PW's Sloppy Joes

I just got back from my annual trip to Montana, so please forgive the lack of posts lately.  I'll try to get some pictures up in the next couple of days.  We had a fantastic time, I just love it there.

This is a recipe I made right before we left on vacation. Sloppy Joes are just one of those meals that kids love.  When I was a kid it was just a matter of opening that famous can and dumping it in with some ground beef, but this version is tastier and still super easy.  Just some quick chopping and you have a quick meal, ready in no time.

My daughter, also known as the pickiest eater ever, even gave me the thumbs up.  I avoided the spicy stuff listed below as optional just to appeal to her more.  I just gave my personal sandwich a nice couple of dashes of Tabasco right before eating. So delicious!

Sloppy Joes

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 1 whole large bell pepper, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups ketchup
• 1 cup water
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp dry red pepper flakes (optional)
• Worcestershire sauce, to taste
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste (optional)
• Tabasco sauce, to taste (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Directions

1. Add the butter to a large dutch oven or pot and melt, add the ground beef and cook until no pink remains. Drain the fat.
2. Add the onions, bell pepper and garlic.  Cook for a few minutes until the vegetables get soft. 
3. Add the remaining ingredients and let simmer for about 15 minutes while you prepare the rolls. 
4. Spread a little room temperature butter on rolls or bread and grill until golden, top with the sloppy joe mixture (add cheese if you're feeling daring) and serve hot. 

Grandma Maroni's Meatballs

My husband has a minor addiction to meatballs.  It's one of the foods that he'll never turn down.  In my recent cookbook search, I found this recipe, and knew he'd love it.  It's an old Italian style meatball that I'm so glad I tried.  

This is a pretty garlic-y meatball, so maybe cut back a little if you're not a big garlic fan.  The texture was right on.  Tender, flavorful, and the perfect size for your spaghetti dinner.  Honestly, I felt like I was sitting in an old Italian restaurant when I ate these.  I was just waiting for some little old Italian woman to start yelling at me.  My husband told me that his Italian relatives made meatballs like this when he was little.  So for him, this was a really down-home meal.  

There is a sauce recipe that accompanies this meatball recipe in the book, but since I didn't use it I didn't post it.  Maybe next time. :)

Definitely a keeper, I'd make this for his Italian family and feel pretty comfortable about it.
Grandma Maroni's Meatballs

Recipe from "Bobby Flay's Throwdown!" cookbook

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 1 pound ground beef chuck
• 1 1/2 cups grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• 1 1/4 cups fresh bread crumbs
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leave parsley
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 small Spanish onion, grated
• 3 Tbsp minced garlic
• pinch of Kosher salt, to taste

Cooking Directions

1. Oil a 9x13 inch dish or a rimmed baking sheet, set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 350º
3. Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl, making sure to combine well. 
4. Form the meat mixture into a loose ball the size of a golf ball and place on the prepared dish. 
5. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until cooked through. 
6. Serve with you favorite pasta and sauce. 

Sloppy Joe's

This past week/weekend we were in Boston visiting our family.  The weather was great! Of course I came home to torrential downpours.  Hopefully the nice weather will be back soon but I can't complain since everything is so green and healthy looking right now.

Before we hopped off to Boston I made this sloppy joe recipe from The Pioneer Woman and I loved it! It's much like the kind I remember from a can only better. I left out a couple of the ingredients that Ree puts in her recipe simply because I either didn't have them or I knew my daughter wouldn't try it if they were in there. Either way, it was awesome.  My version is below but the link will bring you to The Pioneer Woman's recipe. 

Sloppy Joe's

Recipe modified from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground turkey (or ground beef)
• 1/4 to 1/2 a large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• Worcestershire sauce to taste
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Directions

1. In a large skillet, add the ground turkey and cook over medium until the turkey is browned. If you're using beef, drain any fat at this point.
2. Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook just until it is beginning to get tender.
3. Add all of the remaining ingredients and simmer for about 10 minutes to meld the flavors.
4. Serve with toasted rolls or whatever you have. This would also be delicious served over a bed of lettuce!

Beef and Cheese Manicotti

Boy I'm late posting this recipe!  It was the dinner that we had for my husbands birthday....in December.  I think Manicotti might be something that you would enjoy any time of the year, at least I would. 

