Cooking with vegetables that are in season is a great way to cook healthy meals and be frugal.

“In season” cooking is certainly not a new concept.  Over the recent years, we’ve become used to being able to buy any vegetable/fruit we want at any time, regardless of the season.

And while a certain vegetable might always be available, it is not always cheap.  Vegetables are the cheapest when they’re in season.  Not only that, they taste soooo much better when they’re in season.

If you’re striving to keep that grocery budget under control and still want to feed your family fresh vegetables and fruits,  plan out recipes that use vegetables that match the season.  Your budget will thank you!

One of my favorite “in season” vegetables right now is bell peppers.  We had a great yield from our garden this year.  It’s the first year for our raised bed garden and it produced like crazy.  We’re at the tail end of their season and I’m sad to see our summer season crops coming to an end .

With the weather cooling off, it’s a perfect time to think soup… Stuffed Pepper Soup that is.  And since we have an abundance of bell peppers right now, it’s the perfect meal.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

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2 pounds ground beef

1/2 medium onion

6 cups water

8 beef bouillon cubes

2 – 28oz. cans tomatoes with liquid, diced

2 cups cooked rice

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

4 chopped jalapenos, seeded and chopped (optional)

3 green, yellow or red bell peppers, seeded and chopped

In a large Dutch oven, brown ground beef with onions.  Add bouillon cubes, tomatoes, cooked rice, jalapenos (optional) and all seasonings.  Bring to a boil; cover.  Reduce heat and simmer for at least1 hour.  Add bell peppers and cook uncovered for 20-30 minutes more.

Makes about 4 quarts of soup