Mom's Sloppy Joes with Garlicky Potato Wedges

There's something so comforting about Sloppy Joes. It's a super easy recipe to make, which is precisely why this dinner was prepared when I was in the thick of my cold. 40 minutes of hands-off cooking time for the potatoes, and 10 minutes of stove-top cook time for the joes. Perfect for the girl who had a hard time peeling herself off the couch and away from her box of Kleenex. The hubby and I don't really eat burgers and fries anymore, indulging this way is pretty much how we do these days.

My mom used to make these monthly when my brother and I were growing up. I'd never experienced a Manwich until I met my husband at 23. Yuck! One was enough for the remainder of my life. I think they put sugar in Manwich, and I don't do sugar in my sloppy joes. I don't like my salsa, my tomato sauce, or my Sloppy Joes sweet. The hubby had never had homemade sloppy joes before he met me, and he converted immedately. After having my joes, and then imbibing in Manwich, the hubby was really turned off the canned stuff. I've happily been making my mom's version ever since. And honestly, there's 3 ingredients in the sauce. Why buy a canned version when the homemade tastes better, is homemade, and it's not even hard o make?

On a separate subject, I'm getting a wee bit tired of this polar vortex. It's -1º right now, and this is not fun. It takes me 5 minutes to put on enough clothes to go outside. I did the grocery shopping yesterday in (from the feet up): boots, leg warmers, socks, thermal underwear, jeans, gloves, a thermal undershirt, sweatshirt with hood, coat, scarf, hat, and headband that covers my ears. Sheesh. Haloti is not as sensitive to the cold, but Gizmo is so miserable. I can't imagine how cold it must be for a 4-lb dog without an insulating double coat.  We pretty much have to carry the little dude out, put him in the grass, and pray he does his business before he makes a beeline for the house. Argh. It's January, and I'm sooooo ready for spring. There's no squirrels, birds, or deer visiting my yard in this weather, and that's so not cool.

Stay warm, my friends!

Ingredients:

Potatoes-
4 Idaho potatoes, scrubbed and diced
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper
garnish- minced parsley (optional)

Sloppy Joes:
1 tsp olive oil
1 celery stalk, diced
1/2 small onion, diced
1 lb ground hamburger, 90/10 mix*
1 tsp garlic powder
1 cup ketchup
2 tsp yellow mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
hamburger buns

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425º. Lightly coat a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. To prepare potatoes: Combine potatoes, olive oil, and garlic powder in a large bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread potatoes in a single layer on cookie sheet, and bake in preheated oven, 40-45 minutes, or until potatoes are browned and crisp. Stir potatoes once, about halfway through. When done, remove from oven, sprinkle with parsley, and allow to cool while you prepare Sloppy Joes.
3. To prepare Sloppy Joes: Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. When warm, add onions and celery. Sauté 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Add hamburger to pan. Stir to crumble. Cook until meat is well browned. Add ketchup, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce to the pan. Cook 2-3 minutes more, or until mixture is heated. Spoon onto hamburger buns, serve alongside potatoes. Serve immediately.

*A note about hamburger meat- I highly recommend using a 90/10 fat mix on the hamburger. The Sloppy Joe mix really gives the meat flavor, you don't need a fattier mix. If you do use a fattier mix, such as 80/20, you'll end up with sloppy joes swimming in grease. Icky. Save your 80/20 for when you need the flavor, like burgers.

Recipe brought to you courtesy of my mom!

Vegetable Beef Soup

For the first time in my life, I hosted Christmas dinner at my house this year. Er, last year? Whatever, Christmas 2013 is what I'm talking about. I chose to do roast beef. I've never made roast beef in my life, and I've heard a million times that you never make something for the first time for a crowd. I knew that advice was based on sound experience. I chose to ignore it, thus ensuring it would be a chaotic and perhaps, unsavory day.

Don't ask me what I was thinking, just try to remember that I am still learning about cooking. I thought my 6-lb roast was going to take 6 hours, so I got up extra early to prep my roast and make sure it was in the oven by 6 am (dinner was being served at 1). Sure enough, my roast was the perfect temperature in 4 hours. My roast, needless to say, had a lengthy nap prior to dinner. Luckily, the meat was perfectly pink and still warm when the hubby carved it up.