When I asked my husband what he wanted for his birthday dinner he hem'd and haw'd and couldn't really make up his mind.  I started thinking about the kinds of things he orders when we go out for dinner and manicotti was right at the top of the list.  I can almost guarantee you that if we go to an Italian restaurant that he'll order one of two things, manicotti or lasagna.  So I just told him I had it covered and let it be a surprise.  He was happy.  Very very happy. 

If you're looking for an Italian meal you have to go right to a trusted source, for me that is Giada De Laurentiis.  

We loved everything about this meal.  The filling is to die for, the sauce is fantastic, topped with lots of yummy cheese.  There isn't one thing I would change.  

If it's still a little chilly in your neck of the woods you might want to whip this up sometime soon, heck you might want to make it no matter where you live.  You could also make a big pan of it and freeze half of it for later. Just make it up as usual but don't bake it, freeze it and then un-thaw it and bake as usual.

Beef and Cheese Manicotti

Recipe from Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

• 4 tsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 pound ground beef
• salt and pepper
• 1 container (15 oz) whole milk ricotta
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups marinara sauce
• 2 Tbsp butter, cut into pieces

Cooking Directions

1. In a large skillet add 1 tsp of olive oil and then add the onion and ground beef. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the meat has browned and the onions are translucent.
2. Brush a cookie sheet with 1 tsp of olive oil.
3. Cook the manicotti in salted water until slightly soft but still firm. Lay the cooked manicotti on the prepared cookie sheet to cool.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the ricotta, 1 1/2 to 2 cups mozzarella, 1/2 cup of Parmesan and the parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Mix until well combined.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
6. Use the remaining 2 tsp of olive oil to brush over a 9x13 inch pan.
7. Spoon 1 1/2 cups of the marinara into the bottom of the pan.
8. Spoon the filling into the manicotti and lay them in a single layer into the prepared dish.
9. Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the manicotti and top with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan and then dot the butter over the top of the cheese.
10. Let the manicotti cook for 30-35 minutes until the cheese has melted and the sauce is bubbling along the sides of the dish.
11. Let the manicotti sit for about 5 minutes before serving.

PW's Salisbury Steak

This has got to be one of my favorite meals.  I've made another Salisbury Steak recipe here and I thought I'd never find another one as good.  I was mistaken.  This one is as good and possibly even better.  I'm not sure, I might have to try them side by side one time just to get a good comparison.  What I like about this recipe is that I don't have to have any dry soup mix on hand.  So I'm more likely to make this one on a whim then the other one.
My husband thinks he likes this one slightly more also. I think my daughter also gave this a try and actually chewed and swallowed it (baby steps).
If you're looking for a nice warm meal to get you all cozy then this is it.  Don't forget the mashed potatoes!

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Meat

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 2 tsp dry mustard
• 1 cube beef bouillon, crushed (or granules)
• 4 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Tbsp Ketchup
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 Tbsp oil (for the pan, for frying)
• 1 Tbsp butter (for the pan, for frying)

Gravy

• 1 whole onion, halved and sliced thinly (half moon) or diced. 
• 2 cups beef broth
• 4 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Tbsp Ketchup
• 1 tsp corn starch mixed with a little beef broth to form a paste
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Mix all of the meat ingredients together (minus the oil and butter) and make sure the ingredients are well distributed.  Form the hamburger into even sized portions of either 4 or 6 patties. 
2. Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan and add the meat, cook at about medium high heat. 
3. Cook until the meat is no longer pink inside and then remove to a plate.  Discard any grease leftover in the pan. 
4. Turn the heat down to medium and add the onion.  Let the onion cook until golden brown and slightly softened. 
5. Add the beef broth, Worcestershire and Ketchup. Stir and heat to reduce. 
6. Add the cornstarch mixture and let thicken, then add the burger patties back into the pan to heat through.  Pour some of the sauce over the top of the patties and serve when hot. 

Gramma's Hobo Dinners

I'm always hesitant to post one of my gramma's recipes.  I don't know if I'm weird that way or if you can relate to that, but I wouldn't want to publish some "top secret" recipe and get busted by my relatives so I try to keep the family recipes down to a minimum if possible.  This recipe seemed pretty safe since it was already published in the cookbook you see below.

