Sloppy Joes

I have never made sloppy joes from a can. I thought about it once, but when I read the ingredient list, there was no question that the answer was a resounding "No way." I hesitated to even try making them from scratch, since Grant had said he didn't care for them much anyways, but then I just took the plunge and tried this recipe from Allrecipes.

With a couple of modifications, it became an instant hit with my family, except for Corban (6.5), who complains that they're - you guessed it - too sloppy.

Recipe:

1 pound ground turkey or lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
3 teaspoons brown sugar
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

1.In a medium skillet over medium heat, brown the ground turkey, onion, and green pepper; drain off liquids.
2.Stir in the garlic powder, mustard, barbecue sauce, ketchup, and brown sugar; mix thoroughly. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve on buns of your choice.

Hashbrown Casserole

I made this for my MOPS group brunch last week and made an extra one for my family for dinner (to serve alongside sloppy joes). A comfort food to the max, it was very popular with the ladies and my family alike. How could you go wrong with potatoes, butter, and cheese anyways? I mean, really.
I used my homemade cream of chicken soup, but you could certainly use store bought if you wish. It would also be delicious with crumbled cooked bacon or ham added.

Update: I have also made this with cream of mushroom soup with equally delicious results....and I have decreased the butter to 4-5 Tablespoons and couldn't even tell a difference.  


Recipe:

1 (2 pound) package frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1.Preheat oven to 350°. Spray one 9x13 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2.In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, butter, salt, pepper, onions, soup and cheese. Gently mix and pour into prepared pan or dish. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes. It may look overly greasy, but never fear! Once it cools a few minutes, all that deliciousness will somehow sink into the potatoes and they will look and taste fabulous!

Note: If you use "southern style" hashbrowns (as I did) instead of shredded, you may need an additional 5-10 minutes baking time.

A Special Birthday Card

My 6.5 year old son gave this to me on my birthday. Brought tears to my eyes.

Banana Muffins (One bowl)

I modified this recipe from one here after trying to find a new banana muffin recipe on foodgawker.com. (Have I told you how much I love that website??)

I thought these were top notch. They were very easy to whip together and just had a wonderful texture and flavor. The kids adored them and wouldn't stop eating them. I doubled the batch because I had a bunch of very ripe bananas - but this is the single version. I think you should get 12 muffins out of it.

I substituted coconut oil for half of the originally called for butter - you can certainly just use all butter if you so desire. I don't think I've mentioned on here before - but I bought a gallon jug of coconut oil from Mountain Rose Herbs at the beginning of March. I've been adding it into recipes all over the place, like pancakes, smoothies, oatmeal, even sauteing chicken in it. It has tremendous health benefits, as you can read about here.

Recipe:

2 large ripe bananas, peeled
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
chopped walnuts (optional)
chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375°. Line 12 muffins tins with muffin/cupcake liners or grease tins.
Put the bananas in a large, microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Add the butter and coconut oil and microwave 20 seconds at a time until the butter is softened but not melted. (It is fine if a little bit of it melts).
Using a potato masher, mash the bananas, butter, and oil together until there isn't a lot of lumpiness left.
Thoroughly stir in the sugar, beaten egg, milk, vanilla extract, and salt.
Place a sieve over the bowl and fill it with the flour, baking power and baking soda. Sift the contents into the wet ingredients, trying to stir the sieve as you go to distribute the leaveners.
Fold the dry ingredients into the wet. Stop when they are just moistened.
Distribute the batter into the tins. Top with walnuts and/or chocolate chips if desired. Bake about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out dry.

Birthday Dessert

I deliberated long and hard about what dessert I wanted for my birthday. It's a big decision, you know. Especially when you're trying to be healthy and not indulge in such things very often.
I ended up choosing this.

Chocolate Turtle Cheesecake. (Now I'm just waiting for the perfect occasion to make my second choice, a Chocolate Overdose Cake. Doesn't that look divine???)

I hadn't had it in over two years, which is far too long and it was every bit as good as I remembered. I suppose we should have cut it into pieces and frozen them to spread it out...but no, Grant and I ate it this entire week after the kids went to bed.
Not our smartest decision.....but boy, was it good!

It Tastes Like What??

What is it with kids and eating boogers? Seriously!

We were in the car driving today and Annika (2.5) piped up,

"Mommy, I not eating a boogie".

Me: "Good! We don't eat boogies! That's gross!"

Marissa (4.5): "Why?"

Me: "Because they taste nasty and it's just not a good thing to do!"

Marissa: "No they don't. I think they're good."

Me: "Why, what do your boogies taste like?"

Marissa: "M & M's."

Well, how do you argue with that? If my boogies tasted like M&M's, I'd be eating them too. :)

Photo impossible

Ever try to take a family photo using a tripod and self-timer and actually have success in getting everyone looking the same direction simultaneously?

Yeah, us neither.

Well, we tried.

This was on my birthday a few days ago - no, I don't mind you asking, I turned 29......for the fourth time, if you must know (aka 32) - and we went to a nearby park for some pictures and a nice walk.

We got a fairly decent photo of the three older kids......but again, getting good expressions from them all at once is just impossible. I need some good photo-editing software.