It turns out a 6-lb roast will feed 5 adults and 3 kids, all while leaving the cook with substantial leftovers. Whether or not the extensive appetizer noshing pre-dinner had anything to do with the amount of leftovers remains to be seen. The point is, I had a lot of leftover roast beef and not the foggiest idea what to do with it. Thank goodness for Pinterest. One of the first ideas I had was Vegetable Beef Soup. We are soup lovers here, so this idea was a keeper! This recipe is pretty versatile, you could pretty much use whatever vegetable you wanted and/or had on hand. I also happen to be a veggie lover, so I like to pack my soup with my cruciferous friends. Serve on a cold day (no problem here in NE Kentucky!) with lots of crusty French bread.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 cup dry red wine (I used Yellowtail Cabernet)
8 cups low-sodium beef broth
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) green beans
1 small potato, peeled and diced
1/2 tbsp dried basil
1/2 tbsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
2 cups cooked roast beef, diced

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. When heated, add onion, celery, and carrot. Saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
2. Add red wine to the pot. Bring liquid to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer. Simmer until the wine has been reduced by half, or a little more.
3. Add the beef broth through the ground red pepper to the pot. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes, or until the potatoes are done.
4. Add cooked roast beef to the pot. Continue to simmer for another 5 minutes, or until the beef has been warmed. Salt to taste. Remove from heat, and serve immediately.

Ancho Chile Grilled Flank Steak with Chimichurri

When prepared properly, there are few things as delicious as flank steak. Of course, it must be medium rare. Over-cook this cut of meat, and you'll find yourself chewing on something akin to boot leather. It must be sliced against the grain, or else you will find yourself with some ugly-looking and chewy meat. I personally believe this cut of meat also begs for a marinade, or a sauce of some sorts. Chimichurri really fits the bill on that one :)

The hubby and I picked up a couple of flank steaks on our last Costco trip, and this was the first meal from those flanks. I've found it pretty hard to find different cuts of meat in this area of Kentucky, so it's honestly been a couple of years since I've had flank steak. It used to be a staple for us in Oregon, where it's readily available. I shall not complain though, and I will take what I can get. Oh yes, and I'll be thankful I have a couple of filets in the freezer.

This was my first time making chimichurri, and now I wonder why? I preferred it on my meat more than on my potatoes (I had to see what that tasted like!), but the parsley-olive oil-garlic combination pares perfectly with the delectable juiciness of the beef. There are a million ways to make chimichurri, and this girl will be checking out more recipes. ASAP. I will add that my chimichurri would not be considered "authentic" because the Argentinean version uses strictly parsley, and no cilantro or mint. I wasn't as concerned with authenticity. The only thing that made this meal even better? A crisp glass of Sauvignon Blanc, that's what!

Happy Friday!

Ingredients:

1 (1 lb) filet of flank steak
1 tsp olive oil
salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, ancho chile powder, and smoked paprika
2 cups flat-leaf parsley
1 cup cilantro leaves
1 cup mint leaves
12 cloves of garlic, peeled
2 tbsp shallot, minced
1/2 cup-3/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. Rub steak filet with olive oil. Season steak with 1/2 tsp each of salt through the paprika. Preheat a gas grill to high-heat. Once heated, turn heat down to medium. Cook steak 4 minutes on each side. Remove from heat, allow to rest 10 minutes while preparing chimichurri.
2. In a food processor, combine parsley through black pepper. Pulse until smooth. Add more salt to taste.
3. Slice steak against the grain. Serve sliced steak immediately with chimichurri sauce.

Shrimp Nicoise Salad

I meant to be blogging about this yesterday. Yesterday was house-cleaning day. The kind of house-cleaning you only do once every 6 weeks or so. You know, more than the perfunctory cleaning, but less than quarterly cleaning. For me, this includes polishing my stainless steel appliances. I recently ran out of my favorite polish, and was forced to try a competitors brand. To say that it didn't live up to my expectations would be an understatement. I had been buffing my fridge for an hour (an outrageous amount of time to be buffing the damn fridge). I was furious and dripping in sweat, trying to buff the streaks out of the fridge. No matter what I did, the streaks would not budge. My temper steadily began to rise at an exponential rate.

I have a temper.  A crazy, mean, boisterous temper. It was out-of-control when I was a kid, but I've learned to remain calm in most situations. Yesterday was not "most situations", as it turned out. I had a full-fledged temper tantrum- stomping my feet, eyes bulging, face tomato-red, spittle flying extraneously.  It was not pretty, I'm so glad I was home alone. I was beyond incensed . My fridge looked better before I decided to clean it. I should have just left it alone. As any extreme outburst of emotion will do, I immediately felt better upon calming down. Not calm enough to sit down and type without throwing the computer at the wall, mind you, but calmer.

