Days 267-268: Mexican Stuffed Peppers, Roasted Vegetable Tostadas, and Blackberry Margaritas

Good morning!  Are you wide awake, energetic, enthusiastic, and ready to go?!  If so, I'll have what you're having.  I'm sitting here with my coffee, doing major blog catch-up (and am actually excited about it because the recipes for the next few weeks are going to be awesome) but I'd still rather crawl back into my warm bed.  I love the house this quiet, and I love being the first one up, but this morning, my coffee just seems to be taking extra long to kick in! 

This past week has been a total blur.  I can hardly distinguish one day from another.  So I guess it's a good thing I have this blog, separating the days by meals--otherwise I'd be totally confused!  I wrote about last weekend's catering job in my previous post.  So let's continue on the daily journey and talk about Monday, Columbus Day.

Columbus Day I spent all day shopping with my mother and aunts--a tradition, like many, in our family.  I read in a book one time, "Some people are happiest when they're saving money, others are happiest when they're spending it."  (or something along those lines)  I'm the latter.  I think it's how I was raised... wink wink, Mom!  I don't think I spend carelessly, nor do I consider myself a "shopaholic", though I suppose those things are pretty subjective.  To the person who rarely buys anything, it may look like I shop a lot, but to the person who loves to shop, I don't shop nearly enough. The truth is, I really DON'T like to shop.  That's why I can only spend 2 full days a year shopping: Columbus Day and Black Friday.  And on Black Friday, I'm up early and generally done by lunch.  Other than that, I'll go out and get a few things here and there that I or someone in my family needs, and I do love to buy presents for people, but I'm certainly not a "browser."  I know what I want and if I don't see it, I don't buy anything.  This is why I can't shop with my husband--he could spend all day "deciding" on what to get and wanting to look here or there for things.  That's the kind of shopping I can't stand.  When I'm at a store or mall, I'm mission-minded!

Collecting fall leaves--this is the kind of browsing I can get into!

Columbus Day, for me, sort of "rings in" the shopping holiday season.  I get into the spirit of buying Christmas gifts, stocking stuffers, and a few fall/winter clothing items for myself, husband, and kids.  You know I love this time of year, and Columbus Day at Wrentham Outlets is just another fall tradition that makes this my favorite season!  Anyway, I suppose I explain all of that to say that Monday's dinner was Velveeta Mac & Cheese, again.  Didn't feel much like cooking, but more like showing off a few key items and carefully hiding the rest.  Randy graciously stayed home with the kids that day, making it a true "holiday" for me, and he even grouted our kitchen's backsplash!  The kitchen is almost done, and I promise I'll have before and after pictures soon!

Tuesday is Mexican night, generally, according to my weekly meal menu.  So for Day 268, I made Mexican Stuffed Peppers, Spicy Roasted Vegetable Tostadas, and Blackberry Margaritas.

Mexican Stuffed Peppers
Usually I use green bell peppers to stuff, but since the peppers I wanted to serve were going alongside another "main" dish, I decided to use smaller peppers.  Also, since I wanted more of a "Mexican" or "Southwestern" flavor, using poblanos seemed to make the most sense.

4 poblano peppers

3/4 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 lb breakfast sausage
cumin
paprika
cayenne chili powder
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 a red pepper, small diced
salt, pepper

Slice the tops off of the poblano peppers and then dice the tops (minus the stem) to add to the cooked rice.  Crumble the breakfast sausage into a small skillet and season with cumin, paprika, and chili powder to taste while browning.  Once the sausage is browned, add it to the rice along with the diced pepper and the frozen corn.  Stir in some salt and pepper to taste.  Use the filling to stuff the 4 poblanos and place them in pan filled 1/3 of the way with water.  Bake them at 400* for about 20-25 minutes.

Spicy Roasted Vegetable Tostadas
Because it's fall, I wanted to use vegetables that resembled this season.  You can certainly use any kinds of vegetables you'd like, though.

small, round, corn tortillas
1 cup of butternut squash, small diced
1 Italian eggplant, small diced
1 red pepper, small diced
1 medium zucchini, small diced
olive oil
cumin
paprika
cayenne chili powder
red pepper flakes
salt, pepper
hot sauce (if desired)
Mexican cheese
sour cream

On a rimmed baking sheet, place all of the diced vegetables.  Drizzle liberally with olive oil.  Season to taste with the cumin, paprika, chili powder, and just a few red pepper flakes.  Stir to combine.  Roast in the oven at 400* for 10-15 minutes, or until cooked through and fragrant.  Meanwhile, toast each tortilla over the flame of a gas stove, or on a dry skillet, both sides, until brown and crispy.  When the vegetables are done, place a generous spoonful of vegetables on each cooked tortilla, top with Mexican cheese, sour cream, and hot sauce (if desired).

Blackberry Margarita
I've had a pint of blackberries in my fridge for sometime.  I meant to use them to make a jam of sorts with strawberries, but little by little, the blackberries started disappearing for simple snacks.  With only a small amount left, I wondered what to do with them.  Then it hit me--drinks!

This recipe is similar to a blackjack margarita, which contains chambord raspberry liqueur (or in our case, sometimes blackberry brandy).  For this recipe, though, I made my classic margaritas.  But before I poured the drinks into the glasses, I muddled 3 blackberries in the bottom of each glass.  It added a great fruitiness to the margarita!  Yum!

Notice the backsplash?!?! :)