bbq sloppy joes

this recipe is so simple and easy I'm kind of embarrassed to post. But now you know what kind of things we eat on busy weeknights :-) I like to serve it with a salad - especially fruit salad heavy on the pineapple.

***not sure if you WANT to see a picture of this.... it gets messy***

1 package of ground turkey (I prefer the super low fat kind) probably could use ground beef too
1/2 bottle of bbq sauce (pick your favorite kind to ensure you like the outcome)
whole wheat buns or pita pockets, or whatever buns/bread you have.

optional...
1/2 green pepper cut into pieces OR about 1/2 cup onions cut into pieces

brown turkey with onions and/or peppers, add bbq sauce until meat is well coated. Spoon a generous helping of meat mixture on toasted buns.

*Beef & Beer Chili*

I love baseball season because its American's pastime and for the great ballpark food. I always have to have a hot dog, nachos or cotton candy. I love having my hot dogs with some good chili, lots of cheese and of course a beer!! Hope you enjoy it! *Sorry I don't have a picture to post*
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups chopped red onion (about 1 medium)
1 cup chopped red bell pepper (about 1 small)
8 ounces extra lean ground beef
2 or more garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper, Ancho Chile pepper & New Mexico Chile pepper
2 teaspoons of ground cumin
1 tablespoon of honey
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
1 (19-ounce) can red kidney beans – rinsed and drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt added diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (14-ounce) can low-sodium beef broth
1 (12-ounce) bottle beer such as Samuel Adams or your choice. ;-)
1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 ½ cups of Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook 5 minutes or until beef is browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in chili powders, cumin, honey, & salt; cook 1 minute. Add oregano & next 4 ingredients and bring to boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in cornmeal; cook 5 minutes. Stir in lime juice. Top off with Cheddar cheese. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 ½ cups)

Italiano!

This was our dinner tonight. I like to make enough food for 2 nights, or whatever is leftover is for lunch the next day. This is a meal for 4 people. Totally quick & easy, almost like having take-out at home! From Rachael Ray 2,4,6,8 Meals for Couples or Crowds. I varied the recipes to my liking, and you can too!

Menu: Chicken Parm Meatball Subs & Shredded Veggie Salad

Shredded Veggie Salad **This salad is similar to the one from Olive Garden**
Ingredients:
2 hearts of romaine, shredded
1 medium beefsteak tomato, halved then very thinly sliced
1 small green bell pepper, seeded, cored, and very thinly sliced
1/2 medium red onion, very thinly sliced
1/4 cup hot pepper rings or pepperoncini, drained & chopped **I didn't add it in my salad, since DH is a fincky eater about spicy peppers.***
2 tablesppons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup of EVOO
Salt & black pepper to taste
1/4 cup shredded parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
In a large bowl, combine the lettuced, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, and pepperoncinis. Dress with the vinegar, EVOO, salt & pepper. Top it off with the grated cheese.

Chicken Parm Meatball Subs
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pound of ground chicken
1 tablespoon of grill seasoning, such as McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 egg, beaten
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
1 tablespoon of garlic
1/2 teaspoon of oregano
Handfull of chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
3 tablespoons EVOO
2 large garlic cloves, cracked from their skins & split
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, a couple of healthy pinches
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, or puree works, too
1 cup of chicken stock
Salt & black pepper
8 to 10 fresh basil leaves, torn or shredded
4 6 to 8 inch crusty sub rolls. I loved Sourdough or French bread from Sara Lee. Nice soft bread is just as good.
4 slices of Provolone cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Place the chicken in a bowl and season it with grill seasoning. Add the egg, half of the grated cheese, the bread crumbs, parsley, garlic, oregano, and a serious drizzle of EVOO. Combine the mixture & form 12 to 15 large meatballs, placing them on a baking sheet. *It's going to be a little messy handling the meat, make sure to wash your hands anytime you handle the meat.* Squish the balls to flatten them a bit - like mini oval meat loaves. Be careful not form the balls wider than yoru bread. The flattened balls will stay put on your sub---no roll aways! Bake the meatballs for 15 minutes, or until golden and firm. Switch the boiler on.

While the chicken balls bake, heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the 3 tablespoons of EVOO & the garlic & cook them for 5 minutes. Discard the garlic, add the red peper flakes and the tomatoes, then stir in the chicken stock. Season the sauce with salt & pepper and simmer for 10 minutes. Adjust the seasonings & stir in the basil. *You can make the salad while you wait for the sauce to simmer.*

Use a thin spatula to loosen the chicken balls from the baking sheet and add them to the sauce, turning the meatballs to coat.

Cut the rolls, making the bottom a little deeper than the top. *I love eating the middle part of the bread!* Hollow out a little of the bread and lightly toast the rolls under the broiler. *I toasted my bread & put the cheese on the bottom.* Filled the bottoms of the breads with the sauced meatballs. Cover the meatballs with the cheeses and return to the broiler to melt the cheese until it's golden. Set the roll tops in place. Pour any leftover sauce into a bowl, and serve at the table for dipping.

Enjoy!