So that was yesterday, and of course, I'm sitting here thinking about how childish I acted. So my fridge has some smudges until I receive my old polish (which I feverishly ordered 3 bottles of!) from Amazon. Big deal. I'll live. As for this salad, perhaps I should have made this last night to calm me down. Shrimp and potatoes are two of my favorite comfort foods. Without further ado, here's how to make this delicious, traditionally French salad-

Ingredients (serves 2):

4 tbsp olive oil, divided
6 small red potatoes, quartered
salt and pepper
15-20 haricot verts
16 large shrimp, peeled
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp anchovy paste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dijon mustard
4 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup kalamata olives, halved

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400º. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.
2. Combine 1 tbsp oil, potatoes, and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl. Toss to combine. Place potatoes in a single layer on cookie sheet. Roast in oven 20-25 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and browned. Set aside.
3. Bring a pot of water to boil. Place haricot verts in boiling water, cook for 1 minute.  Drain beans, then plunge into a ice bath. Swirl the beans around, remove from water when cool. Set aside.
4. Preheat grill to high heat. Season shrimp with salt and pepper, then thread shrimp on skewers. Turn grill down to medium-low heat. Grill shrimp 1 minute on each side, remove from heat. Set skewers aside.
5. In a small bowl, combine 3 tbsp olive oil with vinegar, anchovy paste, garlic, and mustard. Whisk thoroughly to emulsify.
6. On a plate, combine 2 cups lettuce, 1 hard-boiled egg, 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, 1/8 cup kalamata olives, 1 skewer of shrimp, and half of potatoes and beans. Drizzle with oil dressing, serve immediately.

Recipe courtesy of Bev Cooks

Potato Soup

Potato soup. Pretty simple in context, yet difficult to achieve the desired results. I've loved potato soup since I was in college, and I worked at a sandwich shop where I was introduced to the stuff. That recipe was probably pure cream, butter, and lots of flour. But man, oh man, was it good! These days, the overwhelming feeling of guilt at eating something that indulgent on a regular basis is too much for me. This version of potato soup is a lot healthier, but it never feels like I'm sacrificing flavor. There's bacon in mine, so it's still a little bit indulgent!

I make mine with homemade chicken broth, which helps control not only the sodium of the soup, but the amount of preservatives in it. I also use just a little flour, fat free milk, and a judicious amount of half-n-half. You know, in place of the cream. I like to use my immersion hand blender to puree the soup just a tad, because I like some chunks of veggies (especially potatoes) in my potato soup. Some people like to puree theirs all the way, and that's fine too. Either way, this is a hearty, tasty, and satisfying soup. And it's not too heavy to make in the summer. Because I'm one of those weirdos that still likes hot soup when it's 90º out :)

Ingredients:

6 slices of bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
6 whole potatoes, peeled and diced
8 cups chicken broth
3 tbsp flour
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt (more to taste)
black pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne
1/2 cup half-n-half
1 tbsp parsley, minced

Directions:

1. In a large stockpot, cook bacon over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon. Reserve 1 tbsp bacon fat in the bottom of the pan.
2. Add onion, carrots, and celery to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes, or until tender. Add potatoes to the pan, cook for another 5 minutes.
3. Add chicken broth to the pot. Bring it to a boil, then lower heat and simmer until potatoes are starting to get tender (about 10 minutes). Whisk together flour and milk, pour into the soup and let cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Take an immersion blender to the soup. Blend until the soup is smoother, but there are still chunks of potato left. Stir in the half-n-half, parsley, and bacon. Remove from heat, and serve immediately.

*Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman*

Mediterranean Cannelli Bean Salad Over Roasted Red Potatoes

We've got detox going on over at this house.

After 2 weeks of, umm... robust eating, the hubby and I are eating healthfully this week. Well, healthfully until we go out to dinner tonight. And I make cookies this afternoon for my brother's birthday :)

This salad fits the bill! It's an excellent and delicious source of fiber, iron, potassium, Vitamin A, and Vitamin C. It's also low in saturated fat. Why not have this fresh, healthy salad for dinner? I served this over roasted red potatoes, but it could be served over pasta or rice. Or as a side dish with chicken or fish.

