Tag: Family

Family, Food

Stuffed Green Peppers

thestlouiscooks
Sievers Stuffed Peppers

There is nothing better than getting that “hand me down” recipe passed on from generations.  This stuffed pepper recipe is compliments of my awesome mother in law, Nancy Sievers.  I’ve been making this recipe for over 12 years. Making recipes from your childhood brings back so many fond memories so we agreed to have some recipes from each side of the family. It has worked out great!

This recipe is another favorite in this household.  I love it and my kids love it. Do my kids eat the pepper?  No, except my 10 year old, Jack, who has a very sophisticated palate.  He loves everything. He may not eat the entire pepper but he will eat a lot of it.  Heck, the best part of this recipe is the stuffing anyway.

It’s super easy to make.  You can even make these peppers in advance…refridgerate or freeze.  One key to this recipe is the last 15 minutes of cook time…make sure you do not forget to uncover and let them get a little browned on top, without drying out of course.

Ingredients:

  • 4 Large Green Peppers (prefer 4 lobes)
  • 2 Cups of Boiling Salt Water
  • 1 Can Tomato Sauce (8 ounces)
  • 1/2 Pound of Ground Beef
  • 3/4 Cup of Rice
  • 1 Teaspoon of Salt
  • 1/4 Teaspoon of Pepper
  • 1 Tablespoon or more of Chopped Onion
  • Dash of Crush Red Pepper (optional)

Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Cut a thin circular slice from the stem of each pepper.  Wash inside and out, removing all seeds and membranes.
  3. Cook peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes.  Drain and cool.
  4. Mix all the other ingredients together in a large bowl.
  5. Stuff Peppers lightly with the meat mixture.  Stand upright in a baking dish.
  6. Cover and bake 45 minutes. Uncover peppers and bake another 15 minutes.

Stuffed peppers are not complete without ketchup!  I double this recipe every time I make it because it is so easy and we gobble it up every time.

Enjoy!

Stuffed Peppers Cooked
Family, Food

Italian Sausage Soup

thestlouiscooks

Italian Sausage Soup 2

Soup is one of my very favorite foods.  I’m a big fan of broth soups as opposed to cream, but I like them all. Considering this is my first soup recipe included on The St. Louis Cooks, I decided to start with this hearty family favorite.  It is not a hand me down.  This recipe is compliments of yours truly.

It combines some of my all time favorite things to eat…zucchini, tomatoes, and sausage.  Plus my kids enjoy it.  Serve it with salad, sandwiches or solo.

Italian Sausage Soup

  • Servings: 4-5
  • Difficulty: Super Easy
  • Print

Ingredients:

  • 1 Pound of bulk Italian SausageIngredients for Sausage Soup
  • 1 Medium Onion, sliced
  • 1 1/2 Cups of Water
  • 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh Basil or 1 teaspoon of dried Basil
  • 2 Medium Zucchini or yellow Summer Squash, cut into 1/4 inch slices (4 cups)
  • 1 Can of Diced or Stewed Tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 Can of Garbanzo Beans, drained
  • 1 Can of Condensed Beef Broth

Directions:

  1. Cook sausage and onion in a large pot over medium-high heat for 10-12 minutes, breaking up sausage, and until no longer pink; drain.
  2. Stir in remaining ingredients, breaking up tomatoes.  Heat to a boiling; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer about 10 minutes or until zucchini is tender.
  3. Sprinkle each serving with fresh Parmesan cheese and oyster crackers if desired.

Enjoy!

Family, Food

Chicken and Rice Bake

thestlouiscooks

Chicken and Rice Bake

This recipe has been in the family for a very long time.  I enjoyed it as a kid growing up so I must give all credit to my Mom for this one. I believe it’s a favorite at this house, because we love anything with Lipton – French Onion Soup Mix.   It flavors everything – oh so good, including this one dish meal recipe that is ideal for any family!

Ingredients:

  • 6 Chicken Breasts
  • 2-3 Celery Stalks (chopped)
  • 2 Cups or more of Carrots (chopped)
  • 1/4 Cup of Butter
  • 1 Cup of uncooked Rice
  • 1 Package of Lipton Dry Onion Soup Mix
  • 2 Cups of Water

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, sauté chicken in butter until lightly browned. Remove chicken and sauté carrots and celery in the same pan.  You may have to add more butter.
  2. Spray a 9 by 13 glass dish with Pam. In a separate bowl, mix rice and onion soup mix together.  Spread evenly on the bottom of the glass dish.
  3. Put chicken on top of rice mixture, then put vegetables all over. Evenly pour water in dish.
  4. Cover dish with foil and bake for one hour.

**You can omit the butter and use oil or Pam if you want to make this recipe lighter.  The butter however, adds great flavoring.

Enjoy!

Family, Food

Pasta with Peas and Bacon

thestlouiscooks

Bacon Pea Pasta

It was one of those kind of nights.  I didn’t want to do take out and I didn’t want to go to the grocery store.  It was time to get creative and pull together a meal with some of the ingredients I had at home. Of course, I picked out some of my favorites – pasta, garlic, peas, and bacon!

This meal was so quick and easy and the entire family loved it. It’s a light dish (not low fat), but light and not heavy.  You could use any kind of pasta and/or vegetable.

Who doesn’t like a dish with bacon in it anyway?

Ingredients

  • 1 Bag of Frozen Peas – defrosted
  • 1 Box of Linguine Pasta
  • 1 Small Onion Chopped
  • 4 Cloves of Garlic
  • 6-7 Slices of Cooked Bacon
  • Salt and Pepper to Taste
  • 4 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

Directions

  1. Cook Pasta according to package directions.
  2. While the pasta is cooking, add olive oil to large pan and sauté the onion and garlic.  I use a lot of garlic.
  3. Add peas to pan and stir.  Cook the onion, garlic and peas over medium heat and add salt and pepper as desired.
  4. Drain pasta and add to pea mixture on the stove.  Lightly toss to coat all of the pasta and pea mixture.
  5. Break up bacon pieces and add to pan.  Lightly toss bacon into pasta.
  6. Serve immediately and add fresh parmesan.

Enjoy!  This one is a keeper.

Family, Kids, Life in General

Kids Out and About in St. Louis

thestlouiscooks

Fall

The weather is getting cooler and the leaves are beginning to change beautiful colors of red, yellow, and orange.  It’s time to pull out the boots. The St. Louis Cardinals are in the playoffs once again, and our Missouri Tigers are unbeaten. It’s Autumn here in St. Louis.  It’s an awesome time to be here. October has become one of my very favorite months because there is so much excitement in town.  People are visiting the Missouri wineries and taking their families to the pumpkin patch.

Recently, I wanted to take the family to a pumpkin patch that I visited several years ago. I couldn’t remember the name or address so I decided to check out my friends at “Kid’s Out and About in St. Louis”.  I knew they would hook me up with a list so I could find my favorite one.  Not only do they provide a list of pumpkin patches, but they provide so many other activities for families.  It’ such a great resource.

KidsOutAndAbout.com is an online resource offering parents, grandparents, and caregivers great stuff to do in and around the St. Louis area with their kids – culture, the arts, festivals, active fun, and recreation. Organizations that provide activities for kids and families can have a free organization listing so they can post on any of their three calendars – events, classes and summer camps. An enewsletter is sent out every Thursday morning filled with ideas for family fun for that upcoming weekend and beyond.

Stay connected with them. It’s an awesome organization!

Kids out an about Logo

website:      http://saintlouis.kidsoutandabout.com/

Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/KidsOutAndAboutSaintLouis

Twitter:        https://twitter.com/KidsOutStLouis  or @KidsOutStLouis