Jack-o-Lantern Stuffed Peppers

This is a fun Halloween recipe that we all enjoyed this year.

6 bell peppers, Orange
1 pound ground Turkey
1 egg
4 slices whole wheat bread, cubed
1 small onion, chopped
1 small tomato, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 C. sliced fresh mushrooms
2 T. chili sauce
1/4 cup prepared yellow mustard
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Procedure:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish.


2.Lightly mix together the ground beef, egg, bread cubes, onion, tomato, garlic, chili sauce, mushrooms, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper in a bowl.

3.Wash the peppers, and cut jack-o'-lantern faces into the peppers with a sharp paring or pumpkin carving knife, making triangle eyes and noses, and pointy-teeth smiles. Slice off the tops of the peppers, and scoop out the seeds and cores. Stuff the peppers lightly with the beef stuffing, and place them into the prepared baking dish so they lean against each other.

4.Bake in the preheated oven until the peppers are tender and the stuffing is cooked through and juicy, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Hungarian Spaetzle

This is a Hungarian dumpling. It is a great accompanimant to Hungarian Goulash. The dumplings can be made in advance and sauted later.

Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour
5 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 C. club soda
1/2 C. Milk
1 T. Nutmeg
1 Lg. Onion
1 Stick of Butter
2 Qts. Chicken Broth

Procedure:


1.In large bowl, combine flour, nutmeg, eggs and salt. Add club soda & Milk a little at a time to form a soft dough.

2.Boil 2 quarts of chicke in a large pot. Squeeze dough out into the water using noodle or fruit press or by pressing through a colander with large holes. If you do not have a press, roll out the dough until paper thin and cut into strips with a knife. Place noodles in boiling broth. When noodles float to the top of the water, they are done (3 to 4 minutes).

3. Saute the noodles on a chopped onion and stick of butter before serving.

Hungarian Goulash

This is another recipe that started on All Recipes that I modified to our tastes. The modifications probably make it less Hungarian but we loved it! It can be served with Rice, Egg Noodle, Potatoes or Spaetzle. We ate with Spaetzle and Mushroom Soup. Those recipes can also be found here.

1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 onions, diced
4 tablespoons Hungarian sweet paprika
2 T. Soy Sauce
3 T. White Wine Vinegar
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 1/2 C. Beef Broth
2 Cans Diced tomatoes & green chiles (drained)
1/4 Brown Sugar
1/4 C. Worchestershire Sauce
1 clove garlic, minced

Directions


1.Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook onions in oil until soft, stirring frequently. Add stew meat and brown Add Paprika, Soy Sauce, Vinegar, Pepper, tomatoe paste, diced tomatoes. brown sugar, worchestershire sauce & garlic.

2.In a crick pot, add broth and ingredients from above, Cook on high for 5 hours.

Taco Soup

The Story:
This is my family & extended family's all time favorite recipe. A girl friend of mine was making this for dinner one night and offered me some. It was so good, I had to have the recipe. Since then, this recipe has changed quite a bit. The core ingredients are still the same but I have added a few more for bolder and spicier flavors. This is a great recipe to take to any pot-luck.

When I  visit my mother-in-law, she will have me make this x 3 so that she can freeze it and eat it all year around in my absense. She is a phenomenal cook so it is a huge compliment to me when she tells me she just cannot get the same flavor.

I do think that the flavor is in the brands used since almost everything comes from a can. This is a quick and simple recipe that can be made in an hour or less. There are a lot of ingredients. Don't let that scare you. It's really quick to make and it is very very good. If you don't like hominy you can subsitute corn.

Ingredients:
· 1 Lg Can Diced Tomatoes (Hunts)
· 1 Can Rotel (hot)
· 1 Can Pinto Beans (Bush's)
· 1 Can Kidney Beans (Bush's)
· 1 Can Yellow/Golden Hominy (Bush's)
· 1 Can of chopped Green Chiles (any brand)
· 1 Bushel fresh Cilantro (chopped)
· 1 Onion
· 2 pkgs of Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing
· 1 pkg Lowrey’s Taco Seasoning
· 1 ½ lbs Ground Chuck

Condiments:
· Sour Cream
· Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated
· Fritos

Directions:
In one pot (DO NOT DRAIN ANY OF YOUR VEGETABLES!) combine tomatoes, pintos and kidney beans, chiles, Rotel, and hominy. Cook on medium heat.

Take the Hidden Valley Ranch mixes and pour them into a coffee cup or small bowl. Slow stir in water until the coffee cup if full. If you pour too much water too quickly the mix will be lumpy. It’s kind of like mixing cornstarch and water, you have to be careful. Then pour the contents into the pot with the vegetables.

In a skillet fry the a hamburger meat with the onions and cilantro. Drain the grease when meat is brown. Then add the taco seasoning and about 1 ½ cups of water. Cook until seasoning is completely dissolved.

Finally, mix the meat in with the vegetables and continue to cook until nice and hot.

Serving:
Serve over Fritos top with cheese and sour cream.

Hungarian Mushroom Soup

I found a recipe on All Recipes.com, my favorite site. Of course, I cannot leave a recipe alone. We like bold flavors so I find our favorite ingredients and increase them to our taste. Additionally, I added potatoes to give it added texture and flavor. I served this with Hungarian Goulash & Spaetzle. Those recipes will also be posted on my blog.

1 Stick of unsalted butter
2 C. chopped onions
1 pound fresh portabello mushrooms, sliced
3 T. dried dill weed
2 T. paprika
1/4 C. soy sauce
2 C. chicken broth
1 C. Heavy cream
3 T. all-purpose flour
ground black pepper to taste
1/4 C. lemon juice
1/4 C. chopped fresh parsley
1/2 C. sour cream
6 small potatoes diced

1.Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Saute the onions in the butter for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute for 5 more minutes. Stir in the dill, paprika, soy sauce and broth. Add diced potatoes. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.


2.In a separate small bowl, whisk the heavy cream, sour cream and flour together. Pour this into the soup and stir well to blend. Cover and simmer for 15 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

3.Finally, stir in the salt, ground black pepper, lemon juice and parsley. Mix together and allow to heat through over low heat, about 3 to 5 minutes. Do not boil. Serve immediately.