Sloppy Joes with Homemade Hamburger Buns

Sloppy Joes. So simple. I'm not talking about opening a can of Manwich, or using a package of Schilling. Making your own. Homemade! For years, I resorted to the can or package. Every time I made them, I thought, this is okay, but it would be so much better homemade. I mean, how difficult could it be to make a good Sloppy Joe concoction of my own? I pulled up a few recipes, messed a round a little, and came up with the attached. They were yummy, and served on a fresh bakery roll, even better. Then I came across this recipe for Homemade Hamburger Buns. It was meant to be.

Buns. Funny word. Favorite bun expressions from Grant: "Home of the big bun"  said whenever I say the word "bun" or whenever we buy a burger or sandwich with a big bun; "Nice buns" "Wonder buns" and "Get your buns over here". "Nice buns" referring jokingly to my buns, bc they are, FLAT. Is this too much information?

You'll love these buns. And the Sloppy Joes too.

Sloppy Joes

1 1/2 lb extra lean ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped (optional)

1 clove garlic, minced or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)

1 6 oz can tomato paste

1 15 oz can tomato sauce

3 tablespoons Worcestershire

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

water 1/4 to 1/2 cup to thin sauce, if needed

Brown ground beef in skillet. Drain off any grease. Add chopped onion, red pepper and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until onion is softened. Add tomato paste, sauce, Worcestershire and brown sugar. Cook over medium heat. If mixture is too thick, thin with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water. Serve with hamburger buns, top with cheese, if desired.

Homemade Hamburger Buns

1 cup lukewarm water

1 tablespoon instant yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg
3 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

For glazing buns:

1 egg yolk plus 1 tablespoon cold water
sesame seeds (optional)

Using a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast and sugar into the water and leave for 5-10 minutes, until bubbly.

Add remaining ingredients. Mix well, knead until smooth. If using food processor, use dough hook, mix until dough is soft and smooth, about 5 minutes. Add a little flour if dough is sticky. Let dough sit in bowl, covered until doubled in size, about 1- 1 1/2 hour. Divide dough in half, then divide each half into 5 pieces and shape into a ball. Flatten each dough ball to about a 1 1/2 inch thickness. Place the buns on a greased baking sheet, let rise again for 30 minutes until puffy. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Glaze the buns with egg yolk and water mixture (if desired), then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake the buns in lower half of oven for 12 - 15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool. Slice buns when cooled, serve with hamburgers or sloppy joe mixture.

Tips:

-I wasn't crazy about the look of the glaze. I prefer a floured matte finish to the top of my buns. Uh, my hamburger buns.

-In the future,if I wanted a shiny bun, I would use a whole egg, or maybe just an egg white to glaze the top of the buns, and forget about the yolk/water mixture.

Tweet

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

It's that time again. The Superbowl is just around the corner. Superbowl= supersnacks. Unfortunately, Grant's all time favorite pro football team, the Vikings, lost last night in overtime to the Saints. Looking back, Grant has come a loooong way since we were first married. This is the team he latched onto as a 10 year old. A kid from SLC, UT, loving the Minnesota Vikings? Makes no sense to me. He's stuck with them through good (few and far between), and years and years and years of bad. For years I tried to persuade him to switch teams. Maybe pick a team with a better winning average? Last night he, along with the entire state of Minnesota were let down, again. Oh well. The good news? He is maturing, a bit. In fact he left at halftime with the score tied, to attend a church meeting. He told our boys- "there are more important things in life than football".

Wow. Revelation.

Now, if I could get him to grow out of the bow hunting phase that has lasted 25, umm actually 27 years...

So, the meatballs...This is a basic recipe I spiced up a bit. It's quick and easy and unbelievably better than store bought meatballs.

Oh, frozen meatballs- don't go there.

As my boys like to say - not good for your game.

SWEET & SOUR MEATBALLS

printable recipe

1 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 c. dry bread crumbs
1/4 c. milk
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp. salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 egg


SWEET & SOUR SAUCE:

1 c. packed brown sugar
3 tbsp. cornstarch
2 cans (13 1/4 oz.) pineapple chunks in juice

1 tablespoon fresh grated or minced ginger

1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 green pepper, large dice
1 red pepper, large dice

MEATBALLS:

Mix ingredients, shape into 20 (1 1/2 inch) balls. Cook in ungreased 9x13 pan in 400 degree oven until light brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE:

Cook meatballs as directed above; remove from cookie sheet, set aside.