The cookbook is from the Brisbin Women's Club and the cover of this awesome cookbook was painted by a local artist Cheryl DePuy Murray.  Isn't it beautiful?  My gramma gave me this cookbook in 1998 and I've cooked so many recipes out of it that many pages are stained and that's one thing I love about it.  This is one of those treasures from my gramma and my hometown that I will cherish and then hand down to my daughter.

As you can see from the picture above, I already veered off the recipe and didn't cook the hamburger first.  Gramma's instructions clearly indicate you should form a patty, season and then brown.  I didn't.  Sorry gramma. 

Top each burger with onion rings.

Add some carrot

Next comes the potato (you can do this in whatever order you like, it makes no difference).

Top each patty with some butter, salt and pepper

Now wrap each packet up tightly in the tin foil so no juice can escape.

Bake and enjoy.

This little packet of goodness makes your house smell so good.  It's basically a really quick way to give everyone their very own pot roasts.  You can mix up the ingredients as much as you want and create your own favorites!

Gramma's Hobo Dinner

Marge Frelich

Ingredients

• 1 pound hamburger
• 1 large onion, sliced into thick slices
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and quartered
• 1 can mushrooms, drained (or fresh)
• 1 Tbsp butter
• salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Directions

1. Cut four tin foil pieces into 1 foot squares.
2. Patty the hamburger into 4 equal sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper. My gramma's recipe says to brown the burger on each side before adding it to the tin foil square but I forgot to do that.
3. Add equal onion slices to each patty, add 2 potato pieces, 2 carrot pieces, mushrooms and salt and pepper to each tin foil square on top of the hamburger.
4. Top each square with a piece of butter and fold the tin foil into a tight packet so no juices can escape.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for one hour or until the potato is done. One hour was perfect when I cooked mine.

Kristi's Dip

Just ask any of my friends about this dip and they'll all start gushing about it.  My friend Kristi made it up and it was appropriately named after her.  We all love it and you can almost guarantee that if someone in our circle of friends is having a get together someone will bring this dip.

I usually just find a chair nearest to this dip and then use some sports blocking techniques to block off others.  It's sort of how I work out these days.

I can't believe I've had this recipe in my draft folder for so long.  Well, today is your lucky day.  Right before the weekend and right before many of you are sending your kids off to school.  Surely you have a function to go to this weekend that you can give this a try.

You won't be sorry.  Seriously. Try it.  Right now.


Kristi's Dip
From my friend Kristi W.

1 lb. ground beef
2 (8 ounce) blocks cream cheese (softened)
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 jar Pace picante sauce (or other thick & chunky salsa)
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese

Brown ground beef and drain. Mix ground beef, cream cheese and taco seasoning mix and spread it into a baking dish. Layer the salsa next, then top with the shredded cheese. Bake at 350 until the cheese melts. Serve with tortilla chips.

Sour Cream Turkey Turnovers

I made these quite a while ago and absolutely loved it, but it got buried in my draft folder and never made it to my blog...until now. 

I love bite sized food, I'm a huge appetizer fan and these fall into that category for me.  The bite that the sour cream brings to the crust and the filling is delicious. The possibilities to change this up to your liking are limitless. 

Start by making the dough ahead of time, it takes time for it to chill before you use it.

Brown the turkey, onion and carrot.

Prepare the dough by rolling it out onto a floured surface and use a biscuit cutter to make the circles.

Add the sour cream and spices.

Use a teaspoon to place a small amount of filling on one half of the circle.

Fold over the edges and crimp shut with a fork.  Use the egg wash to coat the top for a nice golden brown finish.

Bake until golden brown.

These little turnovers were good straight from the refrigerator.  I'm pretty sure I polished off most of the leftovers this way.

Sour Cream and Turkey Turnovers

Modified slightly from Elva Kelly's recipe found in "The Best of Country Cooking 2011" by Taste of Home page 6

Dough

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup sour cream

1 egg yolk

Filling

1 pound ground Turkey (original recipe calls for 3/4 lb. ground beef)

1 large onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup finely chopped carrot

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp pepper

1 egg

2 tsp water

In a bowl combine the flour, sugar and salt.  Cut in the shortening until it's crumbly.  Add the sour cream and egg yolk and stir until just moistened.  Shape into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. 

