Zesty, Fruity Ham and Asparagus Bake

Here's another of my somewhat random "throw things into a pot and see how they taste" last minute meals.  And it is fantastic!  It does not get simpler than this, but still packs quite a punch (both taste-wise and heat-wise).  It's colorful, too!  If you like less spice, simply use a different type of tomato.

Ingredients

4 slices ham, diced
1 can diced pineapple
1 small can diced habenero tomatoes
1 bunch asparagus, diced

Combine all ingredients in a tinfoil pouch.  Bake for 30 minutes at 350.

Stuffed Peppers

I love stuffed peppers because it's a great way to get some veggies in and it's never the same twice - at least, the way I make it!  A little of this, a little of that, and tadaa!

To begin, select your pepper.  Red ones are sweeter than green ones, but up here I mostly just take whichever ones look less nasty.  We don't get good fresh veggies at the commissary!  Wash and remove the guts, then set aside.

Preheat the oven to about 350.

If you want a carnivorous pepper, the next step is to brown off your meat.  I used ground beef for this, but anything would work.  Once the meat is cooked, add in some aromatics.  This time I used onions and garlic.  I almost threw some basil in, but forgot about it.  Dice up some veggies and toss them in as well (I used zucchini and yellow squash).  Let the veggies cook a bit, then get the pot simmering with a big of liquid.  You don't need much - a bit of red sauce, or some canned diced tomatoes (habenero for a kick!).  Simmer to reduce a bit, then spoon the mix into the peppers and bake about 30 minutes, or until the flesh of the pepper is tender.

You can add a starch to this as well, rice or quinoa or whatever your favorite is.  I found that this time around I didn't need any, since I had the meat and tons of veggies.  If I was going vegetarian, I'd probably sub some quinoa for the beef.

Fruit Leather

Or, as my friend has named it, Heather-Leather.

Essentially, fruit leather is a fruit roll-up. But minus all that crap that you don't want!  This is a very basic, easily customizable recipe. Today was my first time making it. As it turned out, I made the error of spreading it too thin. However, it's still amazingly tasty!

I used 1/2 strawberries for this, with honeydew and kiwi to round it out.  As soon as the weekend market opens, I'm going to get some of those fat white peaches and make cinnamon peach leather!

As a note, most fruit can be pureed simply by running it through a food processor. A few, such as rosehips, require boiling to reduce them to puree.

Ingredients

2 c pureed fruit
1-3 T honey
Spices to taste

Mix the honey, puree, and spices together.  Line a baking pan with microwave safe plastic wrap and set your oven as low as it will go (under 200!).  Spread the mixture onto the plastic wrap, 1/4 to 1/8 thick - don't spread too thin!

Place in oven.  Do not close oven door all the way!  Dry for 4-8 hours, depending on your fruit, humidity, and oven.  Leather is done when it can be peeled from the plastic while maintaining its shape.

Roll up in the plastic wrap.  Store in the refrigerator.