recipe // sloppy joes

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I am a total lover of Pinterest. I don't spend hours a day sifting through pins, but I do use it almost everyday. It has honestly made cooking so much easier. Pre-Pinterest, I used to have bookmark tabs with links and links of recipes I'd like to try. It wasn't very practical, but it was all I had. Then along came Pinterest and this type-A organizer was thrilled.

I found this sloppy joe recipe just a few days ago (on Pinterest) and made it last night. Tim claimed it was hands-down the best sloppy joe he'd ever had. Go figure. It's a super easy recipe; there's just a few little surprise ingredients that I think give it that edge - like soy sauce. Have you ever put soy sauce in your sloppy joes?! Not me. So Tim thought it'd be a good idea to share this recipe with the world, just in case you were looking for the best sloppy joe recipe ever.

Sweet & Spicy Sloppy Joes
from Jennifer Hill Pallian of the Foodess blog

2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 carrot, grated
2" piece ginger, minced (I didn't have ginger on hand, but I'm sure this would give it another great dimension of flavor!)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs lean ground beef
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1-2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cloves
rolls for serving

Heat olive oil in a dutch oven or large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Sauté onion, celery, and carrot until soft, about 5 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, about one minute. Add the beef and cook until fully browned, about 10 minutes.
Stir in the ketchup, brown sugar, tomato paste, vinegar, soy sauce, and spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
Serve with split rolls and enjoy the best sloppy joe ever!

lunch time

Lunch is always a good idea, and can never seem to come soon enough. I used to say that breakfast was my favorite meal of the day, but I've been in sort of a breakfast food funk lately and lunch is quickly taking it's place. Since I'm able to run home for lunch, I don't always have to rely on leftovers. One of my favorite things lately has been to make a rice bowl consisting of white rice, black beans, salsa, cheese, and a few squirts of lime. It's filling, it's fresh, and it's fast.

I'm also a huge sucker for sandwiches, especially sandwiches made with onion bagels. Last week, while flipping through my recipe binder, I rediscovered a "recipe" I had ripped out of a Real Simple magazine awhile ago. It was a page of sandwich pairings and ideas, and this one really caught my eye.

source

Avocado mixed with fresh lemon juice, a few sprinkles of salt and pepper, topped with freshly sliced crunchy radishes. I have eaten this twice in the past 3 days. It is so simple, but soooo good! Watch out rice bowl, you've got some competition.

something new :: green smoothies

I am a pretty huge fan of smoothies, especially in the summer when the berries are ripe for the pickin'. And for months (maybe years) I've wondered about these so called "green smoothies," sort of envious of people who actually make them and like them because, c'mon, could it really taste good? They seemed revolutionary - fruits AND veggies in one swift swallow - yet I always imagined it tasting like a blade of grass or a bale of hay. Who knows why.  So this past weekend, I finally jumped into the world of green smoothies, and I am not turning back. I have made two smoothies so far and woah, so good. So simple and so good.

There's a million different ways to make a green smoothie, but here's what I put in mine:

Lunchtime Green Smoothie

OJ - just a splash in the bottom of the blender
banana - broken into chunks
apple - peel left on and apple cut into chunks
strawberry banan kefir - a splash on top of the apple chunks
spinach - a good handful

Blend. Pour. Sip. Mmm...

so peachy

I am still unsure of the distinction between crisps and cobblers, but I'm pretty sure this is a crisp. Peaches were on sale this week and knew as I was filling one of those thin plastic bags with several rounds of the fruit I knew I wanted to bake them and cover them with a crumbly, brown sugar topping. I'm learning that baking in our kitchen in the summer = hot hot hot. But I was itching to get flour on my face and pull something homemade out of the oven.

I adapted this recipe from a couple different recipes in my recipe box and cut it down so we wouldn't be eating peach crisp for the next 2 weeks. And turned out exactly as I had imagined - warm, gooey, buttery, and crumbly.

Peach Crisp for 2
Filling:
4 peaches, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp flour
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
Topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup uncooked oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter

• Preheat oven to 375. Grease a small pan. In a bowl, combine the peaches, sugar, flour, lemon juice, and vanilla. Toss and pour into pan.
• For the topping, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Divide the butter into small sections and cut into the dry ingredients. Pour and spread over the peaches. You can also dot the top with butter.
• Bake for 45-50 minutes.

family vacay, round 3 :: oh, the food

Just in case one big family vacation/get-together wasn't enough, we decided to do another, this time with Tim's side of the family. We spent 4 days in the pristine north woods of Wisconsin, soaking in everything that the slowed-down-pace of cabin life has to offer. Our gracious hosts (Jim, Karen, Kyle, & Tyler) showed us nothing short of a good time. After a few weeks of non-stop busyness and traveling, it felt SO good to wake up to no alarm, never know what time of day it was, and not hear one piece of national news all weekend.

