couple of shakes of red pepper flakes.

Cut the tops off of the peppers and set them aside. Stuff the peppers with pepper mix. Place the tops on the peppers and place them into the pot. Place the lid on the pot and put into the 350 degree oven. Bake 60 to 70 minutes.

Divide the unused pepper mix (and there will be a lot) into two freezer bags and freeze for future use. Pepper mix should be used within three months.

Serving suggestion: Mashed potatoes. When serving ladle sauce from pot onto both the peppers and the potatoes. Mashed Potatoes: 4 large russets (cook 40 minutes whole to preserve flavor). When soft combine with a ½ cup of Parmesan cheese or 4 “dollops” of non fat sour cream, salt, pepper. Use an electric beater to blend pouring in buttermilk to find the consistency you prefer in your potatoes.

After eating such a fine dinner, I retired to the backyard to enjoy its beauty. I happened to look up and lo and behold there was the sign of the fish as shaped by the branches of an oak tree.

I take this as a sign as I would hope that anyone would. Lately I've been feeling very blessed and the sign of the fish in my very own backyard certainly adds to that feeling.

It's a great day in Redding and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.