Paco's Apples, Apples and Apples...

Apples, Apples & More Apples...

and Don't Forget the Apples...

Starting in the back right of the photo,
working counter-clockwise:
Steamer/Juicer, Jugs of Juice, Victorio Strainer,
bowl pure apple pulp, Dried apples
and Canned Apple Pie

I love homemade Apple Butter. I never really liked the store-bought apple butter, as it seemed too thick, like molasses. Plus, I could never really taste the apples. Other apple butter seemed to taste of CLOVES only, and I was a little put off by it all. I wanted to taste a smooth APPLE butter.

I have played quite a bit over the years and have developed my own recipe for apple butter. The method of using a Steam Juicer and a Victorio Strainer is really the only way I will ever process my apples. And one can't really make apple butter without making all the other apples: Applesauce, Apple Butter, Apple Juice, Apple Jelly, Canned Apple Pie, Dried Apple Cinnamon Chips and more recently, my happy accident of Apple Fruit Leather.

Paco's Meatloaf

Lately, my meatloaf has been so delish, it is being requested for dinner! "Can we have meatloaf for dinner? Can We? Can We?" And besides, the next-day-meat-loaf-sandwiches are the BEST!

Back in the day, when I first started making meatloaf, it came out really tough and I was wondering what I had done wrong. My friend told me that I had mixed it too long.

Well, that's how I learned... mix the meat and bread crumbs using my hands, squeezing it to mix it all together, which I have come to find out is also a big No, No! So, for this recipe, I thought to use my KitchenAid mixer. It worked wonderfully!



Preheat oven to 350°F. Prep time 30 minutes, bake time 45-50 minutes.

Homemade bread crumbs quickie (10 slices of french bread, buttered on both sides,

sprinkled on one side with garlic powder, celery powder, onion powder, paprika. 

- toasted at 350°F until dry, flip halfway, and dice small.) 

- If not, use one package of Rothbury Farms Seasoned Croutons.

1 pkg small croutons
1 tsp salt
½ tsp garlic salt
½ tsp minced celery
½ c chopped onions
1 c diced spinach (or any veggie you wish to try... I have used zucchini, mushrooms, spinach...)
1 c sour cream
2 eggs
2 lbs lean ground beef - use a quality ground beef
About 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce

Glaze
About ½ c ketchup
About ½ c granulated sugar


If you're not making your own, garlic powder, minced garlic, celery powder, minced celery, onion powder, minced onion- get with it. Homemade seasonings will enhance the flavor of any dish you make!!!


Add croutons, onions, salt, garlic salt, minced celery and veggies to stand mixer bowl. Mix using the paddle attachment.

Add sour cream & egg.

Break up beef into about .5 to 1-inch chunks and place onto the top of sour cream and egg. Add Worcestershire sauce around the bowl. Lock stand mixer, set to slowest speed setting, and mix until evenly mixed; no more than 20-30 seconds. Stop the mixer, flip over meat mixture using a spoon. If there is still a large concentration of any one ingredient, mix again for another 30 seconds.

Spread out into a greased 9½" x 7½" x 3" glass casserole dish or a dish you prefer. Bake for 40* minutes.

While it is baking, mix the ketchup and sugar and set aside. Yes, I know - ketchup is not so appealing, but how do you think they make BBQ sauce...? Trust me on this one...






Once the loaf has baked for 40* minutes or until internal temp is about 140°F, pour ketchup onto the top of the meatloaf and spread it out evenly. Replace pan into the oven and bake for an additional 5-10* minutes or until internal temp is 155°F. For the final caramelizing of the glaze, set the oven to low broil for 2 to 3 minutes or until you see a ton of tiny bubbles in the glaze.

Let rest for 5 minutes once you remove it from the oven.

*Remember, if you use a larger pan, cooking time will be less or if you use a smaller pan, cooking time is longer.

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Quick Electric Pressure Cooker notes:

Mix half the ingredients as directed above. 

Add 1.5 c water to pot.  

Place meat in a 7.5" spring form pan. Place pan on wire trivet and place inside pot. 

High pressure for 25 minutes, natural release pressure for 10 minutes.

Coat top of the meat with glaze. Broil for 5 to 10 minutes, or until glaze is bubbly. 

My first time making this in the pressure cooker, I used the amounts in the ingredient list above and it turned out perfect! 

My only issue is that the loaf was too thick and it threw off my meat-to-glaze ratio... But still absolutely delicious! And I even forgot the Worcestershire Sauce...

