Sloppy Joes

Best Sloppy Joe that I know!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 C ketchup
1 C water
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:
1.) Brown ground beef and drain off grease.
2.) Add in onion, bell pepper, and garlic.
3.) Sautee for a few minutes, until veggies are soft.
4.) Add all remaining ingredients.
5.) Simmer for approx. 15 minutes or until desired consistency.
6.) Serve on rolls or buns.

Serves 8.

Corn Casserole

Mmmm... Love this one! You may omit the ingredients marked with an (*) and use one box of Jiffy mix instead.

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 stick butter, melted
1 can (14.75 oz) creamed corn
1 C sour cream
*2/3 C flour
*1/2 C cornmeal
*1/3 C sugar
*1 Tbsp baking powder
*1/2 tsp salt
2 C frozen corn

Directions:
1.) In a large bowl, beat eggs.
2.) Mix in melted butter, creamed corn, and sour cream.
3.) Mix in dry ingredients.
4.) Add frozen corn and mix completely.
5.) Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Blueberry Cream Muffins

Yum, these are the best blueberry muffins ever! I think it's the sour cream that makes them especially delicious. Don't expect there to be any leftovers!

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 C sugar
1/2 C canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 C flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 C sour cream
1-2 C blueberries

Directions:
1.) Grease muffin tin or line with paper muffin liners.
2.) In a large bowl, beat eggs.
3.) Gradually add in sugar and vanilla, while beating.
4.) Mix in dry ingredients, reserving 1 C flour.
5.) Mix in sour cream.
6.) Mix in remaining 1 C flour.
7.) Gently fold in blueberries.
8.) Scoop into prepared muffin tin.
9.) Bake at 400 degress for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Tasty Burgers

These burgers were a hit! I tripled the recipe and froze half of them. They actually seemed to grill up even better when we made the frozen ones a couple of weeks later. When grilling the frozen ones, do not thaw to room temperature. Grill from frozen or allow to partially thaw in the fridge for a few hours before grilling.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 egg
1/4 C minced onion
1/4 C crushed bread crumbs
1 Tbsp Worcestershire
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:
1.) Mix all ingredients.
2.) Form into 3-4 burger patties.
3.) Grill up and enjoy!

Chicken & Stars Soup

This recipe is super easy and tasty! Depending on the amount of liquid and pasta you add, it can be more of a soup or a pasta dish.

Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 C carrots, diced
1 C celery, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
8 C chicken stock (I use water + Better than Bullion)
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 C star-shaped (or alphabet!) pasta

Directions:
1.) Place all ingredients (except pasta) in Crock Pot.
2.) Cook on low for 6+ hours or until chicken is tender.
3.) Shred chicken.
4.) Add stars and allow to cook on low for 30 minutes. Alternatively, you may transfer some soup into a pot, add the pasta, and boil on high for 8-10 minutes.

Serves 6.

Baked Pork Chops

Regrettably, there is no time for pictures these days, but I want to save the recipes anyway. These pork chops were delicious last night!

6 bone-in pork chops
1 T soy sauce
1 T lemon juice
1 T Worcestershire sauce
2 T brown sugar
2 T olive oil
2 T ketchup

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Rinse and pat dry pork chops. Place in a baking dish.
3) Mix ingredients.
4) Brush half of sauce onto top side of pork chops.
5) Bake pork chops for 30 minutes.
6) Remove pork chops from oven and flip each pork chop.
7) Brush the pork chops with remaining sauce.
8) Bake an additional 20-30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Creamy Sweet Potato Bake

I made this meal in my classic method - "I have these three ingredients I need to use...what can I make?"  I looked at a few recipes and created a plan... It turned out fabulous!  The recipe perfectly creamy and savory and brings the natural sweetness out of the sweet potatoes.

Ingredients:
1/2 C sweet onion, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
salt & pepper, to taste
1 tsp chicken bullion
2 large sweet potatoes, thinly sliced
2 C cooked, shredded chicken breast
1 1/2 C cooked brown rice
1/4 C flour
2 C heavy cream (or milk)
8 oz fresh spinach, chopped
2 C shredded Swiss cheese

Directions:
1.) Saute onion with olive oil and garlic.
2.) Season as desired with salt, pepper, and chicken bullion.
3.) In a separate pan (covered), saute sweet potatoes with olive oil until tender.
4.) When onions are tender, add shredded chicken and rice to pan.
5.) Mix flour into onion and chicken mixture.
6.) Slowly add 2 C cream into the mixture.
7.) Heat until starting to boil.
8.) Add spinach and stir just until wilted.
9.) Spread half of the chicken mixture on bottom of 9x13" pan.
10.) Place one layer of sliced sweet potatoes on top.
11.) Shake 1 C of cheese on the sweet potatoes.
12.) Repeat layers (chicken mixture, sweet potatoes, cheese).
13.) Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Serves 6.