Thursday, March 31, 2011

Best Ever Sloppy Joes

I have learned that there is no point in buying a can of sloppy joe mix when you can make it healthier and tastier from scratch.

Serves: 4    Prep Time: 10 minutes  Cook Time: 30 minutes

What You Need:

1 lb. ground meat (I normally use turkey but of course beef in the norm)
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped (I have also used a whole zucchini and it turns out great)
1/2 t garlic powder
1 t mustard
3/4 C ketchup (more if it is to dry)
3 T brown sugar
2 t Worcestershire sauce
1 T red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

How to do it: 

Brown meat with the veggies. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until well combined. Let simmer 20-30 minutes. Taste to make sure sauce is to your liking. At this point you may feel it isn't sweet enough (add more brown sugar) or isn't spicy (add some hot sauce).

I serve mine over a slice of bread and eat it open faced.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Weekly Menu

This week my menu came from Tasty Kitchens and all of the wonderful recipes that are submitted by home chefs from all over. I will give a link to all of the recipes I plan to use. Once I use them, I will give a review of the recipe at the recipe link and mention any changes I made to the recipe.

Monday: Meat and Potato Skillet
Tuesday: Baked Chicken Taquitos and Black Beans
Wednesday: Mexican Meatloaf, Broccoli and Steamed Rice (I steam my rice in chicken stock rather than water *edit* I also added half a can of Rotel to give it a kick)
Thursday: Beef and Broccoli with Basmati Rice
Friday: Ham, Cheese and Potato Casserole with California Blend Frozen Veggies
Saturday:
Breakfast: Pancakes and bacon
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Slow Cooker Fiesta Chicken with Mexican Rice
Sunday:
Breakfast: Fried Potatoes, Eggs with Cheese
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Sesame Chicken with Basmati Rice

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Monday

I bought an already marinated turkey breast from our local Aldi store that I had to pop in the oven for one hour. It couldn't get much easier than that!

As for our sides, I made mashed potatoes and a simple gravy and some steamed frozen broccoli.

Mashed Potatoes:

8-10 bite size Yukon gold potatoes, quartered
2-3 T butter
1/4-1/2 C skim milk
pepper

Boil the potatoes in enough water to cover. Once they are fork tender, drain and leave in colander.
Place butter in potato pot to melt over medium-low heat. Add 1/4 C milk and let it warm through. Add the potatoes back to the pot and mash. Add more milk if they are not creamy enough. Season with pepper.


Gravy:

2-3 T butter
2-3 T flour
1 C chicken stock
1/2-1 C milk
pepper

Make a simple rue by melting the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Let butter brown a little and the add in the flour. Cook the flour butter mixture for 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken stock in and stir well to combine. Add as much milk as you need to make it creamy and the consistency you prefer. Season to your taste with pepper.

Weekly Menu

Monday: Roasted Turkey Breast, Mashed Potatoes w/ Gravy and Steamed Broccoli
Tuesday: Homemade Sloppy Joes and Oven Roasted Potatoes
Wednesday: Barbacoa Beef, Corn and Steamed Rice
Thursday: Oven Roasted Tilapia, Bok Choy and Four Cheese Pasta
Friday: Beef Tacos/Burritos and Mexican Rice
Saturday: Look Elsewhere, No Food From My Kitchen!
Sunday: Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Chicken and Mashed Sweet Potatoes