Sloppy Joes on potato rolls & Ranger cookies

The Sloppy Joe recipe is originally from Cooking Light and oddly enough, I haven't changed really anything in it except that I don't use ground beef. If you are a sloppy joes fan, I will guarantee you this will be the only recipe you'll ever want to use again. This is definitely a family favorite especially when served on fresh potato rolls.

Most of the time I make it on the stove top, but I've also done it in the slow cooker and that is how it's being made this time. Substitutions for the slow cooker are noted in the Cook's Notes area.

Sloppy Joes

1 lb ground turkey
3/4 minced fresh onion
1/2 c. diced green bell pepper
1/4 c. diced celery
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. ketchup
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. vinegar
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 package of hamburger buns (or 6-8 homemade)

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large nonstick skillet. Cook over medium heat until turkey is cooked through, stirring to crumble. Drain well.

Combine turkey mixture, water and next 7 ingredients in skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer mixture 15 mins., stirring occasionally.

Serve on buns.

Cook's Notes:
Since I am not using beef and just lean ground turkey, I rarely drain the meat mixture and instead cut down the water I add to 1/4 c. or so and because I always double to feed the whole clan, I use a whole 6oz. can of tomato paste. I don't bother measuring out 4 Tbsp.

When making this recipe in the slow cooker, I generally used dehydrated minced onions (about 2 Tbsp.) and dehydrated minced garlic (about 1 tsp.) I also add in all the water the recipe calls for. Cook on low for approx. 6-8 hours. The texture does change a bit cooking it in the slow cooker, but the taste is basically the same.


Ah lovely dessert! Haven't made cookies in a long while so I tried these today. YUM!

Ranger Cookies

1 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 c. Rice Krispies type cereal
1 c. quick oats
1 c. coconut
1 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.
Cream butter & sugar together. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.
In small bowl mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder & salt.
Add dry mixture into butter mixture a bit at a time.
Stir in rice krispies, oats, coconut & chocolate chips.
Bake for about 10 mins. or until lightly brown

Cook's Notes:
These have a really nice texture. I think next time I may toast the coconut first along with some pecans or slivered almonds. I think these are WAY better than regular chocolate chip cookies.

Three Bean Chicken Chili & Cornbread

So dinner yet again was a spur of the moment type thing. I remembered I had 6 chicken thighs frozen and I'm usually well stocked with dried beans so I decided to whip up a chili. It was pretty decent and while it had a little bit of heat, I toned it down for the kids.

As far as the cornbread, I am always in search of "the recipe" that has the flavor I'm looking for. The cornbread I love the very most is made at a local supermarket's bakery and has an astronomical price per small tray. I suppose I could ask if they had a recipe, but I'm terribly afraid it is from a box mix. So even though this recipe was not the one it was very moist and I will likely play around with it some more to see if I can get it right. I should mention that the "general" recipe came from the back of the cornmeal container. The additions and changes I made will be in the Cook's notes.


Three Bean Chicken Chili

6 frozen bone in chicken thighs
1/2 bag of black beans, dried
1/2 bag of red kidney beans, dried
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 can small tomato paste
1 can cannellini beans
1 c. frozen peas
1 large onion, diced
2 Tbsp. oil
2 Tbsp. honey
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. white pepper
Salt & black pepper

Soak beans either using overnight method or quick method. Boil chicken thighs in large stock pot until cooked through. Drain, saving cooking liquid. Remove meat from thigh bones and set aside. In same large stock pot, heat oil and add onion cooking for a few minutes until onion is translucent. Add in garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, peppers & salt. Add in chicken liquid to bring liquid level up to about half (doing this through a sieve will keep out any chicken scum). Add in thigh meat, beans, peas, diced tomatoes, tomato paste and honey. Simmer for about 2 hours or until beans are tender. Serve with Mexican blend grated cheese.

Cook's notes: So I pretty much whipped this up off the top of my head as I went along. I liked it although truth be told I'd prefer it spicier and thicker. The kids did really well with it although the littlest one hates anything that resembles a soup or stew.

Cornbread

1 1/4 c. flour
3/4 c. yellow corn meal
1/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. skim milk
1/4 c. oil
1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 400. Grease 8 or 9" baking pan. Combine dry ingredients. Stir in wet ingredients until just moistened. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown & toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm. 9 servings.


Cook's Notes: I doubled this recipe and made the following changes: I added one can of creamed style corn and 1 c. of low fat plain yogurt as a substitute for one cup of the skim milk. I also melted 4 Tbsp. of butter and poured it on top of the batter once it was in the greased 9x13 pan. I did not serve the cornbread with butter/margarine and it didn't need it. Both my hubby and the kids loved the cornbread so I guess this will be the go to recipe - I will play around with the flour to cornmeal ratio as well as the sweetness. If I get it right, I'll re-post my recipe.