Simple and Delicious Sloppy Joes

Nearly seven years ago, my friend Sharon made these sloppy joes for us to eat before we went Trick or Treating together. I am so glad she did. My hubby loves sloppy joes of any kind, but I had gotten tired of Manwich. This has been our go-to sloppy Joe recipe ever since.

Sloppy Joes

1 lbs ground beef or turkey

3/4 cup ketchup

1 tsp mustard

1/2 tsp garlic powder

A few dashes of liquid smoke

A few dashes of Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbs brown sugar

* If you want a little tang to it, add 1 tsp vinegar. The other thing I sometimes tweak is the brown sugar...add as much or little as you need depending on how sweet you like it. 

Brown the meat, then drain the grease and add the ingredients. If you're feeding more, just multiply!

Enjoy!  

Meal Plan

I'm baaack! I haven't posted in ages, but I often stop by here to look up a recipe. Tonight I was needing inspiration. I was placing my ClickList order, the revolutionary way that I get groceries now through Kroger's online ordering and curbside pick up. Seriously, it's the best $5 I spend each week. However, I was drawing a blank on meals this crew actually likes to eat that I felt like making, so I returned to this old page. Just in case anyone still reads it, I thought I'd go ahead and update it.

Here's the meal plan for the next 7 days:

Thursday: Taco Pizza
Friday: Dinner with friends
Saturday: Whole Roasted Chicken (gonna use the Instant Pot)
Sunday: Brinner
Monday: Meatloaf
Tuesday: leftovers
Wednesday: Chicken Enchiladas

Another Pinterest Success Story!

Recently, a friend of mine from college started a collective Pinterest board with tried and true recipes that her friends post. Last Friday I tried a recipe that another college friend had shared on that board. And wonder of wonders, at various levels, it was a hit with every single member of our family! All three boys (5, 8 and 10) raved, Pete gave it a thumbs up and Maggie (3) ate it slowly (typical) and didn't complain at all. Definitely a win! This happens so rarely that I knew I must share it with the few of you who still get updates from this blog. :) 

Also, I'm trying two more recipes next week, so hopefully I'll be back soon to share some more success stories! 

Herb and Citrus Oven Roasted Chicken

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup olive oil

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons sugar

2 whole lemons, one juiced and one sliced

2 whole oranges, one juiced and one sliced

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

10-12 pieces (about 4 1/2 lbs.) bone-in chicken parts (thighs and legs are best), pat dry

1 medium onion (any kind), thinly sliced

1 teaspoon dried thyme, or fresh chopped

1 tablespoon dried rosemary, or fresh chopped

Chopped fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, parsley), for garnish, optional

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, garlic, sugar, lemon juice, orange juice, Italian seasoning, paprika, onion powder, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper.

Place chicken in a rimmed 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Place parts skin side up and spread them out evenly in the pan. Pour olive oil mixture all over chicken, turning pieces to coat all sides. (If you marinated the chicken in this mixture, still add it all in). Arrange slices of lemon, orange and onion around and under the chicken. Sprinkle all over generously with thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper.

Bake uncovered for about 1 hour, or until chicken is cooked and juices run clear. Remove parts to a serving platter and garnish with additional chopped fresh herbs, if desired.

Enjoy!

Just 30-40 minutes is all that's needed to bake this recipe with chicken breasts in place of chicken parts.

For best results, chicken can be marinated in a plastic container or bag for several hours or overnight in the olive oil mixture.

This is great served with a big salad, and/or lemon orzo/potatoes, or garlic bread!

This recipe comes from The Comfort of Cooking Blog.

Taco Pizza

I know it's been a while, life has been busy and I barely take the time to update my family blog. However, I came across a new recipe via Pinterest and it is a keeper. It's simple, it's inexpensive and it got rave reviews at my house so I knew I should share it with the world--or at least my loyal blog followers! ;)

First this recipe was called Taco Bake, but I called it Taco Pizza to increase the it's popularity at my house. My kids are 9, 7, 4 and 2, so new recipes aren't always well-received, but pizza, pizza is always well-received!

Here is the link to the original recipe and the link to the pin.

 

Ingredients:
3 8 inch tortillas (I used flour, but you could use corn if gluten is an issue)
1 pound of ground beef
taco seasoning
a little water
1/2 cup of queso or salsa con queso
1 1/2 -2 cups of Mexican blend shredded cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a round pan. I followed the original poster's advice and used a springform pan which worked really well, but any 8 inch round pan would work.
2. Brown the beef and add the taco seasoning and water according to the taco seasoning directions. (I used Costco's taco seasoning and it was a little spicy for my crew, so I will use a little less next time)
3. Turn off the heat on the meat and mix in the queso. I used Gordo's Cheese Dip and it was really good.

4. Place a tortilla in the pan, then layer the meat mixture on top and then sprinkle a layer of the shredded cheese.
5. Repeat step 4 two more times, giving you 3 layers.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes and then let cool for 10 minutes.
7. Slice and serve with sour cream and salsa.

