Sloppy Joe's

My brother-in-law lived with us for about a year and a half.  He has two daughters who he spent every other weekend with.  That means that every other weekend I had three adults, three girls and my baby boy in a small-ish house.  I'm not gonna lie.  Sometimes I miss it.
I loved cooking for everyone.  We would all sit around the table for meals and talk and be silly.  It made me consider having a big family (still considering).
This recipe came from that time.  I wanted to make sloppy Joe's, but only had one pound of meat.  I decided to stretch the beef by adding veggies figuring the girls would never notice once it was covered in sauce.  It was a hit and no one was the wiser.  I make it all the time now, adding whatever veggies I happen to have in the fridge.  It is a great way to use up those odds and ends.  Be creative.  Go crazy.  I'm there all the time.  Stop by and say hi.

Sloppy Joe's

Should have taken a picture on a bun... shoulda, coulda, woulda.

Ingredients

2 tsp. vegetable oil

1 onion, diced

2-3 carrots, diced

1 green pepper, diced

2 tomatoes, diced

1 lb. ground beef (I always use sirloin)

2-3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/2 c. ketchup (more if you like it sauce)

1 tsp. cider vinegar

1 tsp. brown sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large skillet until shimmering.  Add in all your veggies and cook until they start to soften.
Once they are getting soft, add in the meat and break it up with a spatula as it cooks.
Once your beef is browned, add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a simmer.
Cook for 10-15 minutes to let flavors blend.  Serve on buns.  So good.



Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

So my little one was sick last night and all hopes of posting came to an early end.  On the plus side, I had an excuse to ignore the dishes and snuggle in bed with a sweet little curly haired boy.  Unfortunately, now I still have to deal with the dishes. 
I have so many things to post, that I hated to miss a day, so I am going to post two yummy recipes today.  The first is the fastest, easiest cookie you can make.  You don't even need a mixer!  It only makes about 1-1/2 dozen small cookies which is nice too.  Well, nice for my butt.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients
1 c. peanut butter
3/4 c. sugar or 1 c. powdered sugar for a smoother cookie
1 egg

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Drop teaspoonfuls onto a parchment lined baking sheet and top each with a few chocolate chips. 

 

Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.  Let cool completely before you try to eat them.  Trust me, not a good idea to try to eat them hot.





Green Salad with Caper Vinaigrette

One of my favorite restaurants is a little spot called Meadowlark.  They make an amazing salad that they serve as a side option.  It is lettuce, spinach, cabbage and a caper vinaigrette.  It is simple and wonderful.  It is so good, I choose it over french fries every time. 
Even though I knew for a fact my husband would not appreciate the wonders of a caper vinaigrette, I decided to make my own version.  After many questions and a thorough inspection, he tried it and decided "it was not as bad as he thought it would be".  Hmmmmmm.  I should probably keep pine nuts to myself too.

Green Salad with Caper Vinaigrette

Ingredients
All the amounts here depend on how much salad you are making
lettuce-I used green leaf and red leaf
cabbage
capers and juice from the jar-I used about 2 Tbsp.
extra virgin olive oil-I used about 4 Tbsp.
salt and pepper
Parmesan

Directions

Chop up your lettuce into bite sized pieces.

Put your capers and juice in a jar with a tight fitting lid

add in the olive oil and salt and pepper,

and shake it like crazy, until it's mixed up.  Taste it and see if you need more of anything.  If not, proceed.

Cut the cabbage into shreds and toss it onto the lettuce followed by some grated Parmesan and the vinaigrette.  Done!  It is so easy and tastes so beautiful, I promise it will be one of your go-to salads!