An added bonus? As healthy as this salad is, the picky hubby still loved it :)

Ingredients:

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut in half
6 oz grape tomatoes
2 tsp olive oil, divided
1 tsp garlic powder
kosher salt and fresh-cracked pepper
1 (15)oz can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
3 garlic cloves minced
3 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
1/4 cup of parsley, minced
1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425º. Coat a cookie sheet lightly with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine asparagus, grape tomatoes, 1 tsp olive oil, and garlic powder. Toss well to combine. Arrange in a single layer on prepared cookie sheet. Season lightly with kosher salt and pepper. Roast in pre-heated oven 8-10 minutes, or until asparagus is tender and tomatoes have just barely burst. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
3. In a skillet, heat remaining 1 tsp olive oil over medium-high heat. When heated, add garlic. Cook until garlic is toasted, about 1 minute. Add beans to the pan, saute 1-2 minutes or until beans are heated. Remove from heat.
4. In a large bowl, add romaine and parsley. Add slightly cooled asparagus and tomatoes. Add beans and olive oil. Drizzle lemon juice over salad. Toss to combine. Serve immediately.

I never really found a recipe to adapt this from, but my inspiration came from this picture on Pinterest :)

Sausage, Potato, and Pepper Skillet

This is the third time I've attempted this "recipe", and I feel like I've finally figured it out.

I've adapted this from a Skinnytaste recipe that I found over the summer that just looked too good to pass up. Sausage? Good. Potatoes? Good. Peppers? Gooooood. The only problem? I tried the recipe as is (as I always do on a trial-run), and it just didn't turn out. The original recipe calls for the potatoes to be cooked in the pan, browned, and then steamed with a lid on the pan. The sausage is then added to the pan, and browned as well, before adding the rest of the vegetables. You are then supposed to cover the pan, and cook for an additional 5 minutes. For me, this resulted in soggy potatoes and soggy sausage.

Second time at the pass, I broiled the potatoes in the oven until they were almost done so they were nice and crispy. I then added them back to the pan after the vegetables, but before the final cook with the lid on. My potatoes lost their crisp, and my sausage which I had also nicely browned, got soggy again. Grr.

I decided to do away with the final lid covering. It wasn't working for me. My new plan involved roasting the potatoes in the oven, making sure they were evenly browned, and cooked all the way. The next step is to brown the sausage in a hot skillet, and set it aside. Thirdly, I cooked all the vegetables until they were crisp-tender, and only then did I add the potatoes and sausage at the last minute for a quick toss. Delish! Crisp potatoes that were soft on the inside: mission complete. Sausage that wasn't soggy: mission complete. A delicious one pot meal: mission complete. A bonus- this was the hubby's favorite of the versions I've tried. A happy, full husband? Always a mission complete :)

Ingredients:

cooking spray
3 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
3 tsp olive oil, divided
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 (12 oz) package of chicken sausage, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 red pepper, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1 orange pepper, chopped
2 zucchini, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp chopped cilantro (you could also use parsley, basil, oregano, thyme, etc. Basically whatever fresh herb you want.)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, toss potatoes with 2 tsp olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Spread potatoes in single layer over cookie sheet. Roast in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally to brown evenly. Remove from oven, set aside.
3. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray, and heat over medium-high heat. When pan is heated, add sausage to skillet. Cook about 5 minutes, or until sausage is evenly browned. Remove from pan, and set aside.
4. Heat remaining 1 tsp olive oil in skillet. Add onion. Saute 1-2 minutes. Add garlic, peppers, and zucchini to pan. Salt and pepper to taste. Saute for 1-2 minutes. Turn down heat, cover skillet and let cook for 4-5 minutes, or until vegetables are crisp-tender.
5. Add sausage and potatoes to skillet. Toss until sausage and potatoes are heated through. Remove skillet from heat, and stir in fresh herbs. Serve immediately.

Recipe adapted from Skinnytaste

Blog Love: Oktoberfest Stew

I missed cooking so, so much. So much that I never not want to be able to cook ever again.

Never, ever, ever again.

Like, ever.

In all seriousness, I've been cooking since Day 3 in the new house. Priority #1 was my kitchen. I always want my kitchen to be done. I'd rather be running into boxes in the bedroom in the middle of the night over not cooking. And while I have been cooking, it has been quick standbys, not new recipes.

