“Knowing what we eat, where food comes from and how it affects our bodies has never been more important. This is what Food Revolution Day is all about. We want as many people involved and show others how important cooking skills and food knowledge are. It can be as simple as cooking a meal from scratch, passing on a much-loved recipe or trying a new ingredient.” Jamie Oliver
This is not a new concept is it? But we’re happy to see Jamie Oliver get on board and call attention to the state of our food, health, and its production. Recently a representative from Jamie Oliver’s organization toured our Ayrshire Farm facilities along with Adele Douglas from Humane Farm Animal Care, and we are very happy to say, they liked what they saw! We are looking forward to Certified Humane® products getting more attention along with more support for organic, local, and sustainable foods. Knowing your food and where it comes from is vital to your health and the health of your family. It’s important for food security and our food systems.
But back to the basics of Food Revolution Day, cooking, and cooking at home. What better way to share all of these things than focusing on preparing meals from scratch with quality ingredients? It need not be fancy or time-consuming. Healthy portions of meats especially, means smaller sizes. USDA recommendations for serving sizes for active adults are 5 ounces of beef, 4 ounces of pork, and 3 ounces of chicken…all much smaller than what most of us Americans are used to. Some serving sizes of red meats, for Diabetics for instance, are even smaller.
Certified organic and certified Humane® meat purchases can seem expensive. The fact is they ARE pricier because it costs more to raise an animal with such great care. So for those of you just beginning to use these meats as ingredients, start with the most basic cuts, ground beef, for example.
Did you know that 40-45% of every animal gets made into ground beef? That, every burger you eat supports your local farmer who raised the beef? That ground beef has the best portion cost of all cuts? And our ground beef is ground in small batches and is 100% beef, no fillers, no additives, no pink slime. Ever. Every batch is traceable. Always.
So let’s make something for dinner using ground beef. How about Stuffed Peppers?
Click this pic for another stuffed pepper recipe
Stuffed Peppers
Working time: 20 minutes Total preparation time: about 1 hour
- 1 lb ground beef, cooked, crumbled, and drained
- 1/2 large onion, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, diced
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 medium zucchini, diced
- 1/4 Cup water
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp basil
- 2 tsp thyme
- 2 Cups canned diced tomatoes
- 1 Cup tomato sauce
- 4 Cups cooked brown rice
- 1/2 Cup grated Parmesan
- 6 bell peppers (any color)
- 1/4 Cup grated mozzarella
Preheat oven to 350° F.
First in a large skillet, brown crumbled ground beef, drain, set aside. Then, in the same large skillet, cook onion, celery, carrot, and zucchini in the water, stirring. Add salt, basil, and thyme. When carrot is soft, add the tomatoes and tomato sauce. Simmer 5 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of sauce, set aside, then stir in the crumbled ground beef, cooked rice, and grated Parmesan.
Coat a baking pan or casserole dish large enough to fit the six peppers with cooking spray.
Cut off the top quarter of the bell peppers, remove seeds. Slice a thin amount off the bottom so peppers sit straight in pan.
Spoon filling into the peppers. Arrange the stuffed peppers in the baking dish and drizzle with reserved sauce. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Remove from oven, remove foil, add grated mozzarella to top each pepper. Put back in the oven for 10-15 minutes so cheese browns and is bubbly. Remove and serve hot. Garnish with chopped parsley or chives.
Serves 6
Editors Note: Ground Veal, Turkey, or Pork may be substituted for the Ground Beef.
Do you have a family recipe using ground beef to share or pass on? Let’s do our Food Revolution Day part and Cook It, Share It, Live It. Send to info@ayrshirefarm.com