Mix brown sugar and cornstarch in saucepan. Stir in juice from pineapple, ginger and dry mustard. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly; reduce heat. Add meatballs and pineapple. Cover, simmer, stirring occasionally, 5-10 minutes. Stir in green and red pepper. Cover; simmer until crisp-tender, 5 minutes. Keep warm in chafing dish or crock-pot.

Make approximately 24-28 (about 1 1/2 ") size meatballs.

Tips:

-I wait to add the peppers until just before serving. It helps keep the veggie colors bright.

-These are great served over rice for dinner.

Tweet

Take Me Out to the Ball Game- Bacon Wrapped Dogs

It's July 29th, and for us, baseball is finally over for the year. Two boys. Four teams. One Hundred and ten games (yes, I counted). Lots of : rain, wind, blankets, hand warmers, hot chocolate, umbrellas for rain/snow, Gatorade, licorice, candy, water bottles, Advil, ice, cameras, camcorder, thunder, lightning, folding chairs, sun, umbrellas for sun, sunscreen, hot dogs, fast food, sandwiches, Otter Pops, snow cones, coolers, more ice, seeds, seeds and more seeds.

This is baseball in March...watch the snow disappear...

love the dedicated fans in April...

This is baseball in June.

Last night was Stephen's last summer ball game. Ever. The summer before his Senior year. I love summer ball. Yes, it's hot. Often around 95 degrees when the game starts at 6 PM. As evening unfolds cool air comes, and soon, we are lounging in our chairs with the other parents. Cheering on the team with our bare feet resting in the long cool grass. Everyone is a little more relaxed during summer ball. The high school season is a little too intense for me at times (to put it mildly).

Jake plays on competition and rec 12 year old teams. They had a great time winning their league this year (both teams). His comp team placed third at a tournament in Omaha, NE.

yeah, we're 12.

Enjoying a CWS game.

Enjoying hot dogs at the game.

The boys played ball during the day. At night, we went to the College World Series games. So much fun. Good kids, great parents. Hard workers. Love for the game. Dedicated coaches. Chemistry. This little team (they would hate that description!) isn't perfect. Errors are made, strike outs, injuries etc. But the kids love to play together. The coaches and parents believe in the kids and the kids believe in each other.
So it's over, for a few months...No more dinners at 9 PM- after filling up on junk. No more big umbrellas. Or toting chairs up to the field. No more 2-3 hour blocks of chatting with friends, family and fans who came to watch, just because they love your kid, or the game, or both. Or sitting on the hot bleachers. Or yelling at the ump. Yeah, you know who you are...Grant, Michelle, Mindy. No more. Till next season.
In honor of the '09 season. Fire up the grill and enjoy some bacon wrapped stuffed dogs. Almost as good as being at the ballpark. Almost.


Take me out to the Ball Game Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs
Adapted from - Elise at Simply Recipes

print recipe

2 teaspoon ketchup
2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
8 large hot dogs
4 ounce cheddar cheese, cut into long sticks
4 Tbsp chopped onion
1 1/2 cups refrigerated sauerkraut, drained, roughly chopped
8 slices bacon
vegetable oil
8 long hot dog buns

Preheat grill - medium high heat.
Mix together the ketchup and mustard in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the sauerkraut with the chopped onion, set aside. Slice open the hot dogs, down the center, lengthwise, forming a deep pocket in each, but not cutting all the way through. Coat the inside of each hot dog with the mustard ketchup mixture.
Place a strip of cheese deep within the pocket of each hot dog. Top with sauerkraut and onions.
Wrap a strip of bacon around each stuffed hot dog, securing with toothpicks at each end. Make sure you wrap tight enough so that the stuffing stays in, but not so tight so that when the hot dog expands will cooking the bacon would tear.
Coat grill surface with vegetable oil so that the hot dogs don't stick.Place the stuffed hot dogs on the grill, stuffing side down. Grill for 2 minutes, until the bacon on that side is cooked, turn the hot dogs a quarter turn and grill for a couple more minutes. Continue to grill for a few minutes each on all sides until the bacon is cooked. Cover the grill in between turnings to help with the cooking.
During the last minute of cooking, open up the hot dog buns and place them open-side down on the grill to lightly toast.
Remove the hot dogs and buns from the grill. Remove the toothpicks from the hot dogs, place them in the buns and serve.

Tips:
-Make sure you buy a good quality hot dog. Hebrew National (my fave) or Nathan's are the best.

