Sloppy Joe's - also known in central PA as Hamburger Barbecue

It took me a while to get used to people in Pennsylvania calling this dish "barbecue". I grew up in eastern NC, which has its very own unique style of barbecue. Having lived in Arizona, I knew there were varying definitions of barbecue. But, it still took some getting used to, nonetheless.

I got this great recipe from my sweet friend Nancy!

1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, diced

3/4 c. ketchup
2 T. sugar
2 t. Worcestershire
1 T. apple cider vinegar
1 t. prepared mustard

Brown ground beef with the onion, drain fat. Mix together sauce ingredients and bring to a simmer. Add ground beef mixture and heat through.

I like to put it in a crock pot and let it continue to simmer for a while.

To make as a freezer meal, you can do a variety of things: package 1 lb. raw ground beef in a ziploc and label it as "sloppy joe meat"; brown ground beef with onion, drain and cool, then package in ziploc and label; prepare the recipe as stated, let cool, and package in ziploc.

Awesome Shepherd's Pie

I follow this recipe loosely. (translation: I don't chop fresh veggies, I use a bag of frozen mixed veggies; I don't measure the worcestershire sauce, I like it a lot; and I use instant mashed potatoes!) It's still VERY good!

I found it here: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/easy_shepherds_pie/

Easy Shepherd's Pie Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs ground round beef
• 1 onion chopped
• 1-2 cups vegetables - chopped carrots, corn, peas
• 1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes (3 big ones)
• 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice

Method

1 Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).

2 While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 Tablespoons butter (1/2 a stick) in large frying pan.

3 Sauté onions in butter until tender over medium heat (10 mins). If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put any carrots in with the onions. Add corn or peas either at the end of the cooking of the onions, or after the meat has initially cooked.

4 Add ground beef and sauté until no longer pink. Add salt and pepper. Add worcesterchire sauce. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth as necessary to keep moist.

5 Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, season to taste.

6 Place beef and onions in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well.

7 Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown.

Serves four.

To make as a freezer meal, I fix the ground beef part and then freeze that in a ziploc. Since I use instant mashed potatoes and almost always have them in the pantry, I don't bother to make the entire thing in a dish. I thaw the ground beef mixture, put it in a dish, top with instant mashed potatoes, and bake.

Baked Sweet & Sour Chicken

This recipe comes from Mandi, a girl I met when I was in high school and living in Arizona. We are now both Texans.

She's a healthy eater--you can read her blog. She posts recipes and this was looked super yummy. We tried it and everyone in our family gave it a thumbs up! (I will admit I added probably 1/4 c. brown sugar because I didn't think it was sweet enough. So, I did "adjust it" just a little.)

Sweet and Sour Chicken
by www.trainermomma.com
adapted from Kitchen Kousins, Karalee Jones' recipe

2 lbs of chicken or 4 large chicken breasts cut in half, boneless, skinless
20 oz can of pineapple chunks, drained (save juice!)
3/4 cup pineapple juice
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
2 T. soy or teriyaki sauce, reduced sodium
2 Tb cornstarch
1 Tb chicken bullion
1 large bell pepper, sliced
1 stalk of celery, chopped

In a baking dish, place chicken breasts, pineapple, bell pepper and celery.

Stir pineapple juice, water, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch, and chicken bullion in a saucepan until boiling. Stir constantly until it thickens and sugar is dissolved.

Pour thickened sauce over the chicken and other goodies in the baking dish.

Cover with tin foil and bake at 350 for 30 - 45 minutes or until chicken is done. Serve over brown rice.

Makes 8 servings. 182 calories per serving (not including brown rice).

http://trainermomma.blogspot.com/2010/10/baked-sweet-and-sour-chicken.html

Dinner Tonight -- Wings, Homemade Mac 'n Cheese, Butternut Squash

I picked up some chicken wings on sale last week at Sprouts for just 99 cents a pound. Tonight I cooked those 15 or so wings. They were yummy. I used this recipe for breading and baking the chicken. I didn't refrigerate them, just rinsed them in cold water and squeezed them dry with a paper towel before tossing in the flour mixture. I used parchment paper (no spray) and baked them for a bit before rolling them in either buffalo sauce or bbq sauce.

