MECHANIC FALLS – When it comes to cooperation in the kitchen, Aaron and Amanda Ouellette have developed a system: Aaron cooks the meals; Amanda bakes. “She makes all the good stuff, like desserts. I just do the meals,” said Aaron.

Always interested in cooking, Amanda learned by trial and error. “I just picked up a cookbook and started making lots of the recipes,” she said, noting she especially likes to bake cheesecakes.

Aaron learned many cooking basics from his mother, he said, and further developed his culinary skills as a restaurant manager, “which has helped me fine-tune my cooking.”

The Ouellettes like to make spicy foods and cook lots of vegetables because Amy is a vegetarian. “We love any foods with spice,” said Aaron. “We like a lot of flavor, a lot of heat.”

Amanda uses cookbooks but has no favorite. Aaron, on the other hand, looks elsewhere for inspiration. “I go off of what tastes good. Sometimes I go off of what we have at the restaurant or what I see on television, he said.

When the Ouellettes aren’t cooking, they like to do letterboxing with their children. “Letterboxing is like a treasure hunt,” Amanda said, explaining that the fun activity involves using clues to find boxes hidden by other participants. These boxes contain at least a logbook and unique stamp. Once found, the boxes are opened and the “hunters” mark their own logbooks with the stamp inside and then mark the logbook in the box with their own stamp. “We get to go through a lot of parks with our kids,” said Aaron. “We love to spend time with them.”

Chicken and sausage jambalaya

Ingredients:

1 package kielbasa, cut into ¼-inch strips

1 tablespoon oil

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1 large white onion, diced

2 green peppers, diced

1 large green chili pepper

4 cloves garlic, crushed

4 cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon garlic salt

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon pepper

1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 large can chunky tomatoes

1 box Uncle Ben’s white rice

cayenne pepper (optional)

Method:

Cut kielbasa and cook in a large stock pot in oil (turning frequently), until brown. Add chicken, diced onion, green pepper, green chili, garlic and 1 cup of chicken broth and bring to a fast boil. Add garlic salt, salt and pepper to taste, both cans of diced tomatoes, rice and remaining broth. Stir well and bring to a full boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring often. Add the cayenne or leave it out, depending on your taste.

Fried green tomatoes

Ingredients:

2-3 pounds green tomatoes

4 cups flour

1 container Italian-seasoned bread crumbs

4 cups milk

8 eggs

½ gallon cooking oil

Need:

3 medium-large mixing bowls

Method:

Using a knife, cut off the tops of all the tomatoes and discard. Slice tomatoes into ¼-inch slices and set aside. Place the flour in a medium mixing bowl and set aside. In the second bowl, combine milk and eggs and beat as if you were making scrambled eggs. Put breadcrumbs in the third bowl. Place the sliced tomatoes, a few at a time, into the flour and pat them until they are coated, remove and gently tap them together to knock off any excess flour. Then place tomatoes into the egg mixture and coat evenly. Remove and allow the excess to run off. Then press tomatoes firmly into the breadcrumbs, coating evenly, and set aside. In a large stockpot, bring the oil to 325-350 degrees. Place breaded tomatoes into the oil, using tongs, and let them float for about 4-5 minutes. Once golden brown, flip them over and repeat the cooking time. Remove and place them on paper towels to drip dry and cool slightly. Serve with marinara, or any of your favorite dipping sauces. Serves: about 6.

Apple crumb cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust:

1¼ cups graham cracker crumbs

3 tablespoons sugar

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

1 cup apple pie filling

1 large apple, peeled and diced (any variety)

24 ounces cream cheese

2/3 cups light brown sugar

5 teaspoons flour

3 eggs

1 egg yolk

1¼ teaspoons cinnamon

1¼ teaspoons vanilla

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2/3 cups heavy cream

Crumb topping:

½ cup flour

½ cup light brown sugar

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ cup unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom and sides of 9-inch springform pan. In a small bowl, combine crust ingredients and stir until well combined. Press mixture evenly into bottom of springform pan. In a small bowl, stir together pie filling and diced apple. Set aside. In large mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, brown sugar and flour. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg. Stir in heavy cream. Pour half of the cream cheese mixture over the crust. Spoon on 1 cup of the apple mixture. Pour the remaining cream cheese mixture over and top with remaining apple mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 225 degrees and continue baking for 30 minutes. While cake is baking, make crumb topping. Combine flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. Cut in butter and combine until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Sprinkle on top of cake and continue baking for an additional 50 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cheesecake. Turn the oven off and return the cheesecake to the oven for an additional 2 hours. Refrigerate, uncovered, at least 8 hours before serving.