Sloppy Joes

Ingredients


2 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 large green bell pepper, diced


1/2 large onion, diced

1 1/2 cups ketchup


5 cloves garlic, minced


2 tablespoons packed brown sugar


2 teaspoons chili powder, or more as needed


1 teaspoon dry mustard


1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more as needed


Hot sauce, such as Tabasco


Worcestershire sauce


Salt and freshly ground black pepper


8 kaiser rolls
2 tablespoons butter, softened
Chips or salad, for serving, if desired
Directions
Start by browning the ground beef in a large pot over medium-high heat. Drain off the fat.

Add in the green peppers and onions. Stir, and then add 1 cup water, the ketchup and garlic. Stir it around to combine, and then add the brown sugar, chili powder, dry mustard, red pepper flakes, and hot sauce, Worcestershire, salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine, and then cover and simmer over medium-low heat, about 20 minutes.

To serve, spread the rolls with the butter and brown them on a griddle or in a skillet. Spoon a good amount of the meat mixture onto the bottom roll, and then top with the other half. Serve with chips, salad or just enjoy it by itself.

Caramel Popcorn

1/4 cup Karo syrup (light)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cube of butter
1 cup brown sugar

Melt in saucepan until contents come to a full boil. Cook exactly 5 minutes. Remove from stove and stir in 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. Pour over popcorn (three bags go microwave, old maid removed). Put in two separate pans or one big turkey roaster-type pan.
Bake at 225 degrees for one hour. Stir every ten minutes. Take out and cool popcorn on waxed paper. Enjoy!

Grinder: Iowa State Fair Food

While I’m from the midwest (Iowa), a large majority of my family is from, and still lives in Iowa. Every year they go to the Iowa State Fair, and last year we finally had the chance to join them. This year I'm going to the state fair to experience the foods of my childhood. One stop will be a sandwich from one of those fair carts called a “Guinea Grinder”.

Some Italians aren’t happy with the name as its origins date back to when Italian immigrants were called “guineas”. It’s considered a racial slur and some restaurants in Iowa have even changed the name of this sandwich to plain old “grinder”. I read somewhere that the word grinder refers to the act of grinding your teeth back and fourth to bite through the tough bread in the sandwich, which would also indicate they didn’t toast them early on. No matter what you call it, it’s really delicious and freezes well too!

Finding a recipe for Guinea Grinders on the internet wasn’t as easy as searching for something more widely known. Because this sandwich is really only found in Iowa, there aren’t a lot of search results for the recipe. There were a few different versions, but the one I chose was closest to the one my husband enjoyed at the fair. They offer it with or without Mozzarella cheese and sometimes with banana peppers. I opted for the cheese but left off the peppers to keep it family friendly for the kids. The recipe I found called for a French loaf, which is what I used here, but at the fair they used more of an bomber type bun.

These were really good, easy to make, and as I mentioned, can be easily frozen. I did find that the reheated meat mixture seemed saltier after being frozen, so I would suggest adding a bit of water when warming it up the second time around. I also used shredded Mozzarella instead of sliced, which the original recipe calls for.

Guinea Grinders

This recipe makes 12 sandwiches. I made 6 and froze the other half for another meal. You could just cut this in half as well.

1 lb Italian sausage
1 lb ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
30 oz homemade pizza sauce (or jar pizza sauce)
4 loaves French bread, sliced in half horizontally
Mozzarella cheese, shredded

If sausage has casings remove them and crumble into pan with the ground beef. Brown both meats together until no longer pink. Drain fat.

Mix the salt, pepper, garlic powder and pepper flakes into the pizza sauce.

Put the browned meat and the seasoned sauce into the slow cooker and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or on high for 1-2 hours, stir once or twice during cooking.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Cut the split French loaf into 3 separate sandwiches. Repeat with second loaf. If making all 12 servings, repeat with 3rd and 4th loaf.

Pull a small amount of bread out of the bottom of the loaf to make a bowl for the meat.

Fill the bowl with meat mixture.

Cover the meat mixture with shredded Mozzarella cheese.

Place the top of loaf onto the sandwich and wrap the entire thing in foil. Bake for 15 minutes in the oven and serve.

Enjoy!

Melissa

Caramelized Baked Chicken Legs/Wings

Caramelized Baked Chicken Legs/Wings

Ingredients:

2 1⁄2 lb chicken leg

1 2⁄3 tbsp olive oil, (to help it stop sticking to the pan)

1⁄2 cup soy sauce

1 2⁄3 tbsp ketchup

3⁄4 cup honey

2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced

1 salt

1 pepper Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place chicken in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Mix together the oil, soy sauce, ketchup, honey, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour over the chicken. Bake in preheated oven for one hour, or until sauce is caramelized. Could also use wings or pork ribs.

Slow Cook Beef Barley Soup

Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Soup

 

Ingredients

• 1 lb. stew meat
• 2 tsp McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 potatoes, cubed and peeled
• 1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp basil
• ¼ tsp thyme
• 1 Tbsp parsley
• 4 C beef broth
• 1 Tbsp white sugar
• 2 (15 oz) cans crushed tomatoes
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 1 /2 cup quick cooking barley

Instructions

1. Season meat with steak seasoning. Brown meat in a skillet with the olive oil.
2. Place meat in slow cooker and combine with carrots, celery, onion, potatoes, worcestershire sauce, garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, parsley, beef broth, sugar, tomatoes, salt, and pepper.
3. Cook on low for 8 hours.
4. One hour before serving mix in barley, turn to high and cook until barley is tender.

Strawberry Margarita Jello Shots

Ingredients:

24-30 Strawberries
Margarita Mix

1 box Strawberry Jell-O
8 ounces tequila, preferably reposado or blanco
6 ounce Cointreau
Salt for garnish

Directions:
Strawberry Prep:

Cut the bottoms of the strawberry flat to get them to stand upright. When you do so, make sure that you do not cut off so much that there is a hole at the bottom.
Use a huller or apple corer to empty out the strawberry.
Once the strawberries have been emptied, use a towel to pat the outside of the strawberries dry.
Check each strawberry and make sure there is not a hole in the bottom before you start filling.

Margarita Mix

Boil one cup of hot water in a saucepan, then add in Jell-o powder and whisk until powder is completely dissolved, about 2 minutes. Set aside. Measure out 1/4 cup of cold water and set aside.
Combine tequila and Cointreau, in cocktail shaker filled with ice. Add liquour mixture to cold water and stir to combine. Then add cold liquour mixture to hot Jell-o mixture and stir to combine.
Pour final Jell-o mix into strawberries and chill overnight. Dip your finger in water or use a moistened brush to wet the edge of the strawberries, dip and rotate the strawberries in salt to rim. Garnish with cut lime triangles to finish.

Hillbilly Chicken Crockpot Supper

Ingredients:
1 bag of frozen tortellini
1 small bag of fresh spinach
2 cans of italian style diced tomatoes
1 box or 4 cups or vegetable broth
1 block of cream cheese

Put all ingredients in Crockpot, chunk in the cream cheese. Cook on low for 5-6 hrs