In a large skillet, combine the turkey, onion and carrots and cook over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink.  Drain if there is any liquid. Stir in the sour cream, salt, oregano and pepper. 

Roll the dough on a floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick.  Cut the dough with a floured 3 inch round cutter.  Place a rounded tsp of meat mixture on one side of the circle and then fold the edges of dough over the filling.  Press the edges shut with a fork to seal.  Prick the tops of the dough pouch so the steam can escape.  Re-roll the dough scraps and repeat. 

Put the dough pockets on a greased baking sheet.  Beat the egg with water and brush over the turnovers.  Bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. 

Cheeseburger Salad

Some of the restaurants around here will let you order one of their burgers on a salad instead of a bun and I think it's a great idea.  I've only had it out once but knew it would be something different to try at home. I have fallen deeply in love with this salad.  I've eaten twice this week already.  I think it's because you can make it different each time, the possibilities are endless.  Basically any kind of burger you've ever liked in a restaurant you'll like this way too.

I'm not saying this is a healthy salad, but if you're trying to cut back on carbs this is a great idea!  You can top this with all the things you would top your burger with, like ketchup and mustard or whatever.  You can also just use your favorite salad dressing.

Here's what I used, but this is more of a suggestion than a recipe.

1/4 pound of ground beef, cooked.
2 slices of cheese, one for on top the burger and one to cut up in the salad.
1/2 medium tomato, diced
1 baby dill pickle, diced
1 slice of onion, kept round
handful of your favorite lettuce

Place the lettuce first on a plate or dish.  Top with all your toppings, it's best if they are diced.  Cover with the cooked burger and dress with condiments of your choice.

Ground Beef with Onions and Herbs

After watching Julie & Julia about a million times I decided it was time to tackle some of these recipes.  Of course I was intimidated because it's Julia Child for Pete's sake!  My husband was nice enough to find me a copy of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" so I was looking for something easy, something I couldn't screw up.  That would have destroyed my confidence.  I learned something about making this recipe.  I learned that Julia Child and Paula Dean are keeping the dairy farmers of America in business with how much butter they use.  I love it!
I also learned that not every recipe in this GIANT cookbook is intimidating and it's actually quite user friendly.
I can't wait to try more recipes out of this book!

First thing you do is mince the onion very fine and cook it in some butter.  You're going to make sort of like a meatloaf mix and then form patties out of it.

Roll the patties in some flour and begin to cook them.

Cook the patties in the pan you used for the onions.  When they are browned and cooked how you like them you'll want to move them to a plate and make the sauce using the same pan.

The sauce is made out of any number of things; most of which you probably already have.  I used white wine in mine.

Found on page 301 of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking"

Bifteck Haché À La Lyonnaise

1/4 cup finely minced onion
2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
2 Tbsp softened butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp thyme
1 egg
1/2 cup flour
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup beef stock, dry white wine, red wine, dry white vermouth, canned beef bouillon, or 1/4 cup water.
2-3 Tbsp softened butter

Add 2 Tbsp of butter to a large frying pan and then add the onions.  Cook on a low heat, you do not want the onions caramelized, just soft and transparent.

In a large bowl add ground beef, butter, salt, pepper, thyme and egg and mix well.  When the onions are done and have cooled slightly add those to the meat mixture. 

In a separate bowl put the flour so you can dip the burgers in before cooking them. Shake off the excess flour and cook until your desired doneness.

Remove the burgers to a separate dish and keep warm while you make the sauce.  Pour the fat out of the skillet.  Add the liquid of your choice to the pan and bring to a boil, scraping the bits off the bottom of the pan as you go along.   Reduce the liquid to almost a syrup.  Remove from the heat and add the butter a little at a time until it is incorporated into the sauce.  Pour over the hamburger patties and serve right away.

Salisbury Steak

Not long ago the temperatures around here dropped below 90 degrees; so it was time for me to break out the comfort food recipes and turn on the heat.  OK, not really turn on the heat but after all our 100 degree temps it certainly did feel like fall had arrived. 