Baked Buffalo Wings (http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/baked-buffalo-wings/Detail.aspx)

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 20 chicken wings

Directions

1. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and lightly grease with cooking spray. Place the flour, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and salt into a resealable plastic bag, and shake to mix. Add the chicken wings, seal, and toss until well coated with the flour mixture. Place the wings onto the prepared baking sheet, and place into the refrigerator. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
3. [Didn't do this: Whisk together the melted butter and hot sauce in a small bowl. Dip the wings into the butter mixture, and place back on the baking sheet.] Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and crispy on the outside, about 45 minutes. Turn the wings over halfway during cooking so they cook evenly.

I also made some homemade mac 'n cheese. Pretty simple. I boiled some mini bowtie pasta until it was tender. Then, I made a roux with about 1 T. butter and 2 T. flour. (Melt butter, then stir in flour. Allow to brown a little, then add milk gradually.) I have no clue how much milk I used. Once it was a decent consistency, I threw in some handfuls of shredded cheese. The cheese was a "Mexican" blend from Costco. I think it would have tasted better with more cheddar, but it was still yummy. Once the cheese was melted, I tossed the noodles back in and stirred it up. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Finally, we had some butternut squash. Simple and easy. It's good! I had one small squash so I used about 1/2 the recipe. (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robin-miller/roasted-butternut-squash-recipe/index.html)

Ingredients

• 2 medium butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 4 teaspoons butter
• 4 teaspoons brown sugar
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place butternut squash halves on a large baking sheet flesh side up. Place 1 teaspoon butter in the middle of each squash. Sprinkle brown sugar over each squash. Season with salt and black pepper. Roast 25 minutes, until flesh is fork-tender. Reserve 2 halves for future meal.

Navy Bean Soup

This recipe joined my collection in the spring of 2009. We had a ham for Easter and I didn't want to just throw away the bone.

This soup is super simple and very delicious!

Ingredients

2 c. dried split peas or navy beans (I've also used pinto and a mixture of other beans)
6 c. water
2 chopped carrots
1 lg onion, chopped (didn't have any, so just used some onion powder and it was still delicious)
ham bone
1 t. thyme
1 t. basil
salt
pepper

Directions

1. Rinse peas thoroughly.
2. Combine all ingredients in a crock pot.
3. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
4. Remove bone, cut ham off and return to soup. Discard bone.

OR

1. Soak beans overnight.
2. Combine all ingredients.
3. Bring to a simmer. Cook for 2 hours or until beans are tender.
4. Remove bone, cut ham off and return to soup. Discard bone.

Goes wonderfully with cornbread!

Cornbread - Sweet & Yummy

I saw this post in a comment on someone else's blog. We made it to go with a yummy Navy Bean soup I made. We all enjoyed the cornbread and the kids were asking for seconds!

I believe this is the Betty Crocker Recipe. It's pretty similar to the Jiffy mix, but made from scratch. It makes one 8 or 9 inch pan or 12 muffins.

1 1/4c cornmeal
1 c. flour
1/2c. sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/4c butter or margarine, melted
1 c. milk

combine dry ingrediets. add wet ingredients. (I melt the butter in a big measuring cup in the microwave and add the milk and egg to that before adding it all to the dry ingredients). stir until just mixed.
pour into greased pan and bake at 400 F for 20-25 min, probably 15-20 for muffins.

Apple-Stuffed Chicken

We had this tonight for dinner. I like to try new recipes and this one seemed to use items I already had on hand. The only exceptions were that I had Granny Smith apples and only apple juice (not cider). It was still a very good recipe--definitely a keeper.

Ingredients

1 Empire, Fuji, or Braeburn apple, cored and finely diced
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar
2 T. seasoned dried bread crumbs
1/2 t. thyme (use 1 1/2 tsp if using fresh, which is suggested)
1 T. lemon juice
1/2 t. each salt and pepper, mixed and divided in half
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 6 oz. each)
1/4 c. all-purpose flour, for dredging
2 t. canola oil
3/4 c. apple cider
1/2 c. chicken broth
2 t. Dijon mustard