Another thing that was great: the food. Oh my. Aunt Karen is one of the best hostesses and cooks I've ever met. Everything was not only delicious, but beautiful. There was egg bake, shrimp salad, Chicago dogs, cream puffs, cream cheese jalapeño dip, marinated pork tenderloin...I could go on and on. Amazing.

Other highlights:
Morning coffee on the deck
Wakesurfing (seriously, funnest thing ever)
Listening to the loons on the lake
Kayaking
Evelyn (it was her first trip to the cabin)
Evening pontoon rides
Food (see below)
Jam sessions in the "tree house"
Walk through the woods
Dinner conversations
Sunsets
Lawn games

smoothie love

I'm here to report on the carrot-pineapple smoothie I made this morning. And let me tell you...it's a winner!

Not only does it taste delicious and packed full of goodness, but it's the greatest summery orange color. Perf!

Carrot-Pineapple Smoothie
adapted from Real Simple

• handful of chopped pineapple
• two peeled and chopped carrots
• one banana
• handful of ice
• a splash or two of OJ

*next time I would run the blender longer to get a little bit finer consistency, and maybe add some vanilla yogurt. yum.

ameri-jello

This year's 4th of July was almost a perfect replica of last year - hot, hot, and more hot - minus the epic storm. It was one of those days where the best/most comfortable thing to do was stay inside, soaking up the air conditioned goodness OR be in the lake. Luckily, we've got connections and were on the lake for America's birthday. But there was a point in the afternoon when even being completely submerged in the water, it was still hot hot hot.

The only times we were not in the water, we were eating (and catching a few Wimbledon matches). And what were we eating? Butter braids, hot dogs, steak, cherries, chicken salad, and Ameri-Jello. It's never a real July 4th celebration until you have patriotic Jello.

4th of July Jello

1 small package each of red, blue, and lemon jello
1 pint of vanilla ice cream, softened
2 1/4 cups boiling water
1 cup cold water

• Put red and blue jello into separate bowls
• Pour 3/4 cup boiling water into each bowl and stir until completely dissolved
• Stir 1/2 cup of cold water into each bowl
• Pour red jello into mold (or mason jar) and refrigerate for 1 hour. Reserve the blue jello at room temperature
• Meanwhile, stir 3/4 cup boiling water into lemon jello in a bowl. Spoon in ice cream until melted and spoon over red jello. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Pour blue jello as the last layer and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Salute!

Lately...

• I have been very aware of all the blessings I have in life. Sure, there are always small things in my life that I wish were different, but as a whole, my life is good. Sometimes I start to wonder if this is a "calm before the storm", like God is getting me ready for something which sort of freaks me out. But I know and trust all my good and bad are in His control.
• We have been eating some crazy good food! I don't know how it happened, but nearly every single meal last week was a knock out, including this. Talk about yum!
• The trees have been exploding with green buds and fragrant blossoms, and it makes my heart very happy.
• We have spent our weeknights going for long walks around the neighborhood, grilling, and playing lawn games.
• I have been busy designing some wedding loveliness for a good friend of mine getting married in October. 
• All I think about every morning, noon, and night is the house! Although, I'm trying to be very conscious about not wishing away the days because I know I will miss this apartment and its coziness.
• We (and by that I mean me) have decided not to buy/drink pop anymore, and have replaced it with our new favorite.

Food fave

What happens when you combine avocado, lime juice, cilantro, and sour cream? Happiness. Yes, that's right. I found the following recipe in a Cooking Light magazine at the library and being a sucker for all things that have to do with lime and cilantro, I quickly pinned it and threw it on this week's menu. And on a scale from 1-10 this was a 27. 

image via

Ancho Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Slaw and Avocado Cream
adapted from Cooking Light


1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips
3/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp lime zest
2 tbsp fresh lime juice, divided
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tbsp milk
1/2 peeled avocado
2 cups angel hair slaw
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 tbsp canola oil
1/4 tsp salt
8 corn tortillas


Heat a large skillet over high heat. Sprinkle chicken evenly with chili powder, garlic salt, and cumin. Cook chicken for about 4 minutes.

Combine zest, 1 tbsp lime juice, and next 3 ingredients (through avocado) in a blender or food process; process until smooth.

Combine remaining 1 tbsp lime juice, slaw, onion, cilantro, oil and salt; toss to coat.

Heat tortillas according to directions. Divide chicken evenly among tortillas. Top each tortilla with avocado mixture and cilantro slaw.


Bon appetit!