Stuffed Peppers

Broiled the pasilla peppers until charred, placed in a bag, sealed it, let them steam. When cool enough to handle, rubbed off the skin, and carefully cut the stem out, lifting out the seeds.
Stuffing: cooked ground beef, diced onion, green chilies, chopped green olives, cooked brown rice, chopped dried apricot, diced serrano chili, variety of blended grated cheese (Mexican, Italian), cumin.
Stuffed the chilies, put in the cast iron skillet, baked. Top with more cheese halfway through.
Served with a tomato-based sauce: tomato sauce (leftover, in freezer, crushed tomatoes, onion, green pepper), dried green chili powder, paprika (smoked and sweet), cumin.

Pulled Turkey

Pulled apart the grilled turkey, added a bit more cumin and green chili powder, turkey broth. Baked, covered, about 40 minutes.
yum.

Grilled Turkey

We have a busy week ahead of us and I wanted to get a jump start on the cooking. I had a turkey in the freezer, so cut it up, and cooked it up! The breast was removed from the bone, skin removed, roasted with butter and bacon grease, with a liberal shake of the "chicken grill seasoning that I got on sale the other day at the supermarket. I cooled it in it's liquid. Will use to slice for sandwiches, salads, etc. Very moist and flavorful.
That brings us to the wings, legs, and thighs. I cut off the wing tips (threw them in with the rest of the carcass for turkey stock), and kept the leg and thigh joint whole. I took a sharp knife and poked the pieces well. Then I applied a rub: chili powders (red and green), cumin, smoked paprika, pepper, garlic, salt. The pieces sat in the rub, refrigerated, for several hours. Then grilled over indirect heat for about an hour, hour and a half. I charred an onion, as well. Then put everything in a cast iron dutch oven, added some turkey stock, braised with the lid on for another hour or so. It is is a baking dish, with the braising liquid. I will shred and heat for tacos or enchiladas later this week.

Granola

Oatmeal (3 cups), bran flakes (2 cups), All-Bran (1+ cup), ground flax seed, walnuts (most of a big bag), almonds (got mini-almonds,used most of the bag), salted peanuts (not much). Combine about 1/2 cup oil, 1 cup honey (and a bit of corn syrup), some cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice. Boil, then pour over granola mixture. Stir well to coat everything. Spread on baking sheet, bake 350, for about an hour. I didn't really time it. I just watched it, lowered temp to 300, tasted. Stir every now and then. It will crisp up when out of the oven and cooled. After it cooled, I added blueberry infused dried cranberries, which I further dried on a cookie sheet while the granola was in the oven. I find that the "dried" fruit right out of the bag is still too moist.

Apples and Ice Cream...

Ice Cream was simply 2 quarts half-n-half, 1 half pint heavy cream. Add 1 1/2 cup sugar, some vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Heat to about 170. Chill. When well chilled, put into ice cream maker. It wasn't super sweet, nor heavily flavored, just right.
Granny smith apples, diced, lemon juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, bit of butter; thickened with orange juice and cornstarch. I used some inside an eggroll wrapper, fried. Used some to top the whole thing off.
oh yeah.

Mini Italian Meat Loaves

Mix 1 pound each of mild Italian sausage and hamburger (I used angus). Add an egg, some breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, oregano, fennel (ground roughly), pinch of red pepper flakes, parmesan cheese, a couple of tablespoons of tomato sauce, pepper. Form into a sort of flattened football shape. Coat with breadcrumbs. Spray a baking sheet with oil, place patties on pan, spray tops with oil. Bake. Halfway through, top with sauce; finish baking.
My tomato sauce:
Saute onion, garlic, carrots. Add fennel, chili pepper flakes, paprika. Let it cook a bit, then dump in a can of crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, oregano. I put it in a slow cooker for a couple of hours. Then, used an immersion blender to puree.

Manicotti

My daughter was remarking about some cheese-filled crepes she saw advertised on TV, from a well-known chain restaurant. This is what I came up with. First, I showed her how to make her own ricotta. Then I combined the fresh ricotta with a blend of shredded Italian cheese, an egg, Italian seasoning, extra oregano, salt, and pepper. To stuff the shells, I put the mixture into a sealed bag, then cut off the corner. It was then easily squeezed into the tubes. I had 5 leftover crepes I wanted to use (and didn't want to make more, so hence, the shells), and filled those with the cheese. I used a cheap jar of reduced fat alfredo sauce as a base, putting some in the bottom of the pan, then topped off the filled crepes/shells, then sprinkled with remaining shredded cheese. Baked until golden and bubbly.
I served it with Mini Italian meat loaves and sauteed mushrooms with thyme.
Yes, delish!