ELIZABETH “LIB” BOWMAN HAUSER (Liberty, North Carolina) named two of her three children—Beth and Bryan—for her Grandma Mac, ALIVIE ELIZABETH BRYAN MCPHERSON (Liberty, North Carolina). Lib has fond memories of making homemade sausage and pork rinds with her Grandma Mac as well as canning tomato juice. Lib says everything was canned because they didn’t have a freezer until she was ten years old. They also sliced and dried their apples to enjoy as a snack during the winter months. Lib shares they always had a garden in the summer and often had too many peppers ripe at the same time. This recipe is a great way to use all the peppers and freeze some for future meals.
6 medium green bell peppers, whole
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup cracker crumbs, crushed
1 tablespoon chopped onion
1 (10.5 ounce) can tomato soup, divided
5 ¼ ounces water
1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2 In a medium pot boil enough water to immerse the green peppers whole. Once the water boils, place the whole peppers in the pot and boil, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Drain the peppers and let them cool.
3 In a large bowl combine the ground beef, salt, pepper, cracker crumbs, onion, and half of the tomato soup. Mix well.
4 Remove the stems and insides of the cooled green peppers. Stuff each pepper with the meat mixture and place upright in a glass casserole dish or a small roaster.
5 Add the water to the remaining soup (just pour it right into the can). Stir the water and soup and pour on top of the stuffed peppers.
6 Cover and bake for 50 to 60 minutes. Uncover during the last 10 minutes of baking. Serve warm.
MAKES 6 SERVINGS.