Pepper Planting and Fiesta Beef Bells

I’m the kind of person who thinks that everybody has something that they “nerd out” about. You know, the thing people have that deep, fiery passion for, and will never be able to learn enough about. For some it’s a general topic, such as sports; for others it’s something much more specific, like knowing every possible factoid about Abe Lincoln.

I have a few different subjects I enjoy learning about, one of which is agriculture…what a surprise 🙂 I find it absolutely fascinating that I’ve been in the ag industry for 24 years and STILL have crops or animals that I know hardly anything about! Dairies, flower farms, orchards, wineries…you name it, I want to tour and learn more about it!

Earlier this week, I got to do just that! All of our work at home was caught up, so we spent the morning helping some friends, T&C, plant bell peppers starts, by hand! There are implements that can do a majority of the work, but in this field, a tractor would have done more harm than good. In the three hours we were there, we managed to plant more than 2,000 starts!

When these little guys start producing, T&C will sell them to smaller markets in the Treasure Valley. They expect to yield an average of 5 peppers off each plant, although others in the area have seen as many as 8-10.

 

1) First, we sorted good starts from bad starts, making sure that only healthy starts get planted. Here you can see some of the starts that made the cut. 2) An up-close shot of a pepper, before planting. 3) One person walks ahead of the planter, dropping two starts down. An underground drip line will water these for the duration of the summer. 4) The finished project!

 

So how is this related to cattle? A recipe, of course! I’ve been dying to make some beef-stuffed bell peppers, so this gave me the perfect excuse!

  Fiesta Beef Bells

 •1 lb ground beef

•4-6 large bell peppers, halved and deseeded – I ended up using 3

•1/2 onion, chopped

•1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

•1 can corn, rinsed and drained

•4 oz. Cream Cheese

•1 cup of shredded cheese

•Chili Powder, to taste

 

Even thought they have a short list of ingredients, these stuffed peppers are packed with taste!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a skillet, add the ground beef and cook thoroughly. Be sure to drain any grease during this process. While your beef is cooking, take a moment to cut the top of your peppers off, spoon out what’s inside, and rinse them out.

Next, add the corn, black beans, onion, and chili powder to a separate bowl.

Once beef is fully cooked, add the corn/bean/onion mixture to the skillet. Next, add the cream cheese, mixing with the other ingredients until melted.

Now it’s time to fill the peppers, topping them off with shredded cheese! Because I only ended up having 3 peppers, I had lots of filling leftover. Instead of letting it go to waste, I grabbed some tortillas, spooned the filling inside, rolled them up, and placed them on their own cookie sheet.

I put both dishes in the oven, cooking them for 15 minutes.

 

Yummy! You could top with sour cream and a garnish of chopped cilantro if you’d like, or just enjoy as is. They were delicious. Enjoy!

~J

 

 

 

 

Categories: Beef, Recipes