Directions

1. You'll need 12 wooden toothpicks coated with nonstick spray. In a small bowl, mix apple, cheese, bread crumbs, thyme, lemon juice, and half the salt mixture. On a cutting board, lightly press each chicken breast flat with one hand; using a sharp knife, carefully cut into side of breast to form a deep horizontal pocket (do not pierce top, bottom, or far side of breast).
2. Divide the apple mixture into 4 portions and stuff into chicken pockets. With the prepared toothpicks, pin closed. Sprinkle the remaining salt mixture over breasts. Dredge chicken in flour to lightly coat; tap off excess flour. (At this point, chicken can be refrigerated, covered, up to 6 hours.)
3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and brown 3 minutes per side. Pour 1/2 cup of the apple cider and the broth into the skillet. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 5 to 7 minutes until chicken is cooked through and stuffing registers 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.
4. Remove chicken to a serving plate; cover with foil to keep warm. Whisk mustard and remaining 1/4 cup cider into juices in skillet; boil mixture 3 minutes on high until reduced and slightly thickened. Spoon sauce over chicken and serve.

Balsamic Pork Chops

I love, love, love balsamic vinegar. These pork chops are absolutely delicious. Lately I have purchased bone-in pork chops and they are even better! They seem to retain more moisture than boneless. And, I just season the chops with whatever I have on hand before frying them (garlic, onion, sea salt)

Ingredients

4 pork chops, pounded to 3/4 inch thickness
1 t. salt
fresh pepper
1 t. pork chop seasoning
2. T. olive oil
2/3 c. balsamic vinegar
2 t. sugar

Directions
1. Pound pork chops, if necessary, and season them.
2. Heat pan for 1 minute over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, heat one more minute, then add chops. Cook until well browned on both sides and cooked through, about 5 minutes total.
3. Remove chops to a plate and lower the heat to medium. Add vinegar and sugar.
4. Cook vinegar mixture until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.
5. Place chops (and any juices on the plate) into the pan and cook about 4 more minutes, turning the chops to fully glaze. Serve the chops with the sauce.

Optional: add shallots with chops and cook them in the vinegar/sugar the entire time.

To make this a "freezer meal", I place the chops in a bag already pounded and seasoned. The day of cooking them, I let them thaw in the fridge, then pick up the recipe with cooking them in the pan.

Chicken in Wine Sauce

My sister-in-law, Pam, gave me this recipe at my Pampered Bride shower back in April 2002. It has been a favorite dish of ours since the first time I made it!

Ingredients

1 package dry beef strogonoff mix
1 package dry spaghetti sauce mix
1 small can mushrooms, drained
1/2 c. white wine
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix dry sauces together.
3. Roll chicken in sauces to fully coat the chicken. Place in a 9 x 9 pan.
4. Pour wine over the chicken.
5. Top chicken with mushrooms.
6. Cover with foil.
7. Bake for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes, uncovered. (Check with a meat thermometer after about 45 minutes to ensure you don't overcook the chicken.)

To "freeze" this meal, I just place the chicken breasts in a ziploc in the freezer and label with the recipe. All the other ingredients can stay together in the pantry until assembly the day of baking.

Creamy Enchilada Casserole

My friend Erin gave me this recipe last December when we went to visit and she made this for dinner. It was easy and yum-o.

You can use canned chicken breast or some that you have cooked. I bought a whole chicken on sale, boiled it and then separated the chicken into several batches to be used in a few recipes. Plus, I strained the broth and now have frozen, healthier chicken stock in my freezer.

After making this dish a half dozen times now, I think I might add a few things to the "insides" of the enchiladas. More chicken and some cheese inside each enchilada might be nice.

Ingredients

1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 c. sour cream
1 T. margarine
1/2 medium onion chopped (about 1/4 c.)
1 t. chili powder
5-6 oz can of chicken breast, drained
4 oz. can chopped green chiles
8 (8 inch) flour tortillas
1 c. cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix soup and sour cream. Spread 1/2 c. of mixture into a 2 qt. dish (8 x 8 pan; not enough for a 9 x 13).
3. Over medium heat, melt butter. Add onions and chili powder. Cook until tender. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in chiles, chicken, and 2 T. soup mixture.
5. Spread 1/4 c. of mixture on each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in dish.
6. Pour remaining soup mixture on top. Sprinkle with cheese.
7. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese melts. (about 30-40 minutes)

This recipe freezes well. I made a double batch two weeks ago. We ate one batch that night and I froze the second batch and we ate it last night. Make the recipe as directed and then seal the dish with two layers of heavy duty foil. It's best to pull the casserole from the freezer the night before you plan to eat it and let it thaw in the refrigerator for about 24 hours. However, mine was still a little frozen in the middle when I placed it in the oven yesterday and it was fine; it just took twice as much time to bake (with foil covering it for the first 30 minutes).

