Whaddya Know Joe

Growing up I loved Sloppy Joes. But what kid doesn't? The sweet, tangy, and sometimes extremely messy sandwiches were a rare treat around our house so when I did get to eat them, they were all the better. Since I'm the sometimes meal planner these days I try to sneak in much loved treats like Sloppy Joes. And, since I'm a big fan of searching out simple and highly rated recipes on Allrecipes I decided to skip the store-bought stuff and seek out a from-scratch recipe there when I got a recent craving. As with most recipes on the site, there were several variations so I chose the one that sounded like it would suit me and the Big Bad Dad aka my Picky Eater best, which was Sloppy Joes II. I made slight changes to the recipe. After I got everything into the pan it just didn't seem to have enough juice for my liking, so I ended up using a total of 1 cup of ketchup and adding a half cup of water. We didn't really notice the flavor of the bell pepper, which was fine it didn't seem to be lacking because of it, but next time I'll either omit the pepper or make sure I just cut it into bigger chunks. These homemade Sloppy Joes were a little sweeter than the store-bought stuff, so if you think you might not be too keen on that I would suggest cutting back on the brown sugar a bit or adding a little extra mustard. I always remember eating potato chips with Sloppy Joes growing up, and for some reason Ruffles stick out in my mind - don't ask because I really couldn't tell you why. Maybe I just prefer Ruffles to regular chips? Or not even Ruffles, Wavy Lays, yes, it's the Wavy Lays I prefer. But that's so beyond my point. I decided to take a healthier route but still wanted to serve some form of potato, so I seasoned and roasted some Russets. MmmMmmm dinner was so good that night! Sloppy Joes 1 pound lean ground beef 1/4 cup chopped onion 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard 1 cup ketchup 3 teaspoons brown sugar 1/2 cup water salt & pepper to taste In a medium skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef, onion, and green pepper; drain off liquids. Stir in the garlic powder, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, and water; mix thoroughly. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Oven Roasted Potatoes 1 lb Russet potatoes, but into 1 inch cubes Olive oil seasoned salt to taste sea salt to taste Preheat oven to 425. Drizzle cubed potatoes with just enough oil to coat. Toast to coat evenly and place on non-stick baking sheet, sprinkle with salts and pepper. Roast for 30-40 minutes or until tender and golden brown.

A Daring Baker I Am!

So I've seen this cute little logo on lots of blogs for months now and always wondered what it was. Turns out there's this really cool group called the Daring Bakers. And now I'm one too! I've completed my first DB challenge and really enjoyed it. The assigned recipe for November was potato bread. I've baked a few loaves of yeast bread here and there, but I've got minimal experience especially when it comes to the whole kneading by hand thing. I find the thought of kneading by hand to be the most intimidating part of bread baking. I always worry that I won't have enough flour, or I'll have too much and I won't knead enough, or I'll knead too much and the bread will be tough. Well I decided to suck it up and just give it a try. The bread was good, but I didn't love it. Maybe that was due to my lack of experience or maybe I would just prefer a different type of bread? Your guess is as good as mine. I chose to make a standard loaf of "sandwich bread" and a loaf of focaccia, and I was most pleased with the focaccia. I'm open to any tips or suggestions you experienced bread bakers have. Stay tuned for next month's Daring Baker challenge!

Happy Fall Y'all!

While the beautiful and vibrant foliage has given the appearance of fall, the chilly, blustery weather typical of the season has been an on-again off-again thing for us over the past several weeks. But it seems that we are finally settling into the season, with nighttime temperatures starting to fall into the 30's and the North Carolina mountains receiving a rather abrupt snowfall just a few days ago. Can I just say, thank goodness I don't live in the mountains right about now? You may remember, a few weeks back I tested out Beef and Beer Chili in anticipation of the forthcoming chilly weather, no pun intended. Well, earlier this week as I started to accept the fact that I must begin waving a sad goodbye to my cute tank tops, shortsleeve blouses, adorable capris and oh-so loved shorts of summer and start dragging out my sweaters, scarves, gloves and other cold weather clothes I developed a craving for something hearty and warm you straight to the bone. I could think of nothing better than soup, so I whipped up a batch of my easy Au Gratin Potato Soup. My inspiration comes from a very similar recipe I found on Allrecipes. My changes were pretty simple and fairly minor but changed the flavor a bit and took away some of the fat and calories, but left the soup lacking nothing in my opinion. I don't think I'm too far off in saying that either, as I got no complaints or criticism from my Big, Bad Dad, he even went back for seconds. Au Gratin Potato Soup 4 medium red skinned potatoes, cubed 1 (5.5 ounce) package au gratin instant potato mix 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed chicken broth 1 1/2 cups water 1 cup milk (2% is suitable) crumbled cooked bacon (2 strips per bowl) In a large saucepan or pot, combine potatoes, au gratin potato mix, chicken broth and water. Add more water to cover if necessary. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, about 40 minutes. Stir in cream and heat through. While soup is cooking, prepare bacon, drain grease and crumble. Serve with bacon crumbles on top.