I used frozen spinach for the first time (not fresh) and as an after note, I should have pressed all the liquid out beforehand. 

Canned Nectarine Plum Jelly

Stone fruits! Who doesn't love em?

I love it when I stumble upon something delicious! Honestly, I have been a little busy quilting lately and have been juicing my fruits and saving them in the freezer until I had time to make jelly out of them. I had juiced my peaches and tried to make jelly out of the peach juice. What a mistake! Peaches do not juice well. There is not much flavor. Save your peaches for the Peach Maple Syrup recipe that is coming soon. Pit them, slice them and freeze them. 

Now, nectarines and plums make a nice juice! Nectarine juice is sweet while plum juice is sour. I suppose you can buy the juice already made from the grocery store, but I highly recommend juicing yourself. The flavor is so much better, especially if they are locally grown. I use a steam juicer that was gifted to me.

Paco's Apple Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Icing

Inspired by the strawberry cake I've been making with chunks of sliced strawberries in the batter AND by my friend's love for apples, I've come up with an apple cake. Super easy and fool proof, I had my 11 year old son make the cake part.

Summer 1975 Strawberry Cake

Taken from the Imperial 150th Anniversary Cook Book and altered a little bit. All I have of this recipe is a picture taken of a photocopy from a magazine. I have yet to find this recipe in digital form.

Paco's Slow Cooker Chili Beans (revisited!)

Prep: 30 minutes, Cook: 8-9 hours

Chili and Cheese Rellenos (reh•YEH•nos)

It's that time of year again when green chili hits the stores and the lovely smell of roasted green chili wanders into my nose. That's New Mexico for ya! This year, for some strange reason, like never before, I've had a really strong hankering for chili rellenos! To top it off, I have one more week to wait until I am able to purchase my eighty pounds of roasted green chili to put away in the freezer for the next year! 

Have no fear! I was lucky enough to get fresh green chili in my bountiful basket food co-op this weekend, so I was saved! For then time being...

This is a recipe handed down to me from my Mom. I've looked online and haven't found anything close. My Mom never really measures so I tried to write it as close to it as I could.

Chili Rellenos

Ingredients:
About 12 fresh roasted & peeled green chili
1¼ c flour
1t baking powder
1c 0% milk
2 eggs slightly beaten
½ t salt
½ t garlic salt
½ t paprika
About ¼-½ lb block of your favorite cheese - depending how much cheese you like
Canola oil for frying

I started with roasting my green chili on my charcoal grill. I set them on a high heat and was constantly turning them until all sides of the peelings looked like they had pulled away from the meat of the chili. Be sure not to leave them on one side too long... Once roasted, I placed them in a gallon plastic bag so they can steam for at least 10 minutes or longer (I went DQ and got some ice cream while I waited).

CAUTION: If your chili is hot, make sure you wear non-laytex gloves before peeling chili. At the sink under running water, I peeled each of the chili, taking care not to puncture the meet of the chili. With my thumb, I tore a small slit at the top of the chili near the seeds. Optional: I ran water inside and rubbed the seeds out - I have a hard time eating the seeds.

With a paper towel, I patted each chili dry as much as I was able. I sliced up my block of cheese to about ⅛-¼ inch thick. I then broke the cheese in half longways so that I could slide them into my chili through the slit I created to clean out the seeds. If you make the slit too long, like I did, just fold over the edges of the chili. Set them aside until finished with the batter.

For the batter, whisk the eggs together in a small bowl and set aside. In the KitchenAid mixer with a wire attachment, mix flour, baking powder, salt, garlic salt & paprika. Add milk and eggs. If you want a thicker batter add slightly more flour. Try not to mix too much, mix only until smooth. Scrape sides and mix for 30 seconds more.

Pour oil into frying pan on a medium heat, using enough oil to half way cover the chili (fatter cheese stuffed chili might need more oil vs flatter, less cheese stuffed chili). Oil is ready when you drop a drop of batter into the oil and the batter immediately bubbles and floats to the top.

When the oils is ready, completely submerge one stuffed chili into batter while holding the chili stem and a fork and the other end, remove from batter and lay into hot oil. Repeat until pan is full, but at the same time watch the chili cooking and turn over when the bottom half is brown. Remove from oil and place on rack or paper towel covered plate.

If there is leftover batter, fry it up too and make kiddie rellenos w/o chili or cheese. I'm not a kid and I still enjoy the kiddie rellenos! - just pour batter into hot oil making 2 inch round patties. Flip when bottom side is brown...

Best served warm!