Nurturing my inner... veterans day

I read a disheartening story the other day.  About a 95 year old United States war veteran whose birth location was under scrutiny.  It turns out that his American parents had him while in Canada and then moved back to the U.S.  Birth certificates weren't required or well documented back then as they are now.  So he didn't know there would be such a huge problem when he decided that he probably wouldn't live much longer and wanted to die an official American citizen.  To his surprise, they wanted to deport him.  Deport him!  At 95!!!  After having lived in the United States his entire, nearly a century long, life.  After having fought for this country.  His country!!

When I think of all the shady stuff that goes on in this country regarding who the government allows to stay and whom they make leave, I am appalled by how this gentleman was treated.  So I am going to honor him in my own way by making a dish my grandmother used to make many, many years ago.  Something hearty and classic and worthy of a fine, strong American Veteran.

Stuffed Peppers

3-4 large green bell peppers
1/2 lb ground beef
1 1/2 cups wild rice, cooked
1/4 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp Worcestershire
4 ou Cotija cheese, chopped

I had planned all along to use large, green peppers, but had a few small ones left over from another dish.  So that's why those are thrown in there.

Big and small, green, red, orange, yellow.

Here's what you do.  Core the peppers by taking off the top, remove the seeds and any other stuff inside, and make them nice and clean.

As I just mentioned, nice and clean.

You'll need a large pan to fit them all if your green peppers are as large as these monsters.

I stuck the baby ones in the middle.

When my grandmother made stuffed peppers, she used raw meat and rice and stuffed them like that.  I however felt like cooking the meat first.

Lean ground beef.

I cooked the garlic and onions on medium heat in another pan and then added them to the beef.  Along with the oregano and Worcestershire.  And put all that in with the wild rice.

Lots of texture.

Into a bowl and mixed it with my hands.

Beef, rice, nothing too fancy yet.

Where I also did a little something different was add a cheese not normally found in stuffed peppers.  Cotija.

It's Mexican.

Cotija is a very dense, dare I say, nearly rubbery cheese.  That may sound unappealing, but it works well because it's substantial.

Big block.

I added that in last and gave one last quick mix.

Always good to add cheese.

The peppers were all ready to go, so I packed them tightly with filling.

To overflowing.

I tried to be careful when packing them not to burst the sides though.  No good if the filling leaks out.

Everybody's done.

I arranged them with room on all sides.

Evenly spaced.

I was shopping at Whole Foods that day, so I decided to try one of their pasta sauces.  It was okay.  I mean, can't hold a candle to the stuff I bring back from CT, but really now, we knew that would be impossible.

Not sure I could taste the
organicness.

I surrounded the peppers with the sauce and covered the peppers about 1/3 the way up.  I put them on simmer and I would leave them there for 45 minutes to an hour.  Until the peppers are as tender as you prefer.  The little ones were done sooner though.  I took them out after 30 minutes.

Smaller, so done faster.

These were the larger peppers getting their extra time.

Just a little longer.

I like the peppers to stay a little on the firm side, so I turned off the heat after 45 minutes.

A bowl is the way to serve.

Very filling dish.  On a super hungry day I could eat a whole pepper (these were a little bigger than baseball-sized), but most days half is about all I can muster.  So if you are thinking because it's a pepper it's not a substantial enough meal, well let me correct you right there.  You won't go away hungry.  But you can feel pretty good about eating vegetables, lean meat and wild rice.

The inside with melted cheese.

I appreciate every man and woman who has ever fought for my freedom. People I'll never know. Never get to say thank you to, face to face.  Never get to make a meal for.  (Well, not directly.)  But I have thought of them so often.  Every time I watch the news.  Every time I see one in uniform walking down the street.  Inside, I thank them for all their sacrifices.  I always will.