I can't believe it's taken me so long to try Salisbury Steak.  I mean it's not like I've never had it; of course I have, many times; but I've never actually made it myself.  I will from now on, it was easy and delicious.  I actually couldn't wait to bring some leftovers with me to work the next day.  Totally delish, you gotta try this.

Mix the hamburger, bread crumbs, egg, french onion soup, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.

Shape the burger mixture into 6 oval shaped patties.  I have no idea why they need to be oval shaped.  You could be a rebel and make them square.  That's what I'll do next time.

Brown them on both sides and then drain off the excess fat.

In another bowl mix together the remaining soup, ketchup, water, Worcestershire sauce, flour and mustard powder and then pour over the browned burgers.

Cover and cook for 20 minutes.

This is so delicious, put this recipe down as one of your must try fall recipes. 

Salisbury Steak
Recipe found here: Salisbury Steak

Ingredients

• 1 can condensed French onion soup
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

Directions

1. Mix the ground beef, 1/3 cup of the french onion soup, bread crumbs, egg, salt and pepper together in a medium bowl until well incorporated.  Shape into six oval patties and then brown on both sides in a large skillet. Pour off any remaining fat in the skillet.
2. In a separate bowl combine the rest of the french onion soup, ketchup, water, Worcestershire sauce, flour and mustard powder and whisk until combined.  Pour this mixture over the patties, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Lenny J's Barbecued Beef

A while back I asked my brother in-law Lenny to send me his recipe for sloppy joes.  I was corrected and told that his family calls this recipe barbecue beef.  Sorry Lenny (and Lenny's family). I do remember eating this at his house many times and loving it each time.  I pains me to say that.  I mean Lenny and I have an agreement never to compliment each other. ;-)
I am very glad to be in possession of this recipe now as I do enjoy it immensely.  Its a quick and easy weeknight meal or great for a large crowd.  Usually served on hamburger buns, I just didn't have any.

Start by browning some hamburger and then adding chopped celery..

Crisco shortening, or oil

Ketchup

Onion, vinegar, water, brown sugar and dry mustard.

Cook just until the celery begins to soften.

Serve on a hamburger bun, or some toasted bread (like me) and enjoy!

1 1/2 lb hamburger
2 C celery - chopped
1 C ketchup
1 Tbsp Crisco shortening or oil
1 1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 C water
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp onion - chopped (I used more like 1/4 cup)
1 tsp dry mustard


Brown the hamburger and then mix in the remaining ingredients.  Cook until the celery has begun to soften.

Cheesy Meatloaf

It's slightly possible that I went a little overboard on this meatloaf. I can also tell you that this was LOADED with flavor. I am one of those people who always eats meatloaf with ketchup.  I just am.  But this didn't need it at all.  I actually felt a little guilty for leaving the ketchup off my plate, but I got over it.

In the picture above I've got 2 pounds of ground beef, ketchup, Italian Panko bread crumbs, egg, A1 sauce, and 1 package of onion soup mix.

Mix it thoroughly - you'll have to use your hands, sorry.

Put half of the meat mixture in a loaf pan, then form a tunnel in the middle - not all the way to the edges.

Use whatever type of cheese you want for the middle.  I used sharp cheddar.

Top with bacon, cut each strip in half to fit a loaf pan or you can use the whole strip length wise.

Bake for about an hour and 15 minutes or until the center is no longer pink.

I've made a variation of this meatloaf before here This time I decided to jazz it up a bit more by adding the cheese and the bacon.  I really enjoyed this.  It was very flavorful, and very filling.  All the spices in the onion soup mix, Italian bread crumbs and the A1 sauce really work well together.  Very moist, with a nice smoky hint from the bacon.  Delish.

Here's what you'll need:

2 lbs ground beef
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
3/4 C Italian Panko Crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 C ketchup
2 Tbsp A1 sauce
Sharp Cheddar Cheese (your choice on how much to use) I used two thick slices from a block of cheddar.
3 slices of bacon, cut in half

Preheat the oven to 350

In a bowl add all of the ingredients except the cheese and bacon.

Halve the hamburger mixture and put into a loaf pan.  Make a tunnel in the center of the meat - length wise.  Add your cheese.  Top with the remaining hamburger mixture.  Add the bacon to the top.  Cook for about 75 to 85 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle.