Happy Fall Y'all

At precisely 5:18 pm EDT today, the fall season will begin! Hurray! Fall is definitely one of the best . . . no wait . . . it's THE best season of all! The leaves, the cool air blowing through an open window, football, pumpkin-flavored everything, the harvest . . . ahhh, fall.

Preparing for fall in our home means dragging out our favorite cookbooks filled with hearty, cold-weather recipes! And tonight we usher in the fall season with stuffed red peppers, sauteed cabbage, and Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale.

Stuffed Red Peppers

1 (3 1/2 ounce) bag boil-in-bag long-gran rice

4 medium red bell peppers

3/4 lb ground sirloin

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp paprika

Salt & pepper to taste

1/8 tsp ground allsprice

1 jar of tomato-and-basil pasta sauce, divided

1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup dry red wine

Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Cook rice according to package directions.

3. While rice cooks, cut tops off bell peppers; reserve tops for garnish (optional). Discard seeds. Place peppers, cut sides downs, in an 8" square baking dish; cover with plastic wrap and microwave at hight for 2 minutes, or until peppers are crisp-tender. Cool.

4. Brown beef and onion in a nonstick skillet. Add parsley, paprika, salt, pepper, and allspice, and saute until fragrant.

5. To the cooked beef mixture, add rice, half the pasta sauce, and cheese. Stir until combined.

6. In a small saucepan, combine the remaining pasta sauce and wine. Bring just to a boil.

7. Spoon the beef mixture evenly into each pepper. Place peppers back in 8" square baking dish, coated with cooking spray. Drizzle wine mixture over peppers. Cover with foil.

8. Back at 450° for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake an addition 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Garnish with reserved pepper tops (optional).

Sauteed Cabbage

1 small cabbage head

1 or 2 strips bacon, chopped

chopped onion

olive oil

chicken broth

fresh thyme and/or parsley

nutmeg

salt & pepper to taste

1. Heat about a 1 Tbsp olive oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add some chopped onion (I use what I have left over from the stuffed pepper recipe) and some chopped bacon. Cook until tender and bacon begins to crisp, about 6 minutes.

2. Cut cabbage into strips about a 1/2" wide. Add to pan with onion and saute. You may wish to add a bit more olive oil, or butter for flavor.

3. As the cabbage begins to wilt, add some chicken broth for flavor. If you like your cabbage crisp, don't add too much!

4. Add some fresh thyme (or parsley) and a pinch of nutmeg, cook until fragrant. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.