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!!!!

The Best Part Of This Sandwich Was The Mayo!

I decided to check out a local Art and Farmer's Market yesterday and was a little disappointed with the prices.  Watermelon $7?  Really?  I know it is expensive for farmers and this HAS been an exceptionally bad year, but HOLY MOLY!!!  So I walked away with a fresh baked French bread and some basil.  I was racking my brain as I was driving home about what I could do with French bread and basil.  We had just had Italian food the night before so pasta wasn't really an option, so I decided to make pannini's!  

It's funny how an idea can sound so wonderful and grand in your head, but the execution ends up being something else all-together.  I imagined poaching the chicken with Italian seasoning, cutting up the succulent, juicy chicken, topping it with mozzarella and slathering the french bread with a pesto mayonnaise.  It actually turned out GREAT, except for the chicken...which was a pretty big part of the Chicken pannini.  :)

I poached the chicken with water and Italian seasoning and nothing else.  That was my big mistake.  The chicken was juicy, but totally tasteless.  I should have seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper before I cooked it and used chicken stock rather than water.

The BEST part of this concoction was the PESTO MAYO.  I will DEFINITELY keep some of this in my refrigerator at all times!  It turned out a lot like Green Goddess Dressing/Dip.  I am somewhat embarrassed to say that I slathered a slice of bread with this mayo and at it straight!

PESTO MAYO:

1 cup Mayo - I always use the low fat stuff...it just means I can eat more of it. :)

1 clove Garlic

1/4 cup Basil

salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in blender or food processor and combine.

I didn't think about this until I was uploading this photo, but I bet those veggie straws would be yummy dipped in the Pesto Mayo. :) 

Slow Cooker...Jamaican Jerk Style

My mother-in-law gave me a Cuisine at Home Slow Cooker Menus cook book and it ROCKS!  Cuisine at Home offers healthy recipes with GREAT cooking tips in their magazines.  Alex really digs Jamaican Jerk seasoning so I thought I would surprise him Barefoot Contessa style (you know how Ina Garten always surprises her husband Jeffery with some yummy meal when he comes home from business trips?) with a Jamaican Jerk-Chicken Sandwich.

I am so-so when it comes to Jamaican food.  I dig all the spices in the food, but sometimes it is a little unusual on my taste buds.  This recipe was AWESOME!!!!!  FREAKIN' EASY, too!!!!  If you are thinking cole slaw is blech...think again.  The coleslaw on top of the sandwich COMPLETES this recipe.  Notice the coleslaw is on the side in the picture...I couldn't fit it on the sandwich for a pretty picture, but we DID eat the coleslaw on top of the sandwiches.

Jamaican Jerk-Chicken Sandwich
3 Tbsp purchased Jamaican Jerk seasoning
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp each kosher salt and black pepper
2 bone-in chicken breasts, skin removed - I couldn't find bone-in and it turned out GREAT
4 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
1 cup breked coffee
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
3 Tbsp molasses
2 Tbsp seeded and minced jalapeno chile pepper
1 Tbsp minced garlic
6 ciabatta rolls
Mango Coleslaw

Combine jerk seasoning, oil, salt and pepper in a bowl.  Coat chicken with seasonings.  Place chicken pieces, bone side down, in a 4 to 6 quart slow cooker.

Stir together coffee, lime juice, molasses, jalapeno, and garlic for the sauce in a measuring cup with a pour spout. 

Add sauce to the slow cooker.  cover, cook on low-heat for 4-5 hours.  Remove chicken from slow cooker.  Remove and discard bones, then shred chicken. 

Return meat to the slow cooker, mixing with sauce in the slow cooker.

Serve chicken on sliced ciabatta bread topped with Mango Coleslaw.

Mango Coleslaw
1 pkg coleslaw mix
2 fresh mangos, peeled, pitted and diced (two cups)
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp minced jalapeno chile pepper
2 tspminced lime zest
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp each kosher salt and black pepper

Combine coleslaw mix, mangos and clinatro into a bowl. 

Whisk together sour cream, mayonnaise, lime juice, lime zest, jalapeno, garlic, salt and pepper;

stir into coleslaw mixture.

Panini's and Sweet Potato Fries

Funny story. While Alex's grandmother was in town, we decided to make panini's. Sounds harmless right? We bought some cibbatta bread to make the panini's. After 'grilling' the sandwiches up, we cut them into two. The moment I went to cut them in half I heard a loud crunch! Instantly my heart went into my throat. I was worried the sandwiches would be too hard for Alex's grandmother and her friend. Being the gracious, wonderful people they are, they ate them up! I just got a new panini cookbook (Panini by Melanie Barnard) and I already love it! I like to mix up my sandwiches when we make panini's and this cookbook helps us do just that. I found a recipe for Rustic Turkey with Brie and Apples. I know, apples on a sandwich? YUM! Not only do they add a fun sweet flavor, they also give an additional level of crunchy texture. The Brie is awesome!

Rustic Turkey with Brie and Apples:
2 tablespoons Walnut Oil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
Whole-wheat country style bread - or your favorite bread for panini
Brie cheese thinly sliced (I just spread the brie over the bread)
Smoked turkey
Granny smith apples cut into thin pieces
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
freshly ground pepper

The recipe in the book goes into detail of how to make a well manicured sandwich...I just throw it all together and cook it up. Giada de Laurentis turned Alex and I on to drizzling a little bit of oil on the INSIDE of the sandwich instead of the outside. It makes it FANTASTIC! I spread the brie on each side of the bread, placed the turkey and apple slices on the sandwich with the thyme and pepper. We cooked the sandwiches for 5-7 minutes until the cheese was a soft and warm.
The sandwiches looked so wonderful and tasty, I didn't get the chance to take a picture of the final presentation...we just devoured them!To go with our ultra fabulous panini's we made sweet potato fries that I scored from sarahscucinabella.com. This recipe was pure simple and PERFECTION! I'm not sure why anyone would ever eat regular potatoes after eating these babies! They were soft and flavorful. Skip the french fries and go for sweet potato fries. If you know how much I LOVE french fries, you would understand this comment speaks volumes!
Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries:
Serves 4-6
1 - 1 1/2 lb sweet potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (preferably the easy release kind).

Peal the sweet potatoes. Cut into strips that are about 1/2 inch wide on each side.

Place the sweet potatoes into a sealable plastic bag. Add oil, salt, paprika and cinnamon. Seal the bag and shake well to thoroughly coat the fries.

Spread the potatoes out onto the baking sheet in a single layer.

Cook for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes. Transfer immediately to a paper towel lined plate and serve warm.

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!!!

Chicken Salad Sandwich

Chicken Salad Sandwiches...you can never go wrong with Chicken Salad. It is total comfort food for me. I love all the variations you can create with Chicken Salad. I don't combine meat and fruit, but this is one thing I make a concession on.

I have been turned on to Ellie Krieger lately because she makes your favorite recipes healthier. As a result, I have adopted her concept of using plain yogurt in the place of mayonaise in recipes. She doesn't tell you to forgo the mayo all together, but replace some of it. So that's what I did on this one. You can't tell a difference what-so-ever! I have started doing this with EVERYTHING! Thank you, Ellie Krieger!

Chicken Salad Sandwich:

1 can Kirkland branch canned chicken

2 tablespoons low fat mayo

2 tablespoons plain yogurt

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

3 green onions

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup chopped pecans

Mix all ingredients together and put on whole wheat bread.

You can put any kind of fruit in this salad, any kind of onions along with any kind of nuts. I dig crunchy textures and nuts fit that bill. I also used the chicken salad as left overs in a tortilla with lettuce...you seriously can't lose with chicken salad!