Chipotle Sloppy Joes

Ok, sometimes you have to embrace the inner kid in yourself, right? I randomly had a taste for a sloppy joe this week and decided it would be a perfect Tuesday night dinner. Now, you should know this isn't the first time I have made this sloppy joe and it definitely won't be the last. They are a bit on the spicy side and a lot on the messy side. If you are like me, you don't mind a meal that requires finger licking!


Chipotle Sloppy Joes
Cooking Light

Ingredients:

Cooking spray

2 1/2 cups presliced Vidalia or other sweet onion
1 (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 pound ground sirloin
1/2 cup prechopped green bell pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (8-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce
Hamburger buns (wheat)

Directions:

 Heat a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan; cover and cook 8 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; set aside.


Remove 1 teaspoon adobo sauce from can; set aside. Remove 1 chipotle chile from can; chop and set aside. Reserve remaining chiles and adobo sauce for another use.

 Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add beef to pan; cook 4 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add bell pepper to pan; sauté 2 minutes. Stir in chopped chipotle chile, adobo sauce, tomato paste, and next 3 ingredients (through tomato sauce); cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon 1/2 cup beef mixture over bottom half of each bun, and top evenly with onions and top half of bun.

Pigs In A Blanket

To celebrate America's birthday, we hosted an impromptu 4th of July party. Since we were last minute getting everything together, we needed a few fast and fun eats for the party.  I wanted to stick with an All American Cookout theme but without the hassle of fighting for the grill upstairs. Enter mini sliders (recipe to come) and pigs in a blanket.  These were so cute and so yummy! If you like pigs in a blanket then you will love this quick and easy recipe. The recipe makes about 72 piggies.. much more than you see in the picture. We brought them out in batches.


Pigs in a Blanket

2 packages of hot dogs
2 cans of crescent rolls

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Roll out crescent rolls and split each triangle into thirds. Cut each hot dog into three pieces. Roll crescent rolls around the center of hot dog. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Penne with Braised Short Ribs

I should really rename this blog to "Boops Scoops About Pasta." I would love to say it's by coincidence that I end up making so much pasta...but it's not. I just love it. I have never attempted to make short ribs before so I was excited to test my skills. Braising the meat took some time but the actual preparation was fairly quick. If you have the time, you should definitely try this recipe. It is delicious! The flavors were very complimentary and the short ribs were so tender I didn't even have to separate them from the bone. 

Penne with Braised Short Ribs

Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis 

• 4 pounds beef short ribs
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 5 Roma tomatoes, cut into eighths
• 1 cup red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
• 1 pound penne pasta
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I forgot to add this ingredient) 

Directions: 

Place an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Season the ribs with salt and pepper. In a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or ovenproof stock pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. In batches, add the ribs and brown on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the ribs and set aside. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, wine and mustard. Bring the mixture to a boil and scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Return the ribs to the pan. Add the beef broth, cover the pan and place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours until the meat is fork-tender and falls easily from the bone.

Remove the ribs from the cooking liquid. Using a large spoon, remove any excess fat from the surface of the cooking liquid. Using a ladle, transfer the cooking liquid in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the mixture is smooth. Pour the sauce into a saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Remove the meat from the bones. Discard the bones. Using 2 forks, shred the meat into small pieces. Stir the shredded meat into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and place in a large serving bowl. Using a slotted spoon, remove the meat from the sauce and add to the pasta. Pour 1 cup of the sauce over the pasta. Toss well and thin out the pasta with more sauce, if needed. Sprinkle the pasta with Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley before serving.

BBQ Cups

To top off my comfort food weekend, I also made these yummy bbq cups that I found on Big Red Kitchen. These are very easy to make and so delicious that you won't be able to stop with 1. I  have already put these on the menu for our next party (mini versions of course). The best thing about this recipe is its very versatile. Whatever you want your filling to be, I'm positive it would be good wrapped in a buttery biscuit! I think I may try a breakfast version and make a sausage, egg, and cheese cup.


What you will need:

                                                                
Thats:
1 pound browned ground beef, cooked and drained
1 cup barbecue sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's original)
1 T. dried minced onion
1 tube butter flavored Flaky Grands biscuits (10 count)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Mix first three ingredients and heat through. Flatten each biscuit between the palms of hands and place each in a greased muffin tin cup. Divide meat mixture evenly between each cup and top with cheese. Bake in 375 degree oven for 10– 15 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 10 cups.

Texas Chili

I found this recipe in the October 09 edition of Martha Stewart Living and I have been dying to make it. I decided there was no better way to welcome November and the upcoming chilly weather than with a bowl of homemade chili. I guess I should start by saying that I love chili but have never attempted to make it. This recipe was delicious and the beef was so tender.  It's a bit time consuming with all the chopping, soaking and seeding, but the results are definitely worth all of the hard work. Not to mention, we now have enough leftovers for the next few days. Christian and I both agreed that this will be made again. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Ingredients:
Courtesy of Martha Stewart Living


8 whole dried chilis (5 ancho and 3 guajillo , or all ancho)
3 tablespoons of safflower oil, eyeball ( I used olive oil)
3 lbs trimmed beef chuck, cut into cubes, 1/2 inch or smaller
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
7-8 cloves of garlic, minced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin ( i used quite a bit)
1 1/2 dried oregano (i used quite a bit)
1 28 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes, pureed with their juice (i used crushed)
4 cups of water
water for soaking chilis
2-3 teaspoons of white vinegar
coarse salt and pepper to taste
(i served over rice but this is optional)

Toast dried chiles in a dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant and blistered, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove stem and seeds; discard. Transfer chiles to a large measuring cup or bowl, and cover with hot water. Keep chiles submerged with a small bowl, and let soak for 30 minutes. Remove from water, and puree in a blender with 1/2 cup soaking liquid.

Heat a large heavy pot over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil. Season beef with 2 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Brown beef in batches, adding more oil as needed, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate.Add remaining tablespoon oil, the onions, garlic, and minced chiles to pot, and cook over medium-high heat until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. (If the pan gets too dark, add a little water, and scrape up browned bits with a wooden spoon to deglaze.) Add cumin and oregano, and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute.  (forgot to take picture of beef)

                               

Stir in browned beef and chile puree. Add tomato puree, water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer gently, partially covered, until meat is very tender and juices are thick, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. (Check pot once an hour for excessive evaporation; if chili seems dry, add a little water.) Season chili with salt, and stir in vinegar.