The Country Cook had great pictures on her blog of the step by step process. Click over here to see.

Frosted Sugar Cookie Bites

I'm a part of a great book club. We meet at a local coffee shop called Book Bums. While discussing our latest book, we usually get some tasty drink and enjoy some of the baked goods that they sell. Several months ago, I tried their little bag of sugar cookie bites. They have a name, but I can't remember what it is. What I do know is that these little cookies are delicious. I have spent many hours trying to recreate them. I haven't quite perfected the frosting, but I think the cookies are pretty darn close! Here's my knock-off recipe:

Sugar Cookie Bites

Ingredients:
1c. unsalted butter softened
2/3 c. sugar

1/3 c. powdered sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3 c. flour

1. Combine butter and sugars.

2. Add in eggs and vanilla and mix well.

3. Add flour, salt and baking soda and mix.

4. Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out dough into even balls and place on a cookie sheet.

5. Bake for 7-9 minutes at 350F

Vegetable Soup (broccoli version)

Again, I am on a soup kick and this is my other go-to veggie soup recipe, but somehow it's not on this blog. Shame on me! Here it is, try it and enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 slice of bacon
1 pound of stew meat
3 whole carrots, cut
1/2 an onion (or onion flakes)
2 cans of beef broth
1 can of tomato sauce
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 cup of water
2 cups of finely chopped broccoli
1 cup of brown rice

Directions:
1. Spray a soup pot/stew pot with cooking spray and cook stew beef cubes for about 10 minutes.
2. Remove the meat, add one slice of bacon, sliced carrots and onion and cook for another 10 minutes or so.
3. Add the beef back in along with beef broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and one can of water. 4. Cook at medium heat until it comes to a boil.
5. Add broccoli and rice and let simmer for at least an hour.
6. Enjoy!

Vegetable Soup (with a sweet potato twist)

This is a recipe given to me by a friend from her friend. Now that the weather is getting cooler, I am craving soups. I thought I had shared this recipe before, but alas, I haven't! You all need to try this unique version of vegetable soup--you won't regret it!

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 t. pepper
1/2 bag of baby carrots chopped
2 medium yellow potatoes, cubed
1 med sweet potato, cubed
3 stalks of celery chopped
1 cup finely chopped cabbage
3 cups water
1 large can of tomato juice
1+ T. worcestershire sauce
16 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained 

Directions:
1. Brown the ground beef; drain.
2. In large pot combine other ingredients with the beef and stir.
3. Simmer until the vegetables are tender (I cooked mine for several hours).
4. Enjoy!

This Week's Menu

It's been a while, but I was just making my grocery list and planning our family menu and thought I'd share--just in case anyone still checks this blog! (if you do, let me know, and maybe I'll try to be a little more faithful!) This week: Grilled Brats/Hot Dogs Tacos Pulled Pork (Boston Butt Recipe) Chicken Ring Breakfast (waffles, bacon and omelettes) Grilled Hamburgers Nothing too fancy--I'm pregnant with #4 and it's too hot to heat up the kitchen for long!

Milky Way Rice Krispy Treats

In November of 2010, we were introduced to two things which would forever be loved by our family: Will and a new version of Rice Krispy Treats. I know, putting love for a dessert in the same category as our third born might seem extreme, but once you've tasted these things you'll understand. Our dear friends, Ron and Pam, brought us a tasty meal complete with dessert of, you guessed it, Rice Krispy Bars. Only these were far greater than any other Rice Krispy bar we'd ever eaten. After Pete raved and raved about them, he finally got Pam to give us the recipe. Then I understood why they were so incredible. I mean how can you go wrong with the following ingredients: Milky Way bars, butter, Rice Krispies and semisweet chocolate. You can't. Pete requests them all of the time. I just made them yesterday as we began celebrating his birthday a couple days early. So enough babbling, let's get to this recipe:

Milky Way Rice Krispy Treats
3 King sized Milky Way Candy Bars (or 5 normal sized)
6 oz. of butter
3 cups of Rice Krispies
8 oz of baking chocolate, semi-sweet

1. Cut candy bars into pieces and put into a microwave safe mixing bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, then stir.
2. Cut the butter into pieces and add to the bowl. Microwave for 1 more minute, then stir. (if still not completely melted, add 20 seconds and stir again, repeat until melted)
3. Add Rice Krispies and stir*

4. Spray 9 x 13 pan with baking spray, then add mixture.
5. Melt the baking squares following the directions on the box. Pour over the mixture.
6. Refrigerate until solid.

*after step 3, take a spoonful of the mixture and eat it...you'll thank me later. YUM.

This Week's Menu

Here's the menu plan for this week: Monday: Meatloaf, baked potatoes, rolls, and veggies Tuesday: Brats, green beans, applesauce Wednesday: leftovers Thursday: Marinated Grilled Chicken, salad, veggies, and rolls Friday: Pizza with our friends, the Hamiltons Saturday: Pete's Birthday, dinner to be determined