I have bell peppers coming out of my... :)

(photo via)

This is absolutely how I feel right now!

My hubster picked 50- yeah you heard right- 50

bell peppers from the garden last week.

And that was not the first picking...

or the last.

Guys I just may turn into a bell pepper soon.

I am currently sitting on my couch with my feetsies up

for the first time all day!

I have been using up the bounty of my garden.

Yum!

50 bell peppers down...

and there are still more a-coming!

I wanted to share a quick run down of how I preserve my peppers in case any of you are looking for some ideas.

1. Freeze

I blanch the peppers (though I just read this is not necessary) then I chop them up all different ways- I leave some whole too- lay them out on cookie sheets then pop them in the freezer.

When they are nice and frozen I pop them off the sheet and put them into freezer bags.

This is my favorite way to save them because half the prep work is done when I need to use them in a

 recipe.

2. Roast

Seed and slice the peppers then stick them under the broiler in the oven until their skin is a little chard and bubbly (just a few minutes).

Let them cool and peel the skin off.

Then follow the same freezer instructions as above.

All you have to do is thaw these bad boys out and you have instant yummy-ness for all your sandwiches and pizzas!

3. Cook

Yesterday I made this tortilla soup and popped it in the freezer for a busy day.

Tonight for dinner I made mexican stuffed peppers (recipe below) and I had enough filling for dinner tonight, lunch tommorow, and a batch for the freezer!

4. Preserve

I am a newby in this department so I only tried one this year, green tomato relish.

The recipe is delish-

Now all we have to do is wait and see if I actually canned them right!

mexican stuffed peppers

6 large bell peppers

(I used peppers from my garden and it filled 10)

1 cup of cooked brown rice

1 lb ground beef (local if you can find it)

1 can of black bean rinsed and drained

1 can of diced tomatoes with green chilies

1/2 c frozen corn

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

1 c. mozzarella cheese

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees

Brown the beef in a large skillet. Drain. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer until most of the liquid is gone about 20 minutes. 

While that is cooking cut the tops off of the bell peppers and remove the seeds. Trim a little off the bottom of each bell pepper to help them stand upright.

Find a dish that the peppers fit nice and snug inside of and place them in it. Put a layer of rice in the bottom of each pepper and then fill the rest of the pepper with the filling. Layer the cheese on top of each pepper.

Cover with foil and and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer.

(To freeze complete all the steps, but do not add the cheese. Put in a freezer safe container and store.)

So do you have any tips recipes to  share for my next batch?

I need all the help I can get!

whole wheat oatmeal carrot cookies

Have I told you lately how much I L.O.V.E. cooking and eating in the summer time?!

All the fresh ingredients make the farmer's markets explode!

And I seriously think that knowing you may have to squeeze into a bathing suit any moment curbs the ole' appetite a bit !

Lately our farmer's market has had an amazing selection of fruits and veggies in their discount section-

Which just so happens to be favorite section at the market :)

So, I have been stocking up!

The down side to the discount section is that you have to use that food pronto or it will spoil on you.

Luck us, that is a perfect excuse to use our juicer!!

A lot of times I feel a little guilty using the juicer because I waste all the pulp-

A smoothie is just so much cleaner and uses pretty much the whole fruit.

But if you add a little planning the juicer is not wasteful at all.

You really get two items for the price of one!

That is where these cookies came in-

I had several bags of carrots from the discount section that were dying to be juiced.

Before I juiced them I took a second to see if I could find a way to use the pulp.

I found this recipe and it is A.MAZ.ING.

Ingredients:

(adapted from cdkitchen)

1 cup honey

1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
2 cups raisins
2 cups grated carrots

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

In a mixing bowl beat together the honey, oil, vanilla and eggs. 

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and oatmeal and blend well. 

Then stir in raisins and carrots. Add the liquid ingredients to the mixture and blend well. 

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an oiled cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown. Remove the cookies from the cookie sheet and cool them on a rack before storing.

This recipe makes A LOT of cookies. So, I divided my dough into 3 sections. I baked one, and I rolled the other two into logs, wrapped them in freezer paper, and then I froze them. I have since eaten ALL the cookies (cooked and frozen) and they were delish! I just let the frozen dough thaw for a few minutes before I sliced them up and popped them in the oven!

Enjoy!

P.S. Some good stuff to juice with carrots- an apple, a handful of grapes, or a juicy tomato. Yum!

I love to party at these great places!