Flashback Friday ~Sloppy Joes

This week for Flashback Friday I'm featuring a recipe that I've never posted before, but have been making for several years. Sloppy Joes! If you're looking for a fine gourmet recipe..this may not be the post for you. I would venture to say many of you already have a recipe in your head for this or at least have a store bought shortcut product that helps you put this on the table.

I always used one of those handy dandy mix packets but when I had a request for Sloppy Joes on night and found myself without my trusty packet I turned to a Ground Beef Cookbook put out by Taste of Home a few years back and tried their recipe. Over the years I've tweaked it slightly to our taste, but I can say this - I've never seen the need for the packet again!

My Sloppy Joes



Ingredients

• 1 pound groud beef
• 2-3 celebery ribs, sliced (optional or use celery salt)
  
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1/3 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp Tony Chachere's Seasoning or other cajun spice mix (or salt/pepper to taste)
  
• 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 6 to 8 hamburger buns

In a large saucepan, cook the beef, celery, onion, green pepper and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the next 12 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for about 30 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Spoon onto buns.

In my last post I showed some flowers that I had lost this past winter. How about a few shots of whats left :-)

Daylilies are taking over at the moment. I just adore this one. No idea what it's name is.



This is pretty sweet too


Even the old fashioned orange is pretty right about now
]

This red one is a very nice color


And a few here in the border


A cute little potentilla poking up above the blue hardy geranium.


This lychnis is out of control this year.




Etoile Violette clematis is one that blooms like crazy too.


The tall phlox is just starting to bloom.


I've got a lily or two


This veronica was tiny last year and I thought it was a low growing variety but it grew up!


One of my pots on the driveway. Love the geranium leaves!


Last year I had barely 10 tiny apples on my tree. This year *BANGO*. I'm sure I'm supposed to thin these or something but I don't have the heart for that.


Its Raspberry time!



Things are filling in around the pineapple fountain


My angel corner is getting really over grown. Who knew these plants would get so giant???


This is kind of cheating - I just bought it this past weekend, but lets just call it a fill in for some that I lost. Couldn't resist this pretty frilly coneflower.


Nasturtiums that live in my veggie garden


Red Bee Balm standing tall



This hydrangea is particularly blue! I love this stage...the yellow reminds me of the color of butter.


Hope you enjoyed the midsummer tour!



If you have a flashback of any kind that you'd like to add put your link below.


Joining in this week for:
Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum
Flaunt Your Flowers at Tootsie Time

Mosaic Monday ~A Cookbook Review

I was recently asked to review a new cookbook. Two things interested me about this new book. The fact that the author is a blogger was exciting. I love to hear about bloggers making it "big". And the subject of the book was of even bigger interest. Sandwiches! I like them a lot and Randy REALLY loves them. This is the guy that asks for ham and cheese instead of a hot dinner frequently. Or grilled cheese & tomato soup. Or tuna fish and cream of celery. Or Subway...

I have to share just how excited Randy was when this book was delivered to our door. I was at work and he called to tell me a package had arrived and he said if all of the cookbooks I ordered were as good as this one he wouldn't mind me bringing them all home. Normally my growing collection is a sore spot with him, so I couldn't imagine what book that I had ordered he was talking about(especially since I hadn't ordered any!).

Then he started reading the names of the recipes and even reciting the descriptions of some out loud and giving me a list of the ones he wanted me to make. Then the light bulb went off! It was the cookbook that I had been asked to review, The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches by Susan Russo of Food Blogga fame. Interestingly she dedicated this book "to all those hungry fellas out there who think they can't cook but can." She must have had Randy in mind :-)



The book is an encyclopedia of Sandwiches, so there are a few things you wouldn't normally expect to see in a cookbook..like peanut butter sandwiches..or ham and cheese :-) But there are also some great regional and original recipes and the descriptions & sandwich histories are inspiring.

Its a cute little chunky book with great pictures, including the jawbreaking Dagwood on the cover. I was pleased to see interpretations of some of my favorites like the Cubano, the Po Boy and my most recent fave, the Vietnamese Banh Mi.

