A hike to the lake

We had very nice weather for several days last week, so Bob and I went out for a hike to Lake Michigan. This was a hike on a dune which had lots and lots of stairs! But it was beautiful and the view of the lake when we got there was worth it.

It was a beautiful, sunny day.

The park has nice paths, and lots of stairs.

Here we are at the top of the dune - the walk goes across the narrow top with a fairly steep incline on both sides.

There were nice benches in several places to stop and rest.

Beautiful trees along the way, and even some new leaves starting to pop out.

We made it!  Look at this view, overlooking Lake Michigan.

All those stairs we climbed up, now we had to go back down.

Along the way, Bob spotted this stone, engraved with 'love' on one of the fence posts.

We saw wildflowers too, including these pretty little ones called "Dutchmans Breeches".

As we neared the end of the trail, Bob spotted another stone.  This one says 'courageous'.

After we finished, we stopped at a popular sandwich shop and split a grilled cheese and fries.  What a great way to spend a sunny morning!

Friday Funny

 

Cooking Thursday

I like stuffed peppers and recently came across a recipe for stuffed peppers with a little twist. Instead of the usual flavoring, these are a Mexican/Taco flavor. We tried them out and found them to be very tasty! Because it's just Bob and I, I froze half of the filling and made only 3 of them. It made making another batch later, very easy!

Cheese Taco Stuffed Peppers

6 large bell peppers, tops sliced off and insides cleaned
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
1 (15 ounce) can corn, drained
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1/4 cup of your favorite salsa
3 tablespoons taco seasoning
2 teaspoons garlic salt
2 (8.5 ounce) bags, pre-cooked cilantro lime rice
1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Slice tops off the bell peppers, remove seeds and membranes. Set the hollowed peppers upright in a 9x13 baking pan.
Brown the ground beef in a large skillet. Stir in corn, tomatoes, onion, salsa, taco seasoning, garlic salt and the rice. Let mix simmer for 5-7 minutes.
Fill each pepper generously with the beef and rice mixture. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 17 minutes.
Remove from oven and top each pepper with shredded cheese. Return to oven and bake for another 12 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden.