Coca-Cola Sloppy Joes

Unseasonably warm temperatures and college football meant it was another good day for using the crock pot.  Using ingredients that I had on hand, I decided to throw together some sloppy joes using Coke that I had in the refrigerator instead of brown sugar.  I stirred in a tablespoon of flour into the ground beef mixture to thicken up the joes.

Coca-Cola Sloppy Joes

1# extra lean ground beef
1/4 cup onions, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup red bell pepper, diced
1 tbsp flour
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup Coca-Cola
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp salt

Brown the ground beef (drain if you do not use extra lean).  When almost cooked through, add in onions, garlic and red peppers until it's no longer pink.  Stir in flour and cook for another minute.  In your crock pot, (or you can just add these ingredients to your frying pan) stir together Coke, ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire and seasonings.  Mix in the ground beef mixture and set on low for a couple hours until you're ready to serve.

Apple Cinnamon Rolls

The smell of apples and cinnamon is always one of the scents that make your house seem like a home.  And what a delicious way to start off your day and you can kind of convince yourself it’s almost healthy because there are apples in these rolls.  Make these the night before and let the dough rise for the second time (after you’ve made the actual rolls and put them in the greased pan) covered by plastic wrap in the refrigerator.  If you want an even easier way, you can buy the sweet dough frozen at the grocery store and allow it to rise for the first time before spreading it out and filling it.  I used a bread machine to do all the hard work for me this time.

 

 

 

Apple Cinnamon Rolls

Dough –

1 pkg yeast

½ cup warm water

¼ cup sugar

Mix together and let sit for 10 minutes

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan heat until the butter has melted –

½ cup milk

1/3 cup butter

¼ cup sugar

Put In your bread maker  -

4 ¼ cups flour

1 1 /2 tsp salt

1 egg

Add in the yeast and milk mixtures and turn on machine on the dough setting.

 

When done, spread out into a 12 x 18 shape and top with –

3 tbsp butter, softened to spread over dough

3 apples, shredded and mix in 2 tbsp lemon juice so they don't turn brown

½ cup brown sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

2 tsp flour

¼ tsp salt

Mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, flour and salt and sprinkle evenly over the buttered dough.   Roll up the 11” way.  Cut dough.  I cut in half, in half again and then half for the final time so you end up with 8 equal slices. And place in a greased 9 x 13 pan and allow to rise until it reaches the top of the pan.  Bake for 35 minutes at 350°.  Allow to cool before icing.

 

Icing

3 tbsp butter, softened

3 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1 ½ cups powdered sugar

Mix together in a small bowl and spread over cooled apple cinnamon rolls.

Apple Cider Waffles

They just don't make apple cider in small pint size containers.  When you buy a half gallon, you need to find all kinds of delicious ways to use it.  This is my second attempt at making waffles.  Last weeks were a bust.  So it was back into the kitchen to try again and this time with success.  The cinnamon syrup blended perfectly with these apple waffles.

                         Apple Cider Waffles

1 1/4  cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
1/2  tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 large egg, separated
1/2  cup milk
1/2  cup apple cider 
1/4 cup apple, shredded

Whisk all dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Add in milk, egg yolks, apple and
apple cider.  Beat egg whites until light and fluffy.  Gently fold
in egg whites.  Bake in waffle maker per manufacturers instructions.




                            Cinnamon Syrup

1 cup light corn syrup
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tsp cinnamon
1 dash nutmeg
1 cup evaporated milk

In a large saucepan, mix together corn syrup, sugar, water and spices. Bring to a boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir in evaporated milk. Serve warm.

Root Beer Chicken

It's Saturday afternoon and when you live in a college town, that means football.  The Dragons are playing at home and the game is on now while the Bison are playing early evening.  Time for an easy meal which usually means the crock pot.  I put this together at around 8 this morning so it was ready to go in 6 hours.

Root Beer Chicken

3 chicken breasts (approximately 1 pound)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp ground red pepper flakes (optional but they add a nice heat)
1/2 cup root beer
1/2 cup bbq sauce

Place chicken breasts at the bottom of the crock pot.  Sprinkle seasonings evenly on top.  In a small bowl (or in your measuring cup if it's big enough) stir together the root beer and bbq sauce and pour into the crock pot.  Heat on medium for 6 hours.  Fork shred and serve on toasted buns.

Minestrone Soup

Fall means the beginning of soup season.  Last night, I combined meatless Monday and soup with this hearty minestrone soup full of delicious beans and vegetables.  I was going to have green beans in the soup instead of peas but when I opened the freezer, I discovered 2 opened bags of peas instead of one being that of green beans.  It still tasted good and was nice and thick.  I did find a Parmesan rind I had in the freezer to add to the flavor of the soup.

Minestrone Soup

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup onions, minced

2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp celery flakes or 1 stalk of celery, diced

1 - 15 oz can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1 - 15 oz can light red kidney beans rinsed and drained

1 - 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

6 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup peas, fresh or frozen

1 cup pasta, I used small shells

1 tsp oregano

1 tbsp parsley

1 bay leaf

1 Parmesan rind (optional)

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in the bottom of a soup kettle or large dutch oven.  Add in onions and carrots and cook until tender.  Add in celery flakes and garlic and cook for an additional minute.  Add in beans, tomatoes, Parmesan rind, broth and spices.  Simmer for a half hour.  Add in peas and pasta and cook for an additional 10 minutes.  Remove bay leaf before serving.

Apple Zucchini Bread

It's zucchini season and if your family it dreading it...this is a tasty way to hide it and by peeling the zucchini and shredding it, they will never know it's baked into this moist apple bread.  

Apple Zucchini Bread

3/4 cup zucchini, peeled, shredded and allowed to drain for 1 hour in a strainer
3/4 cup apple, peeled and shredded
3/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour

Place the shredded zucchini and apple in a medium bowl.  Add in canola oil and eggs.  Stir in sugar.  Gradually add in the dry ingredients.   Pour into a greased loaf pan.  Bake at 325° for 50 minutes.  Allow to cool on a rack.  

Chicken Vesuvio

I'm always looking for a new way to cook chicken.  My Tivo recorded a show featuring popular foods in Chicago and one was Chicken Vesuvio that caught my attention so I decided to try it out.  I was a little leery about the amount of garlic but you only live once, right?  It was not overpowering at all.  I thought I had bone-in chicken breasts in my freezer but thawed out boneless and skinless ones and they worked great.

Chicken Vesuvio

3 chicken breasts

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground pepper

3 potatoes, pared and diced

6 garlic cloves, leave whole

3/4 cup chicken broth

3/4 cup white wine

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp thyme

1 cup peas, fresh or frozen

While the oil is heating in an ovenproof frying pan or dutch oven, season the chicken on both sides.  Brown the chicken and then remove from the pan.  You may need to add in a little more olive oil before placing the potatoes in the pan.  Cook until they've browned nicely on all sides and then add in the garlic for an additional minute or two.  Return the chicken to the pan and add in the remaining ingredients.  Bake for 30 minutes at 350°.