Its alphabetically arranged, which keeps things interesting but does coincidentally put Heroes next to Hoagies! It also has a separate index of sandwiches plus an index of ingredients in the front of the book.

So since receiving this on Tuesday, I've tried three recipes..all under "C". The first was the Classic Club sandwich because Randy showed a high level of enthusiasm around this one. Unfortunately although I stopped at the grocery store on my way home I forgot one ingredient that I consider key, a tomato. But I went ahead and made it anyways. It would have been better with the tomato, but it was still great without. The club is one of those sandwiches that changes from restaurant to restaurant and home to home so I suppose that's okay.

This classic debuted at New York's Saratoga Club in 1894 according the encyclopedia. The best one I ever had was at a small diner called the Double V Cafe in my hometown of Alexandria, Louisiana. I wrote about it HERE. Here's my tomatoeless ( and fancy toothpickless) version.


And a shot of the recipe in the book


Saturday afternoon I decided to try something else. There are two chicken salad sandwiches in the book and I kind of combined them, but with a larger focus on the Curried Chicken Salad Sandwich. I planned on taking the leftovers to work tomorrow, but ended up eating them today instead. So yummy!



Curried Chicken Salad Sandwich

2 cups chicken (I used canned chicken with success)
1/4 cup julienned carrots
1 medium apple, chopped (a little more than called for because I lacked mango)
1 mango (I didn't have so omitted)
2 scallions thinly sliced
1/4 cup red onion, chopped (my addition)
1/4 cup raisins ( I subbed Craisins)
1/4 cup chopped cashews ( I subbed sliced almonds and added a little more)
1/4 cup mayo
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1-2 tsp curry powder (depending on how strong you like it)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp salt
4 slices toasted bread or buns

Mix first 8 ingredients. In separate bowl mix remaining ingredients until smooth and creamy. Pour dressing over salad & refrigerate before serving. Divide between bread or buns to make two sandwiches.

*Note: I ate it right away and it was still good :-)


Finally, for dinner Saturday night I went with a southern classic, the Chicken Fried Steak Sandwich with cream gravy. Very filling and very good! We enjoyed it.


I learned that Chicken Fried Steak is originally from Texas and was made by German immigrants as a New World version of Weiner Schnitzel.
Chicken Fried Steak

2 tenderized round steaks
2 eggs
4 Tablespoons milk or buttermilk
Several shakes of salt & pepper to taste (I added Tony Chachere's seasoning as well)
1/4 tsp paprika
4 tablespoons flour (I ended up using a little more than this)
4 Tablespoons canola oil

Cream Gravy
2 T flour
1/2 milk (I added about 1/2 c more)
Salt & pepper to taste
Hamburger buns

Trim steak of fat & tenderize if not already done. Whisk together the egg, milk, paprika, salt and pepper. Place flour in a shallow bowl or plate. heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Dip meat into egg mixture, then flour, then repeat. Place in hot oil. Fry 3-4 minutes, flip then fry 2-3 minutes or until crisp and golden brown. For gravy scoop 2 Tablespoons of oil from skillet in which meat was cooked and add to a small pan over medium heat. Whisk in flour, then gradually whisk in milk. Add salt and pepper. Lower heat and continue whisking until thickened. For a thinner sauce add more milk. Place steak on bun and top with gravy if desired. I put mayo and ketchup on bun and served the gravy on the side.

Overall this is a fun cookbook with a lot of appeal. I'd highly recommend! I only got through the C's with the review and I still have one more C sandwich I want to try. An English Chip Buddy. A sandwich of fries..how can you go wrong with that? Check it out when it goes on sale on April 5th at Amazon and I'm sure other fine bookstores.

I'm joining in over at Little Red House today for Mosaic Monday. Check it out HERE.

The Great Cooking Magazine Challenge ~Double Decker Truffled Grill Cheese

Its been a while since my last installment of The Great Cooking Magazine Challenge. Well over due given the stack of magazines I have :-) This is my way of making good use of my many cooking magazines and a challenge to all of you out there who might have stacks sitting around as well. Make something from one of them!

That's the challenge...will any of you take it and run? If so, grab the logo, link back to me in your post and let me know in the comment section of this post that you took the challenge. Then I'll add your link to this post. Now get to flipping through mags and cooking! :-)

Update!
Here are those brave souls that have taken up the challenge. Will you be next?
Carol at There's Always Thyme To Cook made Chicken and Yellow Pepper Salad from the August edition of La Cucina Italia.

Susan at Savoring Time in the Kitchen made Light and Lemony Potato Salad from the August edition of Southern Living.

Lynn at Happier than a Pig in Mud made Herb Spoon Rolls, also from the August edition of Southern Living.

Kate at A Spoonful of Thyme made Dilled White Bean and Grape Tomato Salad from the June edition of Bon Appetit



The May issue of Food Network Magazine has some great recipes in it. Lots I really would love to try and taste. This morning when I was looking through it, I was looking for ideas to use a half loaf of Trader Joe's brioche bread sitting on my counter waiting to go bad. I was thinking french toast, but ended up with grilled cheese instead! I'm sure Emeril's version was just as tasty, but I had Sandra's ingredients on hand for the most part, except for the fresh figs (I subbed nectarines).



There is one ingredient in this recipe, truffle oil that many may not have on hand and I think you could skip it, but if you run across any I would recommend picking some up. It has incredible flavor even using just a tiny amount. I found this cheapo version at TJMaxx which has mainly olive oil and a touch of truffle, with a spritzer to use sparingly. It doesn't take much but still lots of truffle flavor!



This was pretty tasty. I love sweet and savory in the same bite! If you like Monte Cristos dipped in raspberry jam or turkey & cranberry sauce sandwiches, you will probably like this.

Double-Decker Truffled Grilled Cheese

Courtesy of Sandra Lee for Food Network Magazine

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 to 3 teaspoons truffle oil
• 6 thin slices challah bread (I used brioche)
  
• 7 ounces brie cheese, sliced, rind removed
• 4 fresh figs, sliced (I used nectarine slices)
  
• 6 ounces monterey jack cheese, sliced
• 1/2 cup fig preserves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Melt 3 tablespoons butter with 1 teaspoon truffle oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add 2 slices bread, and toast on both sides. Set the toast aside and reserve the skillet.

Lay out one slice of untoasted bread. Top with one-quarter each of the brie, figs and jack cheese, then a slice of toasted bread, then another layer of brie, figs and jack. Close with a slice of untoasted bread. Repeat to make another double-decker sandwich.

Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons butter with the remaining 1 to 2 teaspoons truffle oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add the sandwiches and cook until golden on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook until golden on the other side, about 2 more minutes, then transfer the skillet to the oven and cook until the cheese is melted, 6 to 8 minutes. Serve with the fig preserves.

It made a great Saturday brunchy meal for a rainy August morning. Good thing I brought a little Kitchen Bouquet inside to enjoy :-)

Flashback and Foodie Friday ~In the Bag

For this Friday's Flashback I'm flashing WAY back to the 80's when I was in high school and monogrammed purses and bags and sweaters and ties and sheets and just about anything you can imagine monogrammed was popular. It was the preppy craze :-)


I was far from born into a preppy family so my monograms were far and few between but I did have a monogrammed purse that I loved. I've been seeing a lot of monogrammed stuff lately and having been thinking of buying something...anything with my monogram on it. Enter the nice people at Simply-Bags! They have a fabulous assortment of Totes that they will monogram for you so you can be back in retro style :-) They were kind enough to send this huge tote to me...big enough for a baguette and tons of veggies from the farmer's market. And BONUS....I got me a monogram :-)



I love it! There are a few more bags of theirs that I'd love to have...this one is a favorite.


Go check em out :-)

I have one more flashback this week...also known as leftovers! Some of you might cringe, but I have a hard time throwing food out so I like to save or freeze my leftovers for future easy meals. Earlier in the week we had barbecue beef (was supposed to be pork, but beef was in my freezer!) on buns. It looked something like or maybe EXACTLY like this...



Last night it looked like this



Which also brings me back to the 80's when I used to eat these BBQ beef stuffed baked potatoes at a restaurant called Luther's BBQ..now known as Outlaws, in the town where I grew up. Never mind the ones I ate more recently at Bodacious BBQ in Bossier City, La. They are SO good...trust me.

My recipe for the BBQ Beef is pretty simple. Put a seasoned (Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, garlic salt, & onion powder) roast (pork or beef) in a crockpot, cover with your favorite BBQ sauce, a big squirt or two of ketchup, a splash of coca cola and some honey and cook down all day on low. Remove roast and shred with a fork then return to crockpot and cook for 20-30 more minutes. Done. Serve on buns or on baked potatoes with cheese, sour cream, bacon and chives as your toppings.



If you've got a flashback of any kind....old post, picture, recipe, memory....ANYTHING...join me by putting your post below and linking back to my blog. You can borrow the logo too if you'd like.


I'm also joining Foodie Friday over at Designs by Gollum. Lots of neat foodie posts so go take a peek HERE.

Mosaic Monday ~Violas Plus Brownie & Bun Fun

Saturday I went to a Plant Swap and had a lot of fun. It's just what it sounds like...people bring their extra and divided plants and a big trade ensues. Sometimes people want nothing in exchange and sometimes people have nothing to share, but in the end it all works out and typically there is a potluck to top it all off. It did rain during much of the swap so I didn't take the camera out but I thought I'd share the goodie that I brought. I call them Heavenly Hash Brownies...but you could call them Mississippi Mud cake or Marshmallow brownies



I got the recipe via my good friend Barb at Foley's Follies who was inspired by southern celeb cook Paula Deen. I took a cue from Barb and used my favorite boxed brownie mix...


Heavenly Hash Brownies

Cook brownies as directed in a 13x9 pan then sprinkle top with a bag of miniature marshmallows. Cover with the following chocolate topping - which in my opinion is TO DIE FOR.

1 stick butter
3 Tablespoons cocoa
6 Tablespoons milk

Once it boils and is well mixed remove from heat and add:
1 lb of powdered sugar (about 3 3/4 cup)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)

Stir to mix well and then pour and spread over marshmallows. If needed add a little bit more milk to make easier to spread. Cool before serving to give the chocolate a chance to set up.

Here are some of the plants I've gotten at previous trades that are now happy in my garden

On my way home from the trade I stopped at a nearby nursery that one of the ladies who hosted the trade works at. Not necessarily a good idea when your trunk is already loaded lol, but there were some beautiful plants that I couldn't resist. Here is a little mosaic of some violas I got.



And this cute little lewisia


There was more...lots more, but I'll save that for a later post.

Today I planted a bunch of those purchases and plant trade acquisitions, but still had time for making dinner. These buns at Thibault's Table had me inspired to try homemade buns again (my previous attempts have been less than stellar), so I washed up my hands from planting and kneaded some dough and turned out some pretty cute little buns if I do say so myself.


Homemade buns begat homemade burgers


And we were some happy campers. The buns were substantial but not heavy. Just right to hold up to a burger and all the fixings. Here is the recipe.

Homemade Hot Dog or Hamburger Buns
Original Source: All That Splatters via Thibault's Table
1 cup milk

1/2 cup water
1 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 egg, room temperature
4 1/2 cups flour
(unbleached, whole wheat, or a mix)
1 package instant yeast (2-1/4 teaspoons)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Heat the milk, water, honey and butter until
butter is melted.
Check temperature. Depending on the temperature, let cool to 120F. Carefully beat in egg.

Mix 2 cups of the flour, yeast, and salt.
Mix into the milk mixture. Stir in the rest of the flour,
1/2 cup at a time. Beat well after each addition.

When the dough pulls together, (it will form a soft ball) turn it out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. This should take about 5 minutes.

Divide dough into 12 -16 equal pieces. This will depend on the size you want for the finished bun. Shape into smooth balls, flatten slightly, and place on a silpat (or Parchment) covered baking sheet.

Let rise for 30 to 35 minutes. When buns have almost doubled bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

If you are making hot dog buns I find it easiest to roll the dough out into a large rectangle and cut into smaller rectangles. Let rise with sides touching.

You can brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, coarse sea salt, or whatever you like. You can add dry onion soup mix for onion rolls. These are very versatile!

Hope everyone has a beautiful week! Go check out the other mosaics at Little Red House!