Critters

Critters are best if grilled over a charcoal grill. Bacon fat creates a lot of greases and will cause a gas grill to catch on fire.

Tamales by Paco

Tamales 

The first year I made Tamales, I didn't have a Tamale steamer so I used my Roaster Oven. I liked how they worked out. Mostly... the sides burnt a little bit.

We've continued, and now we have a tradition of making tamales fresh for us to eat.

Canning Seedless Cranberry Sauce

Like a lot of families, I grew up with the classic Thanksgiving Dinner with the turkey, ham, dinner rolls, stuffing, candied sweet potatoes, green beans, gravy; you know - the usual... But there was one thing that differed from others; the cranberry sauce that seemed to grace everyone's table but ours...

Now that I'm older and with my own family and I'm setting my own table with foods, I'm trying out foods to figure out what it is that I like. Guess what; I love the Jellied Cranberry Sauce that comes in the can to go with my turkey. Thinking of how much I love the cranberry sauce with my foods, I could only imagine what it would be like if I made it from scratch and canned it on my own!

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.