Roberta's Sloppy Joes

Since I got to do homage to my Grandma Pete in the last post, I thought I'd honor someone else's mom in this one. No, it's not my grandmother-in-law, Roberta, although she's sent me some fabulous recipes. This recipe comes from my August-Mom friend Sue, straight from her mom's recipe cards. And every time I make it, someone asks for the recipe. Super easy, super yummy, super sloppy. :)

Roberta's Sloppy Joes

1 1/2 pound ground beef
3/4 cup ketchup
4 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
4 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons dry yellow mustard
1 bag frozen corn (that's my mom's addition...gotta have corn in sloppy joes)
Hamburger buns

Brown the beef and drain off any grease.
Add all other ingredients and bring to a simmer.
Simmer for 20 minutes and serve -- OR -- spoon the meat mixture into a crockpot and cook on low for 2-4 hours.
Serve on hamburger buns.

Baked Pigs in a Blanket

I have a confession. Hotdogs are my go-to meal with the kids. They are easy, ready quickly, and cheap. Nutritious? eh... probably not so much.

Still, even hotdogs need spruced up every once in a while. This recipe takes about 25 minutes, start to finish, and the end result is yummy enough for even the adults to enjoy.

Baked Pigs In A Blanket

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted cold butter cut into small pieces
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
3/4 cup buttermilk
8 long hot dogs

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degree F and grease a large baking sheet.
2. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a bowl.
3. Add the butter and and rub it in until the dough becomes crumbly.
4. Stir the cheese in the dough and make sure it is evenly distributed.
5. Create a crater in the dough and add the buttermilk. Using a wooden spoon, stir well and let it stay for around 3 minutes.
6. Turn the dough on floured surface.
7. Pat the dough in a rectangle that is about 15 inches by 7 inches.
8. Using a pizza cutter, slice the dough into 8 rectangles.
9. Roll the rectangles around the hotdogs and seal edges. Place seam-side down on baking sheet.
10. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Tortilla Roll-Ups

Easy Roll-Ups

The girls wanted roll-ups for supper tonight, so I made my usual pickle roll-ups. Knowing Natalie doesn’t like things too spicy, I made a second kind of roll-up with turkey meat. While I love the pickle ones, the turkey roll-ups were delicious!

Corned beef lunchmeat
Deli turkey, extra thin
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup miracle whip
2 tablespoons Ranch dip mix
shredded cheddar cheese
7 tortilla wraps

1. Mix together the cream cheese, miracle whip, and ranch dressing.
2. Spread cream cheese mix over tortillas.
3. For pickle roll-ups, place corned beef on cream cheese mix and spread pickle relish on corned beef.
4. For turkey roll-ups, place turkey on cream cheese mix and sprinkle shredded cheese on turkey.
5. Roll tortillas, jelly-roll style.
6. Place in refrigerator for at least one hour.
7. After an hour, cut tortilla roll-ups into 1-inch pieces. Serve cold.

French Toast Casserole, aka Hot Dog Bun Breakfast

Hot dog buns were on sale for 68 cents for a pack of 8. At that price, I had to pick up a bag, even if we don't eat buns with our hot dogs. Since we are big breakfast eaters around here, I decided to make it into a breakfast.

6 hot dog buns, cubed
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon alspice
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/3 cup Splenda or sugar
1/2 cup raisins
2-3 Tablespoons butter or margarine
Syrup or powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x9 dish with Pam.
2. Beat together eggs, milk, sugar and spices. 
3. Add the buns (cubed) and raisins until the bread is covered.
4. Pour egg/bread mixture into the dish.
5. Bake 40 minutes.
6. Add butter and about 3 tablespoons of syrup to the casserole. Bake 5-10 more minutes.
7. Serve with syrup or powdered sugar.

Katie added, "If you don't have a sugar allergy in your family, you could top it with a dusting of confectioner's sugar to make it fancy." I think she's watched too much Food Network.

Best Hamburger Ever!

My menu, which I made back in December, said "inside out hamburgers." And so, I bought some hamburger buns, thawed some ground beef, and got creative.

The Best Burgers EVER

1 pound hamburger, thawed
1/3 cup barbecue sauce
salt and pepper, to taste
1/3 cup cream cheese
5 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
5 teaspoons bacon bits
1/3 cup shredded cheese
5 hamburger buns
miracle whip

1. Preheat the grill.
2. Mix the hamburger, barbecue sauce, salt and pepper. Divide the hamburger in half.
3. Using half the hamburger, make five very thin patties and place on a plate.
4. On each patty, add a cube of cream cheese, a teaspoon of relish, teaspoon of bacon bits, and a sprinkle of cheese.
5. Make 5 thin patties with the remaining hamburger. Place the patties on top of the cream-cheesed patties. Seal the edges.
6. Grill the hamburgers. (Here's a how-to for the novice grillers.)
7. For extra pizzazz, toast the hamburger buns lightly on the grill.
8. Put a litte miracle whip on each top bun. Place the cooked hamburgers on the buns and serve.

Snack mixes

A friend of mine introduced me to the greatness of snack mix, especially when you have little kids in the house and lots of activities to run to. We have a few favorite mixes, but I'd love to hear what other ideas you have.

Chocolatey
Cheerios (honey nut or chocolate)
Teddy grahams
M&Ms
Raisins
Pretzels


Cheesy
Shredded wheat cereal
Goldfish crackers
Cheese nips or Cheez-its
Cheesy popcorn
Pretzel sticks

Fruity
Fruit loops
Raisins
Craisin
Banana chips
Teddy grahams
White chocolate chips

Upside Down Pizza

Continuing with our Alphabet January, we've made it to 'U'. Upside-down something...and since it's girls only tonight, Upside Down Pizza it is! I like this recipe because it uses pantry items and doesn't require Bisquik (that stuff is expensive!) I set aside some spaghetti sauce from earlier in the week, which saved me a dollar on a can of tomato sauce.

1 pound pork sausage
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 cup spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, or tomato sauce
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded mozerrella cheese

Brown pork sausage in a saucepan.
In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons flour, basil and oregano. Stir into cooked sausage.
Pour spaghetti sauce (or tomato sauce or pizza sauce) into sausage mixture. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix together 1 cup flour, eggs, milk, oil, and salt. Whisk until smooth.
Spread sausage mixture into a sprayed 13x9 casserole dish.
Sprinkle cheese on top of meat.
Pour flour mixture over cheese.
Bake at 425 for 20-30 minutes, until top is golden.