Sloppy Erica's...I mean Sloppy Joes!

When I was a kid, my parents used to make Sloppy Joe's from that canned Manwich (that we called Mammwich) stuff.  I was never very fond of Sloppy Joe's as a result.  This week my friend invited us over to dinner and told me when we arrived that we were having Sloppy Joe's.  My stomach immediately seized and I was worried I was going to gag.  LOL!!!  But when I saw fresh ingredients on the counter top, my stomach unclenched a little.  This is a fun recipe my friend Erica found from a crock pot cook book (Crock Pot's Busy Family Recipe's), but being impatient like me, we cooked it on the stove top to make it a faster recipe.  HOLY MOSES!!!  I am a fan of Sloppy Joe's...in fact, I think I'll stop calling them Sloppy Joe's and call them Sloppy Erica's to honor my friend for introducing me to this recipe!

Campfired -Up Sloppy Erica's Joes:
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup barbecue sauce (we used KC's Masterpiece)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 can (8 ounces) baked beans
6 kaiser rolls, split and warmed
Shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (optional)

Brown ground beef, onion, bell pepper and garlic 6 to 8 minutes in large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring to break up meat.  Drain and discard excess fat.  Transfer to Crock Pot Slow Cooker (which we neglected to do).

Combine ketchup, barbecue sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and chili powder in a small bowl.  Transfer to Crock Pot slow cooker (we just added this to the meat).

Add baked beans.  Stir well to combine.  cover, cook on HIGH 3 hours.  Or just simmer on the stove until you so damn hunger you can't stand it!

To serve, place 1/3 cup Sloppy Joe/Erica mixture on bottom halves of rolls.  Sprinkle with cheese, if desired, before covering with roll top.

ENJOY YOUR SLOPPY MESS!!!

The BBQ flavor through out this recipe takes these Sloppy Joe's OVER THE TOP!!!  I am a sucker for BBQ so this made me feel like I was eating BBQ beef.  Hmmmm....now I want more!!!


Thanks so much for having us to dinner, Erica!!!!

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I have to thank a fellow blogger for this recipe. Beth and Nate from Our Sweet Life posted this recipe and I had to try it. I LOVE cute little meals. It is like dim sum...you get a little bit of everything!

I deviated a little from the author's recipe because I didn't have all day to wait for the crock pot. So what did I do? I pulled out the trusty pressure cooker. I used the pressure cooker because I wanted to make sure last night's triumph with the Red Beans and Rice wasn't a fluke.

I was nervous using the pressure cooker for meat. I struggle with meat in general. I either over cook it or undercook it and neither is a good option. I started out seasoning 1 1/2 pounds of pork tenderloin with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.

Then I browned the tenderloin with 1 tablespoon of olive oil at the bottom of the pressure cooker. I added two 12 oz. bottles of Virgils Micro Brew Rootbeer and brought the pressure cooker to the second line for 15 minutes. In the mean time, I cooked up a can of store bought biscuits in the oven according to the instructions on the package. Fortunately, it was the same time frame as the pork.

When the pork was done, I cut it up into smaller pieces because it doesn't pull apart the same way a pork shoulder would. That is a good thing from my perspective. Pork tenderloin doesn't have as much fat as other cuts of pork...which ALSO made me nervous. I was worried the whole thing would come out tough and nasty.

Guess what? It was fabulous and tender!!!

I chop it up and put it back into the cooking juices for a couple of minutes so it could take in additional moisture. I drained the pork of all but a 1/4 cup of the juices and added 1/2 cup of Famous Dave's Texas Pit BBQ sauce. Famous Dave's is Alex's FAVORITE BBQ place. He goes there minimum once a week with the boys from work. I digress...

I cracked open one of the biscuits, stuffed it full with pork and added a little extra BBQ sauce. Oh my goodness!! Pure yumminess! I am in LOVE with my pressure cooker. Talk about fast food! From start to finish this took me a total of 20-25 minutes! Had I been thinking, I would have made a side of cole slaw to put on top of the sandwich. Thanks for the great recipe Beth and Nate from Our Sweet Life. The recipe ROCKS!!!

Kabobs!

"You mean one of my meals makes the internet?" This is what Alex said to me when I whipped out my camera and started snapping pictures of his kabobs. My cute husband called me at work today and told me it was 'Wife Appreciation Day' today and he was making me a yummy dinner. WHOOHOO for me!

Alex loves the BBQ. EVERY time he grills, he puts a pepper, red, green or yellow, on the grill and then shoves them in a brown paper bag. It makes me giggle because he is being so Food Network. It's cute. Tonight was no different. He put Jalapenos on the grill with a green pepper. The funny part is that the peppers are never part of the meal we are making that night.

Tonight our dinner consisted of chicken tenders, red peppers, garlic, onions, tomatoes, egg plant and corn on the cob. Alex prepped the grill to the point that the coals were nice and red and threw the kabobs on the grill. Towards the end of cooking Alex said, "I'm burning everything!" The egg plant came out a little toasty, but egg plant is kind of barf any way. I wanted to remind Alex that he could turn the heat down if we had a gas grill...but I didn't want to ruin wife appreciation day. :)

We had the kabobs over cilantro rice and it turned out fabulous!

Desert turned out to be grilled pineapples and mango. Pineapple is ALWAYS yummy on the grill, but mangoes...PURE YUMMINESS!!! You totally need to try the grilled mangoes. They might be a pain to peel and cut up, but it is 100% worth it.