Tweet

Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

Nineteen years ago next month, my dad passed away. He loved his country. Served in the Navy for 20 years. Fixed his own cars. Was a hard worker and a Johnny Cash fan. A Republican. Loved baseball, basketball, football and boxing. Spent time at the horse track. Loved gambling, hunting, camping, horseback riding and fishing. Fishing was his favorite.
I dreaded fishing season. We owned a little lot up by Lake Cushman growing up. Parked our camper there every summer. We spent HOURS and hours fishing. Trolling was his favorite. My brother, mom and I would take turns going with Dad. If it was my turn, I would throw on my swim suit, and hope to catch some sun during those long days of fishing. If I got a tan, it didn't seem like a total loss of a day. SO many hours spent on the lake fishing...listening to the little brown, and later a black transistor radio. No ipods back in the stone ages, kids. For Dad it was always country music. How I hated country music. Funny...I love it now. He also loved to fish rivers for steel head salmon. The Cowlitz, and Toutle rivers were among our summer hangouts. One summer Dad discovered Moses Lake fishing, where we caught TONS of Crappie. Seriously, they are called Crappie! But pronounced Croppie. Not my favorite fish. I remember complaining about eating SO MUCH FISH. Dumb kid. Especially the salmon. What was I thinking? Hmmm.
I think about those days fishing with my dad, and wonder, why didn't I talk to him more about his childhood? Ask him more questions about his parents, grandparents, and his life? More about growing up on the farm in Delta, Utah? His early 20's traveling the world on the various Navy battleships? How I wish I could turn back the clock now. My Dad was 57 years young when he passed away. Lung Cancer and cirrhosis. He wasn't perfect, but he loved his family. He was a family man. Honored his mother and father. Loved his pioneer heritage. He loved us unconditionally, and was always forgiving of the mistakes we made. My most precious and lasting impression of my dad will always be - he loved us, and we knew it.
Every time I make biscuits, I think of my Dad. He LOVED biscuits and gravy. Maybe that's why my kids love gravy with their biscuits so much? In honor of Dad, and all of the other Fathers out there whose lives on the earth were way too short- rustle up some biscuits and gravy. Love you, Dad.

Sausage Gravy and Biscuits
A Bountiful Kitchen

print recipe

12 oz tube of Jimmy Dean Spicy Sausage
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour, sifted
3-4 cups milk, whole is best
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
fresh ground pepper
dash cayenne

Brown sausage in skillet, drain grease from pan. Remove sausage and place in small bowl. Lightly wipe out the pan with a paper towel. Melt the butter in the skillet over medium high heat. Add the flour, and whisk in until the lumps disappear. Continue to cook for about 1-2 minutes or until bubbly and slightly browned. Add salt, pepper and cayenne. Using a whisk, add in the milk, a cup at a time, whisking during each addition, letting the gravy thicken as the milk is added. If needed, lower temperature of stove. I usually add about 3 1/2 to 4 cups total, depending on how long the gravy sits on the stove before serving. Add the cooked sausage to the gravy and heat through. Add more pepper or salt to taste. Serve with home made biscuits, fried eggs and potatoes.

Hopefully, you weren't thinking about using canned (gasp!) biscuits with sausage gravy. Click here for the real deal: Buttermilk Biscuits.

Tips:
-Make the biscuits while the sausage is cooking. Pop the biscuits in the oven when you are making the gravy. They will be ready about the same time.

Tweet

Dana Pullen's Chicken Feet and Rice

When we were in New Orleans a few months ago, we had this dish at a little out of the way diner. It was so good, we wanted to lick our feet, I mean, fingers. It was a little hole in the wall place, you know the type, not listed in travel books, better than any Zagat listed restaurant...I asked the waitress for the recipe, and she finally agreed, as long as I promised not to share it with any one else. But you won't tell, 'cause we're friends, right??

handwritten by our waitress-

Dana Pullen's Chicken Feet and Rice

You can't get chicken feet at the supermarket these days, so you gotta go to a butcher store and beg for them*. (They are usually thrown away) Once you get them, rinse them off, drop them into a pot of hot boiling water for five minutes and then take them out and the outer skin will just roll right off. Make sure you get it all off because there's no telling where the chicken's been walkin'. Now that the skin is cleared off, take your cast iron dutch oven, cover the bottom with oil, put in the feet and fry til golden brown. Then put in a handful of chopped onions and one toe of garlic (flattened). Fry the onions until you can see through them. Put the desired amount of rice (depending on the amount of people you are feeding) and cover with water. Salt pepper, and bring to a boil. Put the lid on and cook until the rice is fluffy and the chicken feet are tender.

