Sloppy Joes

Made these for FHE last night-- super easy and yummy!

Sloppy Joes

Recipe adopted from Rachael Ray

Serves: 4 super sloppy sandwiches

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons steak seasoning blend, such as McCormick brand Montreal Seasoning (I actually had some of this in my cupboard.)
1/2 large onion, diced
1/2 med red bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 to 2 tablespoons mustard
2 cups tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 crusty rolls, split, toasted, and lightly buttered

Directions:
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and meat to the pan. Spread the meat around the pan and begin to break it up. Combine brown sugar and steak seasoning. Add sugar and spice mixture to the skillet and combine. When the meat has browned, add onion and red peppers to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and cook onions, peppers, mustard and Worcestershire sauce with meat for 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste to pan. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to simmer and cook Sloppy Joe mixture 15 minutes.

Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, pile sloppy meat onto toasted, buttered bun bottoms and cover with bun tops. Have plenty of napkins on hand!

Baked Oatmeal

I wanted to start eating oatmeal more so I thought I'd try something new.  This recipe from MyRecipes sounded good so I decided to try it.  It didn't disappoint!

Baked Oatmeal

Try baked oatmeal for a unexpected morning treat. It's a mix between an oatmeal bar and traditional creamy breakfast oatmeal.

Photo by: Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Jan Gautro, Laura Martin

• YIELD: 5 servings (serving size: 2/3 cup)
• COURSE: Breakfast/Brunch

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked quick-cooking oats
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup raisins (or chopped apples, blueberries, huckleberries- any fruit really)
• 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts or slivered almonds
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 large egg, beaten
• Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°.
Combine the first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine the milk, applesauce, butter, and egg. Add milk mixture to oat mixture; stir well. Pour oat mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 281
• Calories from fat: 24%
• Fat: 7.6g
• Saturated fat: 2.8g
• Monounsaturated fat: 1.5g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 0.9g
• Protein: 7g
• Carbohydrate: 48.8g
• Fiber: 3.4g
• Cholesterol: 47mg
• Iron: 0.8mg
• Sodium: 171mg
• Calcium: 148mg

Search for Recipes by Nutrition Data

Easy Wheat Bread

I got this recipe from here.  The website is really helpful with some great videos.

EZ Wheat Bread recipe
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 Tblsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup honey or 1/3 cup brown sugar
2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour (or whatever combination white/wheat you like..I use 100% hard white wheat. To learn more about the different types of wheat, download my wheat handout)
1/4 cup wheat gluten
1 tsp salt
2 Tblsp nonfat non instant dry milk
1 Tblsp butter/margarine/oil
1 Tblsp vinegar
1/4 cup potato flakes (NOT potato pearls)
Mix ingredients in order listed in mixing bowl of mixer with dough hook attachment (like kitchen-aid) for 12-15 minutes. Let rise until double, 1- 1 1/2 hours. Punch down, and shape into loaf or rolls. Let rise again until double and bake 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and sounds hollow when lightly tapped.  (If baking in a glass pan, bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.)
If you are making this recipe in a bread machine, follow your bread machine’s directions for wheat or whole grain selection and add the ingredients in the order listed for their recommendations. (only one loaf will fit in a bread maker)

EZ White Bread
1 1/8 cups warm water
1 3/4 – 2 tsp active dry yeast
2 Tblsp sugar (you can use a little more sugar if you like your dough a little sweeter)
3 cups flour
1 Tblsp vital wheat gluten (remember you don’t need as much gluten if you’re not using whole wheat flour)
1 tsp salt
2 Tblsp nonfat dry milk
1 1/2 Tblsp butter/margarine or oil
1/4 cup potato flakes
(you don’t really need vinegar for white bread, remember the dough enhancers are primarily needed for whole wheat bread)
Add the ingredients in the order listed into a mixer bowl (like a kitchen-aid) with a dough hook attachment and mix on low for 10-12 minutes. Or mix it on the dough cycle in your bread machine.
After all the mixing is complete, if the dough still seems too gooey and you are unable to handle it, add 1 Tblsp flour at a time, and mix after each addition until the dough is manageable with your hands.

Let rise 45 mins -1 hour, punch down and use to make bread, cinnamon rolls, cookie sheet pizza, rolls, or anything else you can think of! Let rise after you have made your creation and bake according to the direction of the recipe you are making.

If you are making it into bread, form into a loaf at this time, place in a loaf pan, let rise in a warm place 45 min -1 hour and bake 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and sounds hollow when lightly tapped.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo with Vermicelli

This was yummy!! I didn't have vermicelli so I just used spaghetti and I didn't have fresh parsley so I used dried. I also used fresh, chopped and crushed tomatoes with tomato sauce. Don't you love how I always change and substitute stuff?