Green Chili Beef Enchiladas

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound lean ground beef (at least 80% lean)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup sour cream
1 can (4.5-ounce size) chopped green chiles
8 ounces shredded colby-monterey jack cheese (more to taste if desired)
1 can (10-ounce size) enchilada sauce
1 can green chili sauce
6 (8-inch size) flour or corn tortillas

***GARNISHES, IF DESIRED***
shredded lettuce
chopped tomatoes
additional sour cream
salsa or pico de gallo

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 350F. In 10-inch nonstick skillet, cook ground beef and onion over medium-high heat until beef is thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain.

Stir in sour cream, green chiles and 1 cup of the cheese. Spread about 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce in 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish.

Spread about 2 teaspoons enchilada sauce on each tortilla. Top each with 2/3 cup beef mixture. Roll up tortillas; place seam side down over enchilada sauce in baking dish.

Drizzle remaining enchilada sauce and green chili sauce evenly over filled tortillas. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup (or more) cheese. Spray sheet of foil with cooking spray(optional); place sprayed side down on baking dish and seal tightly.

Bake at 350F for 45 to 50 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve garnished with lettuce, tomato, pico de gallo, and additional sour cream.

(Bethie's notes: This is also a great dish that you can prepare in advance - like before work - and stick it in the oven when you get home to bake for a yummy, hot dinner. Also, hubby can put it in the oven if you are busy. Fool-proof! ;) The enchiladas kind of fall apart and we ended up dipping it with tortilla chips. Delish!)

healthy, quick "pizza"

I keep the flat bread on hand in the freezer, along with canned tomatoes and will top with whatever I have on hand, but these toppings are my favorites. Serve with salad for a complete meal.



Ingredients:



4 pieces of flatbread (or pita bread)

1-2 cans of petite diced tomatoes (drained)

1-2 t. crushed red pepper flakes

~1/4-1/2 c. feta and/or shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 c. sliced and pitted klamata olives

fresh basil leafs torn in chunks - optional.

(everything looks better on china)

Preheat oven to 400. Spray a cookie sheet or pizza stone with non-stick spray. Spoon tomatoes over bread, sprinkle with red pepper to taste (I like very little, John likes generous) and top with cheese and olives.

Deep Dish Coffee Brownies!

Enjoy! I love chocolate & brownies! Here's the only brownies you'll ever make!

**For the chocolate I used, Ghirardelli chocolate bar & cocoa powder. They have the best chocolate ever. Coffee Liqueur I used was from Costa Rica, but I think the Starbucks Coffee Liqueur would be just as good, too.**

*I made a double batch of this last night because I brought it in the office for my boss's bday.*

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons canola oil
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs, cold
1 tablespoon coffee liqueur
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Position rack in the lower third of the oven and heat oven to 325 degrees F. Use an 8 by 8 silicon baking pan or line a similar sized metal or glass baking dish with foil or parchment paper so it hangs over the edges by about 1 inch. Spray the prepared pan completely.

I prefer double boiler method of melting chocolate. You would put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with 1 inch or so of water to a very slow simmer. Place the bowl over, not touching, the water, and stir occasionally until melted and smooth. It should be nice and creamy. *You can also melt the chocolate & butter in the microwave, but I hate the mess it would make!*

Stir the brown and white sugars, vanilla and salt into the chocolate mixture with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs and coffee and beat vigorously until fully incorporated and the batter is thick and glossy. Add the cocoa, flour and baking soda and stir just until it disappears.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake until the top is crispy and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with a few crumbs, about 30 minutes (40 minutes if not using silicon).

Easy Appetizer or Quick Lunch!

aI tried this for the first time this weekend and have done two variations since (Dave really enjoyed it). It's great as a quick, easy appetizer and can be changed to meatless, seafood only etc., really quickly. It's also great for using leftover chicken or seafood. 

Spinach Crawfish/Shrimp Quesadillas

2 large flour tortillas (or any flavor I used sun dried tomato and spinach)

1/2 lb crawfish or shrimp (pre cooked) (I used frozen crawfish, but I live in Louisiana)

(If using fresh seafood I would saute with garlic and onion and then add all those ingredients in)

Fresh Spinach Leaves

Sea Salt 

Cracked Pepper

Red Pepper Flakes

Mozzarella or Italian Blend Shredded Cheese (as much or as little as you want!)

Feta Cheese 

Pre heat on medium a large pan that will hold the large tortilla and spray with either olive oil cooking spray or coat with a thin layer of olive oil. Place your "base" tortilla down and add a layer of shredded mozzarella. Add crawfish or shrimp until you have a pretty good layer but it's not a mound. Add Spinach leaves, and season as much or as little as you would like. I put salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (sorry I don't have an exact measurement but season to your taste). Add another layer of shredded cheese and sprinkle on the feta (feta is optional I just like the flavor). Add the top tortilla and press with a spatula. FLIP! Then continue cooking until all the cheese is melted and the seafood is warmed through. Be careful to watch your temp and not burn the tortillas. Remove from the pan and cut into pieces (I used four for Dave and I and up to eight for appetizers). 

I put sour cream and salsa on the side for toppings and it was hit. 

I've switched it up as well using left over chicken breasts, stronger cheeses like sharp chedder and Monterey jack, salsa for seasoning and salt and pepper. I've also just used spinach and feta for a meatless version. It really was the fastest thing to make and everyone really enjoyed it. 

If you have questions please let me know, I know this isn't an exact recipe but it's great for a fast meal and relatively healthy (if you use low fat cheeses!)