Make sure to leave a comment if you make this dish. Let me (and others) know what you think!

Artichoke Chicken

I made this dish last week when a friend was coming over. It got rave reviews!

It is super easy and very tasty. I could eat the extra topping on a cracker...it was so good.

I used boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders, which had been on sale. I'm sure you could use almost any skinless chicken.

Ingredients

1 (15 oz) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
3/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 c. mayonnaise
1 pinch garlic pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine all ingredients (except chicken).
3. Place chicken in a greased 9 x 13 dish and cover with artichoke mixture.
4. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until juices run clear when the chicken is pierced. (I use a meat thermometer to ensure it's cooked through but not overdone.)

I found this recipe on makelifedelicious.com

If you try this recipe, please make sure to come back and comment.

Big Batch Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 c. chopped onions
1 c. thinly sliced celery
2 t. Italian seasoning
3 (14 1/2 oz) cans chicken broth [I use 5 1/2 c. water and 5 t. Better Than Bouillon chicken base]
1 can diced tomatoes
2 T. tomato paste
8 c. vegetables (carrots, corn, green beans, peas, potatoes, lima beans, zucchini, squash)

Directions:
1. Cook onions and celery in oil with seasoning until onions are translucent (medium heat about 5-8 minutes)
2. Add broth, tomatoes (in juice), paste, and 3 cups water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook uncovered 20 minutes.
3. Add veggies. Simmer uncovered until tender, about 20 minutes.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
*I used the following vegetables for my "8 cups"--3 medium-sized carrots, 2 zucchini, 2 squash, 1 cup corn, 1 drained can of green beans. I also happened to have a piece of leftover chicken, so I shredded the meat and threw that in too!

Pizza Meatloaf

I have to admit that every time I have this dish prepared in my freezer, for some reason I think "I guess we'll have that meatloaf for dinner". Then, I prepare it and we all love it to pieces. I don't know what I have a ho-hum attitude about it. Maybe there's just something about the name meatloaf. The loaf part makes me think of some processed, bland, nastiness.

However, this meatloaf is far from bland and always gets rave reviews around our house. Even my picky eater who dislikes ground beef will eat her helping with little fuss. I usually serve this dish with mashed potatoes and a green veggie. This week we had asparagus (rolled in olive oil and sprinkled with salt & pepper, then roasted in the oven at 375 degrees for about 12-15 minutes). That same pickier eater also devoured the asparagus, claiming "I love these things!" It was a good dinner that night.
One more thing to note: This recipe makes two dinner portions. Half of this recipe feeds our family (2 adults, 3 young children) with 2 portions left over for the next day.

INGREDIENTS

1 envelope onion soup mix
2 lbs lean ground beef
1 lb bulk breakfast sausage
3 eggs
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup pasta sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Divide the mixture into two batches. Place each batch in a quart size freezer bag.

To cook, thaw the meat completely. Place in a loaf pan. Top with 1/4 - 1/2 cup pasta sauce. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes. Top with 1/2 - 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese and cook 5 additional minutes. Let stand before serving.

Chicken Fajitas

I buy boneless, skinless chicken breast in bulk when it's on sale and then prepare the meat in a variety of recipes and freeze them. When it's time to decide what to eat for dinner, I have meals already half prepared and not just packages of frozen meat. It's my "sort of" freezer cooking method.

One of our favorite chicken recipes is this fajita marinade. I prepare the meat and freeze it, then when it's time to cook it, I made sure I have tortillas, cheese, sour cream, and salsa. We like to have tortillas chips, refried beans, Mexican rice, and/or a salad alongside these yummy fajitas.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (3-4 large breasts)
• green pepper (I use 2)
• onion (I use 2)
  

marinade:

• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup Worchestshire sauce
• 2 tablespoons dry mustard
• 1 cup oil (any kind)
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons parsley
  

DIRECTIONS

Mix marinade ingredients together and pour in a ziploc bag. Add chicken, green pepper strips, and onion strips. Seal and double bag if freezing. This full recipe serves 6-8 adults, depending on appetite.

Last night I made 1/2 the recipe and fed 4 adults and 4 young children. Yum. Yum!