Now this part is IMPORTANT:

The only way to eat a chicken foot is to gnaw on it. The round ball of the foot is the best part. The are a gristly kind of thing and can be used in soups, but best when fried.

*Even though Ms. Pullen says you can't find chicken feet in the supermarket, I have talked to a lot of people who have seen them there.

This recipe is also printed in one of my favorite cookbooks "White Trash Cooking" By Ernest Mickler.

Happy April 1st.

Tweet

Hot Wing Dip

Scrumptious.

The essentials.

I'm all out of guy food after this post. It's just not my speciality. When I tried this appetizer at a dinner in December, I thought - Grant and the boys will LOVE this. My friend Diane made this, and believe me, she knows all about guy food. She is the mom of 4 boys, and Bob. It's yummy (sorry NOT a guy word) and easy. Speaking of - did you know there is an official list of words guys never use? Some of the words are: yummy, scrumptious, fabulous, cute, delightful... come to think of it - I hardly use any of these words. Except yummy. So, this fabulous appetizer will be added to our Super Bowl food lineup. I'm still trying to get excited over the whole thing. I just barely found out the Steelers and the Arizona team (don't even know their name) are playing... Delightful.

Hot Wing Dip

prinable recipe

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

4 chicken breasts halves, cooked and chopped, or one rotisserie chicken, chopped

1/2 bottle Franks Hot Sauce

1/2 cup grated cheddar/jack mix

1 cup Mozzarella, grated or chopped if using fresh

1 bottle Roka Blue Cheese Dressing

Spread the cream cheese in a 9 x 13 pan. In a bowl combine chopped chicken, hot sauce and 1/2 cup each of the cheddar and mozzarella cheese. Dump this mixture over the cream cheese. Drizzle the Blue Cheese dressing over top. Top with grated mozzarella. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Serve immediately with tortilla chips or baguette slices.

Tips:

- I spread this into two 9 inch round baking dishes.

-I used about 1/2 bottle of the Blue Cheese dressing.

Tweet

Chili with Brats

I like this green chili sauce, it's chunky with onions, tomatoes and roasted chilies. You can use any brand, or if you can't find green sauce, add some fresh green chilies or a can of chopped green chilies.

Colosimo's Bratwurst, made in Utah.

To continue our string of "Manly" dishes, I thought what's more manly than chili? When my little brother played Pee-Wee football at the old Chico football field, I loved buying Frito Pie. Frito's, chili (probably canned), with grated cheese on top. I remember the chili was made with small red beans, and I loved it. It was different than my Mom's. Dad loved Kidney beans, so she always used those in her chili. I like a combo of beef and sausage in chili. For my Southwest and Texan friends who read this blog - I know you are thinking- No respectable chili has beans as a main ingredient!! Kind of like being from the Northwest and hearing people say they love fish- only Halibut, and then only as "Halibut Au Gratin" which I really dislike. All of that sauce totally masks the fish! Sick. But I like beans more than meat, so I always make chili with beans AND meat. Anyway, moving on. This past week, I made some with a combo of ground beef and Bratwurst. We have a local company that makes great Bratwurst*, I used a plain Brat this time. I don't use a recipe when I make chili - I tried to record the amounts used this time, so I could post a recipe. Oh, and I like the zip the green chili sauce adds. I'm not a big fan of spicy food, so this is a mild chili recipe. My boys love eating the leftovers on top of hot dogs and buns, topped with lots of grated cheese. Testosterone city.

Chili with Brats

3-4 *Bratwurst
1 lb ground beef, extra lean
1-2 onions, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped (optional)
1-2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1-2 cloves chopped garlic
3 15 oz. cans small red beans, drained
2 14.5 oz. cans chopped tomatoes, with juices
1/2 jar 16 oz medium green chili sauce (if it's mild, I throw the whole jar in)
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt, ground pepper

Cook the Bratwurst in a pan on medium high heat, turning once. After brown on both sides, add a little water to the pan - about 1/4 cup, and cover. Let steam for 8 minutes. Remove to cutting board. Let sit.
Cook ground meat in large heavy pan. Drain any grease, add chopped onions, pepper and cook until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add chili powder, cumin and chopped garlic. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Add the drained cans of beans, chopped tomatoes, green chili sauce and sugar. If you like a thicker chili, add a can of tomato sauce or some tomato paste. Slice the Bratwurst, add to the pot. Cook for several hours, covered on stove top- low heat.

Tips:
- I usually double this amount.