I got the recipe from delish.com.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo with Vermicelli

Ingredients

2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 c canned crushed tomatoes in thick puree (one 16 oz can)
1/4 tsp dried red-pepper flakes
1/4 c water
1/4 c chopped fresh parsley
3/4 tsp salt
1 lb med shrimp, shelled
3/4 lb vermicelli

---

Directions

1. In a large frying pan, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, 30 seconds longer. Stir in the tomatoes, red-pepper flakes, water, parsley and salt. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook, covered, just until the shrimp are pink, about 4 minutes.
2. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the vermicelli until just done, about 9 minutes. Drain the pasta and toss with the tomato sauce and shrimp.

Hummingbird Cake

First off, I love the name of this cake. It's not something boring like "banana pineapple cake", even though that's what the cake is. Anyway, I had extra bananas and needed to do something with them. I found this recipe on Bake or Break. I made it and loved it.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 1 cup vegetable/canola oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 2 cups chopped bananas

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 9X13 cake pan. Set aside.

Combine flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add eggs and oil, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in vanilla, pineapple, pecans, and bananas.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

After cooling, frost with cream cheese frosting. Garnish with pecans, if desired. Store in refrigerator.

Wraps!

Wraps are so yummy and so easy to adapt to anyone's tastes.  We've been making them lately and feeling a lot healthier- but that's probably all in my head as some of the stuff we put on these isn't the most healthy.   There are so many different ways to make a wrap- here is what we've been doing lately:

Ingredients:

10 in. tortillas-  Regular, Garden Spinach Herb or Tomato Basil
Cheese
1 can black beans
Cream cheese spread
Avocado sandwich spread
Broccoli slaw
Peppers- green, yellow or red
Meat-- sandwich or grilled chicken, turkey, or ham
Bacon bits
Olives

First I shmear the tortilla, usually I like to eat the Garden Spinach one, with the cream cheese and then the avocado spread.  Next I slice up some cheese, I've used Munster and cheddar- both are delicious, and put them down the center of the tortilla.  Then I pile everything on top, wrap it up and enjoy!

This is so simple and fresh. I just love the broccoli slaw.  It's an easy way to get veggies and adds a yummy crunch. The black beans are so filling and are good for you, plus they're cheap.  We've only had sandwich meat to make these but I think cubed grilled chicken would be fabulous.

So be creative and enjoy a wrap tonight!

Slow Cooker Pot Roast and Gravy

I made this yesterday. Taletha and I LOVED it. I've never made a roast in the crock pot and I was skeptical about my abilities and the taste but was really, really yummy.

Slow Cooker Pot Roast and Gravy
4-5 lb roast (I actually used a 2.5 lb rump roast)
1 pkg onion soup mix
2-4 c. water
1/4 c. flour
1/3 c. cold water

Put roast in crock pot. Sprinkle with onion soup mix. Add water-- enough to come about 1/2 way up sides of roast. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Remove roast and put in microwave or oven to keep warm.

Turn drippings up to high. Mix flour and water in small bowl until smooth. Add to crock pot mixture. Mix until smooth (mine had a few lumps but they went away). Cover and let thicken. (The thickening part was taking a while so I added more flour/water. It took about 1/2 hour to get the right consistency.)

Pumpkin Cookies

The easiest cookie you will ever make!

1 spice cake mix
1 can 15 oz pumpkin
1/2 bag choco chips (opt)
1/2 c walnuts (opt)


Combine spice cake mix and pumpkin. Mix to cookie dough consistency. Add chocolate chips. Drop on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350°F for 13-15 minutes. Makes about 3 doz cookies.

These are very, very yummy!

Baked Chicken

1 chicken, cut up (I used chicken breasts)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 soup can of milk
1 small can mushrooms
Egg, flour, salt, pepper and paprika
Potato chips

Combine flour, salt, pepper and paprika. Coat chicken with egg and dip in flour mixture. Place in casserole dish and dot with butter. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes.

Mix chicken soup, milk, and mushrooms. Warm mixture and pour over chicken. Crush potato chips and over chicken. Cover and bake at 250° for 45 min to 1 hour.

This is easy to make and I'm sure could be altered to suit taste very easily. I made mashed potatoes and used the chicken soup mixture as gravy. It worked well.

Mom's Cheesecake

1 pkg graham crackers
1/2 c. butter- melted
1/2 c. sugar

2 pkg cream cheese
1 cup sugar
2 - 8oz pkg whipped topping
2 cans cherry pie filling (or your favorite fruit topping)

Roll crackers until fine. Mix crackers with butter and sugar. Press into a 9X13 pan. Bake crust at 350° F for 5 min. Cool completely.

Cream together sugar and cream cheese. Fold in whipped topping. Spread over crust. Chill. Cover with pie filling or other fruit.