Photo a Day in September #26

26.  Apple

This weekend, I made some caramel apple cider cookies. I found the recipe on Six Sisters' Stuff through Pinterest; I pinned the recipe last fall, but I felt it was too late in the season to make these cookies (it was more pumpkin fall time than apple fall time, if you know what I mean).  So I HAD to make them this year, and I knew the first weekend in fall was PERFECT.  I have been wanting to try more recipes from Pinterest anyway, so I've made it a loose goal to try a new recipe each week, and if it turns out alright, take part of them up to work.  I hate wasting food, but I also hate gorging myself on rich foods, so it's a win-win situation.  Everyone is always sharing food at work, so I feel like Zach and I should give back.

I brought half of the cookies in on Monday morning.  There were about twenty.  Most were gone by the end of the day!  Everyone commented that they liked how they were unusual but familiar and tasty. I would have to agree.  I altered the recipe a bit: I cut the caramels in half and rolled them out so they would disperse throughout the cookie better.  They taste just like fall with a crunchy exterior and chewy, caramel center.  Very interesting but delicious!  All of the cookies at work were gone by Tuesday, and we only have seven left (out of our 22) today.  :)

P is for PEPPERS

I've learned that many of my friends have a haaaaate relationship with peppers and onions.  :(  I don't understand that because I LOVE them!  They are so good and say Mexican (as in, fajitas) to me!  I can understand people's negative views on onions a bit more because they do cause bad breath, but I can eat an onion, especially a purple onion, like an apple.  :)

I won't say anymore about onions since today's letter is "P," which means this post will talk a bit more about a "p" food peppers, bell peppers specifically.  Apparently, these lovelies are called capsicum in Australia.  Who knew?  I already knew that they are sometimes called sweet peppers because they don't provide much of a spicy kick.  (Another reason why I don't understand why people loathe them!)  Anyway, bell peppers come in a variety of colors, including green, red, yellow, and orange.  Whenever I made pasta primavera in the past (when I lived in central AR), I always would pick up Kroger's Stoplight Peppers because they contained one each of red, yellow, and green bell peppers--just like a stoplight!  In researching bell peppers, I also learned that red bell peppers are just ripened green ones.  AMAZING!  I liked a mix of peppers because of the color combo and taste variety.  The green ones are less sweeter than all of the others on the color spectrum; I'd say most people prefer the green ones to the rest, probably not just because of taste but because they are the cheapest.  ;)  Bell peppers are rich in lycopene, carotene, and vitamin C with red peppers having the highest amounts and green ones having the lowest.

I made some sweet and sour lemonade chicken from Six Sisters' Stuff, and I decided to serve it with rice, peppers, and onion for a pseudo-Chinese meal.  I'm not much on Chinese, but I did LOVE this chicken!  Zach said it was a bit too lemony for him, so next time I won't use as much lemonade.  I know white rice isn't the healthiest, but it is my favorite and easier for my tummy to digest.  I haven't had peppers and onions in FOREVER, so these were a real treat!

To make the peppers (and onion), I remove the caps from two peppers and slice out the white insides to remove the seeds.  (I've also found that holding a pepper half or quarter over the trashcan with the inside facedown and taping the back with a utensil helps the seeds fall out.)  Then I slice them into strips and half the strips.  I slice the ends off the onion, remove its peeling, and then slice it into strips.  I heat 1-2 Tablespoons of vegetable/olive oil into a skillet over medium-high heat, add the peppers and onions, and sauté until the onions are translucent and the peppers are tender and browned.  So good!