Stuffed Peppers

I had a hankering for stuffed cabbage, and about the same time, a friend gave me some peppers from her garden. So, I made stuffed peppers, and had some cabbage on the side. The hamburger filling had partially cooked rice (kind of a porcupine meatball idea), sauteed onion, celery, and a sweet Hungarian pepper. The seasonings included oregano, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. I was going for the "Eastern European immigrant of the upper Midwest" sort of flavor (at least that's how it reads in my mind!).
The tomato sauce also included the sauteed vegetables and same seasonings. I didn't want the stuff swimming in the tomato sauce so just topped each pepper/meatball with the sauce. Bake. Served it with sauteed cabbage/onions/celery seed, mashed potatoes, and corn.

Mexican Feast (made simple)

I recently made a Mexican feast, and it was yummy! Using simple ingredients, and having a coupe of meats and sauces really made for some variety in plating. Here's what I did:
Taco meat- just burger and a packet of seasoning
Pork Carnitas- pork stew meat (reduced cooking time), seasoned with cumin seed and smoked paprika; braised, put in oven to finish and caramelize.
Red sauce- can of Mexican red enchilada sauce, but "fried" it in oil. Put some oil in a pan, added smoked and regular paprika, then dumped in the sauce. The smoked paprika really added depth to the flavor.
Green sauce- sauteed onion, green chilies, tomatillos, cilantro: pureed in a blender.
I served it with green lettuce and canned, refried beans (with a spoon of each sauce, and butter added), corn and flour tortillas, cheddar cheese. I topped my enchiladas with a mixture of cilantro, red onion, and lemon juice.
My husband made a smothered burrito with his, I made enchiladas, one beef, one pork. I made a pan of enchiladas with the leftovers, using the hamburger and red sauce, with cheddar. We had it with Mexican rice (yep, from a box, the San Fransisco treat...). I may combine the pork and green sauce in a slow cooker and serve it with the leftover enchiladas tonight.

Apple Butter

Cut up apples, add water, and cook until mushy. Strain. Put pulp in slow cooker, add sugar (couple of cups, depends on sweetness of apples). I also used some spices in small amounts: cinnamon, cloves. I left it in the slow cooker overnight, put the lid on wooden spoons to allow the steam to escape, and thereby reducing the mixture, turned it on high this morning so it would come up to a boil. Then used a water bath to can. (I also used some crabapples from our tree out in front of our house; I like the color)