Sloppy Joe's and Coleslaw

From Susan . . .

Slow-cooker sloppy joes

Makes 8 servings

Prep 15 minutes:  Cook 4 hours, 10 minutes

 

Ingredients:

1.5 lb lean ground beef

1 (16 oz) package ground pork sausage

1 small onion chopped

1/2 medium-size green bell pepper chopped

1 (8oz) can tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 T cider vinegar

2 T yellow mustard

1 T chilli powder

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1/2 t salt

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

8 hamburger buns toasted

 

1.  Brown beef and sausage with onion and bell pepper in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring 10 minutes or until beef and sausage crumble and are no longer pink.  Drain well.

2.  Place beef mixture in a 4 1/2 quart slow cooker.  Stir in tomato sauce and next 9 ingredients.  Cover and cook on high 4 hours.  Serve on hamburger buns.

 

Easy Coleslaw

Make 8 - 10 servings

Prep 10 minutes; Chill 1 hour

 

6 fully cooked bacon slices

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1 T sugar

2 T cider vinegar

1 (16 oz) package coleslaw mix

salt and pepper to taste

 

Crisp bacon slices according to package direction.

 

Whisk together mayo, sugar and vinegar in a large bowl.  Crumble bacon and add to the mayo mixture in bowl.  Add coleslaw mix and salt and pepper to tase.  Cover and chill at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours.

(Or as my friend's mom does, use pickle juice in place of the cider vinegar.)

Greens (Turnip or Collards)

Spicy Vegetarian Turnip Greens (Based on the Taqueria del Sol recipe)

Hands on: 25 minutes Total time: 1 1/2 hours Serves: 6

• 1 (1-pound) bag or 1 pound cleaned and chopped turnip greens
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2/3 cup chopped onions
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 2-3 teaspoons ground chile de arbol, red pepper flakes or cayenne, or to taste
• 1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes
• 2 cups water or vegetable stock or 1 cup tomato juice thinned with 1 cup water
• Salt

In a very large pot, cover greens with 1 inch water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until just tender, about 45 minutes. Drain well.

In a large pot, melt butter. Add onions, garlic and chile de arbol and saute until onions are softened. Add tomatoes and their juices. Add cooked turnip greens and water or other liquid and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Also found this . . .
Eddie's Turnip Greens
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
6 cups cleaned, cooked and chopped turnip greens
1 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 tbs chopped garlic
3 cups chicken stock
3 oz. margarine
1 tbss ground chili de arbol

Preparation:
In a saucepan saute onions, garlic and chili de arbol with margarine until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes and cook 5 minutes. Add cooked turnip greens and chicken stock, bring to a boil, boil for 5 minutes then lower flame and simmer for 15 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Dog cupcakes / muffins

1 cup flour
1 cup shredded carrots
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 ? tsp baking soda

Delicious, Simple, Easy Dessert!

Vanilla ice cream in a puff pastry with a raspberry coulis

When I was a kid, my mother was a lawyer, and hence rarely cooked for us during the week. But she came from a long line of great cooks, and she loved to throw a party. At her dinner parties, she used to serve a yummy simple dessert that I served to book club last night. I hadn't had it in years, but it was so easy and oh so good. The first time she made this, she made the puff pastry from scratch or maybe from phyllo dough, but it was a lot of work, and with a big party to prepare for, she learned found a great shortcut in using Pepperidge Farm puff pastry. They come frozen. But for now, leave your ice cream and pastry in the freezer.

Raspberry Coulis (adapted from epicurious)

10 ounces frozen raspberries
3/8 - 1/2 cup sugar
1-2 Tbs fresh lemon juice

Allow raspberries to thaw. Add all ingredients to a Cuisinart or blender and puree. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, stirring with a spoon to get the seeds out of the way. I'm pretty sure my mother used a tablespoon or two of Chambord when she made these, and I'll try that next time. Also, back when she made this (in the late 1980s) you could buy raspberries frozen in syrup. I can't find those anymore, which is why I increased the sugar. I think she made hers with a combination of raspberries and strawberries.

Once you're ready to serve dessert, preheat your oven to 425. Place what looks like dough disks on a cookie sheet and bake for about 18 minutes. Voila! They puff up, you remove the lid, and you have a pastry cup. Place a scoop of vanilla ice cream in it and pour the raspberry sauce right over. Be generous.

I think I'll have some for breakfast.

Stuffed Shells

This is one of the few meals that our whole family will eat. (Yes . . . I'm guilty of being a short order cook.)

Tonight I'm making stuffed shells and no knead bread. This recipe is modified from a recipe on allrecipes.

Filling:
1 2-cup container of ricotta (I use whole milk)
8 ounces whole milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (but not pre-shredded)
1 egg (upped to 2)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (sometimes I forget this)
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil

8 ounces of jumbo shells*

*For some reason, they seem to come in a 12 ounce package, so I use 2/3 of a package. Tonight this equaled about 28 shells.

Bring well salted water to a boil (1 use about 2-3 tsp of salt). Add the shells and set a timer for 1 minute less than the package recommends (so I'm cooking mine 13 minutes since it recommends 14-15). It's much easier to work with shells that are on the firmer side of things. If they're too tender, they will tear. Also, make sure you stir them when you first put them in the water and then again every so often so they don't stick to the bottom of the pan.

Meanwhile, in the cuisinart, shred your cheese using the grater, then change the blade to the metal one and add the rest of the ingredients. Blend the filling. Scoop the filling into either a pastry bag (which is what I use, with no tip added) or a large ziplock bag with the corner snipped. (Well, snip after you fill.)

Once the timer goes off for the shells, I drain immediately and rinse in cold water. I then begin placing them on a sheet pan lined with waxed paper. This keeps the shells separated and cool for filling.

I use my naked pastry bag (no tip needed) to fill my shells. That makes it super easy. Put a thin layer of sauce in a baking dish (1/3 cup or so). As you fill the shells, line them up in the dish.  My kids don't like chunks in their sauce, but a homemade sauce can be too much for this dish. We use Bertolli Tomato & Basil sauce, but I then puree it with the stick blender to get rid of the chunks. Anywho, fill your shells, then pour or spoon a medium line of sauce down the middle of all your shells. You don't want them swimming in the sauce, just flavored. Sprinkle some freshly grated parmesan cheese over the top of them all and bake about 25 minutes at 350.

Crab Dip with salt & vinegar chips

• 1 block of non-fat cream cheese
• 6 tablespoons of red onion, chopped
• 3 tablespoons of low-fat or olive oil based mayo
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 4 teaspoons fresh tarragon, chopped
• 4 teaspoons fresh dill, chopped
• 1 can of crab meat, 6oz
• 1/2 cup of cucumber, chopped
• Salt and pepper

Leave your cream cheese out at room temperature for about a half hour before preparing.  Add all your ingredients in a bowl and mix well, then season with salt and pepper to taste.  Chill for a half hour before serving....and of course serve with salt and vinegar chips...or any other chips or veggies you enjoy!  Short on time?  Make it the night before and refrigerate over night.