-*You can substitute any type of sausage - ground or Polish, Italian...it's all good. If you live in or around Utah, I recommend Colosimo's Sausage. They make great Bratwurst, and other flavors of sausage- even an Apple Sausage if you are a "Vegetebelarian" as my kids call it. They have been making sausage since the early 1920's, and they produce a great product free of unmentionable fillers usually found in sausage. AND they sell at Costco, the happiest place on earth, according to Corrine.

-Slow cooking a roast- pork or beef, then shredding or dicing it into the chili is great too. Or cut the roast into small pieces, brown and season and throw all of the ingredients into a dutch oven or crock pot and cook for 10 hours on low heat.

- Beans - you may use canned, or soak and cook some of the 10, 000 pounds of beans you have in your food storage. Any combo - I have tried black, red, chili (which I think are pintos), butter beans (icky), white.

-This is best when cooked for at least 6-8 hours on low heat.

Tweet

Smoked Boston Butt with homemade BBQ Sauce

Whenever we go to the South, our (my) first order of business is to find a good place to eat a pulled pork sandwich. When we landed in New Orleans last month, we found a little hole in the wall place where the locals eat. Our plates were heaping with ribs, pulled pork and brisket. Yum. The next day we went to a family favorite, Corky's. They're famous for their barbecue.

Making delish pulled pork at home is really simple. I love Paula Dean's recipe for Boston Butt. It has smoky flavor, without barbecuing or actually smoking the meat. Now, It's not quite as good as authentic Southern barbecue, but it's a close second. In my opinion, pulled pork needs sauce. Don't make this unless you can commit to the sauce too. Making your own sauce takes one pan and less than 5 minutes. Please tell me you would not compromise the integrity of your pulled pork with a store bought bottled sauce!

A little warning- First, get at least two roasts. Everyone, and I mean everyone loves this, and it will go fast. Dick's (useless info unless you live in B-town) puts this on sale a few times a year for $1.29-$1.69 a pound. I buy several and throw them in the freezer. And pick up some food handlers gloves either in a restaurant supply store or your grocery. Sometimes you can even get the deli people (in your local grocery) to sell you a package. They have 100 uses, especially if you are a germaphobe, no names, please- and will keep your hands from smelling like smoke flavoring. Uh, wait, maybe you WANT to smell like smoke flavoring. I heard a news story the other day about men loving food smells as opposed to flowery perfume scents. Interesting. Maybe just put a little behind your ears while you are preparing the meat. Oh, one more thing. My kids, especially the boys LOVE it when I make this. Not only because they love the dish, but they also love saying "I am So excited to have BUTT tonight" or "I love it when you make BUTT" or "Pass the BUTT".

Mature.

I know.

Smoked Boston Butt

printable recipe

1 4-5 pound Pork Butt Roast

1 Tablespoon seasoned salt

1 tablespoon garlic salt

1 tablespoon pepper

4 tablespoons liquid smoke

1 large sweet onion, sliced into rings

1 cup water

foil

homemade barbecue sauce

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Place gloves on hands, if using. Sprinkle all of the seasoning on the roast evenly, both sides. Rub into the meat. Repeat the process with the liquid smoke. Place the meat in a large roasting pan, or if you don't have one use a 9 x 13 pan. Remove the gloves and discard. Chop the onions, and throw over the meat. Pour the water into the pan. Make sure not to pour over the meat, or you will wash away the flavorings. Cover the meat with foil. Seal to edges of pan, so steam won't escape. Place in oven and cook for 3 hours at 325 degrees . You can remove at this time, but I like to turn the oven off, and just let it sit in the oven for another couple of hours. Do not open the oven until ready to remove. When ready to serve, pull away excess fat, and either chop or pull pork apart with forks. Place on a serving platter and drizzle with sauce. Serve extra sauce on the side.

Tips:

-Serve with hamburger buns, or white bread slices.

-great side dishes are : (click here) coleslaw, baked beans and potato salad.

-After cooking the meat - Don't cut the meat and "mix" with bbq sauce. It will get mushy and have that yucky consistency of frozen bbq meat. Just carefully lay the meat in a pan or serving platter and pour a little sauce over the top.

BBQ Sauce:

2 cups Ketchup

1-cup brown sugar

5-8 drops hot sauce

1 tsp dry mustard

1 clove garlic (optional)

3 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

ground pepper

Heat all ingredients in pan on stove. Add more sugar, hot sauce or garlic according to your taste.

Tips:

-You can substitute honey for the sugar. If you like onions in your sauce, saute half of a chopped onion and add to the mixture.

-Without onions, this will keep in the refrigerator for at least a month.

Tweet