This was the first new recipe I tried. And I did not regret it. Ooh child, this was delicious.

I found this recipe somewhere where I spend a majority of my time, Pinterest. I love Pinterest so much, I don't know what I would do without it. Probably be very, very sad. This recipe is from one of my newly beloved blogs, The Cozy Apron. Pinterest led me to this blog, and I'm so happy it did.

I missed Oktoberfest season this year, so maybe I'm just trying to make up for that fact. The hubby and I both had colds when I made this, and it was perfect comfort food. It actually reminds me of a dish my mom used to make, hers with smoked sausage, potatoes, and green beans. At any rate, this dish is full of flavor and would be perfect for a cold, windy night. It's too good to save for once a year :)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 (14 oz) smoked beef sausage, sliced thinly
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 small cabbage, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp pepper
Pinch of salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup beer (German style lager)
2 Russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp flat-leave parsley, chopped

Freshies. Yum!

I had a hard time finding German-style lager at my small-town grocery store, so I went with this.

Homemade chicken stock

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large pan until heated. Add beef sausage, cook 4-5 minutes or until browned.
2. Add onions to pan. Cook until golden brown and softened. Add cabbage to pan and allow cabbage to soften.
3. Add salt and pepper to pan. Add garlic to pan, cook for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add lager to the pan. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 2-3 minutes or until lager has slightly reduced.
5. Add potatoes and chicken broth to the pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, place lid slightly askew on the pan to allow steam to escape, and simmer gently for 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
6. Turn heat off. Stir in the apple cider vinegar and the parsley. Serve immediately.

Veggies simmering in lager. Smells so amazing!

Recipe adapted from The Cozy Apron

New England Clam Chowder

Being from the Pacific Northwest, I was born and raised on fresh seafood. It is one of the things I miss most about Oregon. It's just not possible to jump in the car and drive for an hour to get to the coast and its abundance of freshly caught fish and crab when you live in the middle of the country. One of my favorite things to eat is clam chowder (I like to be silly and pronounce it chowdah) and thanks to things like canned clams and clam juice, I can still enjoy clam chowder here in Kentucky. The hubby has been requesting clam chowder for about a month now, so I finally put the fixings for the clam chowder into the budget and made a batch last night.

We like to serve ours with crusty bread or sometimes, oyster crackers.

We like our clam chowder very thick, so if you like a thinner broth this is not the recipe for you! I will also add that this is not a light recipe. We only make clam chowder maybe once a year, so when we go for it, we really go for it!

Here's my recipe:

Ingredients (serves 10-12):

6 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 lb of bacon, diced
1/2 cup of butter
1 large onion, diced
4 garlic gloves, minced
4 stalks of celery, diced
1 1/4 cups flour
8 cups clam juice
1 tbsp kosher salt
2 tsp ground thyme
4 bay leaves
1 tsp ground black pepper
6 cans canned clams (juice from canned clams will equal about 3 cups of your 8 cups of clam juice)
4 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup minced parsley

Directions:

1. In a large stock pot, boil diced potatoes until crisp-tender (about 10 minutes). Drain and set aside
2. In same pot, cook diced bacon until crispy. Remove from pot with slotted spoon, place on a paper towel, and set aside. Leave 4 tablespoons of bacon grease in the pot, reserve the rest for future use
3. Melt butter in pot with bacon grease. Add onions, garlic, and celery to pot and cook until tender (5-6 minutes)
4. Add flour to pot to make a thick roux
5. Add 2 cups of clam juice and mix well. Continue adding clam juice, stirring continuously, until the mixture is thick, smooth, and creamy
6. Add thyme, bay leaves, black pepper, and red pepper
7. Bring to a boil and then turn temperature down to bring soup to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes
8. Add potatoes, clams, and bacon. Simmer for another 15 minutes
9. Add heavy cream and parsley. Allow mixture to heat, about 1-2 minutes
10. Serve immediately! Garnish with a pat of butter and sprinkle of parsley and serve with bread or crackers.

Printable Recipe

Yum! Get ready to have an appreciative significant other after making this one 😁

*Side note* This recipe makes a huge batch! The hubby and I usually get 4 meals out of it, so it actually is pretty economical. We have a FoodSaver so I always freeze 2 large bags of clam chowder after we've already had dinner. The soup freezes and re-heats amazingly well.

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