Sloppy Joes

How on earth do you make a Sloppy Joe look classy? You don't =). They are just good ol' shloppy, yes shloppy, deliciousness. Piled high and spilling over. It's impossible for any bun to fully retain all that saucy, meaty goodness. How I love a good Sloppy Joe. They may not be the fanciest meal but they are oh so scrumptiously tasty. I grew up eating them so I will always love them. These far outdo what comes in a can. Isn't everything better made fresh from scratch? Don't be scared of the long list of ingredients, other than the fresh peppers, most of them are ingredients you likely already have on hand. I kept adding a little of this and a little of that until I got this recipe just where I wanted it. If you are a cheeseburger fan, try them topped with a sprinkling of freshly grated cheddar cheese. Also, if you like a little heat feel free to add in some cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes. Enjoy!

Sloppy Joes

Yields about 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup diced yellow onion

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

1/2 cup diced green bell pepper (or an additional 1/2 cup red bell pepper)

1/4 cup diced poblano pepper (optional)

1 medium carrot finely grated (about 1/2 cup)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce

1/3 cup water

1 1/2 tsp lemon zest

2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 Tbsp molasses

1 Tbsp yellow mustard

1 tsp liquid smoke flavoring

3 Tbsp granulated sugar

2 Tbsp dried parsley

1 1/2 Tbsp chili powder

1 1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt, and then to taste

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat, crumble in ground beef and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up beef when stirring, until beef has browned. Drain beef into a bowl lined with paper towels, reserving 1 1/2 tbsp fat in pan.

Add onion, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, poblano pepper and carrot to fat in skillet and cook over medium high heat, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes until veggies become translucent and tender. Add in garlic and cook 1 more minute. Reduce heat to low and add remaining ingredients, along with browned beef and stir. Cover and cook 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Serve warm on toasted hamburger buns (delicious toasted with butter and rubbed with a clove a garlic), and sprinkle optional cheddar cheese over Sloppy Joe mixture.

Recipe Source: Cooking Classy

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Peach Crumb Bars

Peach cobbler meet sugar cookies meets crumb cake to create one delicious Peach Crumb Bar. These summer inspired dessert bars are loaded with fresh, sweetly spiced, juicy peaches and will quickly remind you of your favorite peach cobbler. Their texture is soft yet crumbly, moist (thanks to all the juice from the peaches) and slightly cake-y. I would highly recommend eating them warm because it's like peach pie or cobbler, it's just not near as good cold. These are excellent when paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream but they are also amazing all on their own. Enjoy! Oh, and you're going to want that corner piece =), it's my favorite.

Peach Crumb Bars
Yields about 24 bars


Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups peaches, peeled, pitted and diced (about 8 small peaches, use firm but ripe)
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
3 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
2 Tbsp orange juice
1 tsp orange zest (optional)

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup salted butter, cold and diced into cubes
1 large egg
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp Turbinado sugar (optional)


Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup granulated sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. In a large mixing bowl, toss peaches with orange juice and optional orange zest. Sprinkle sugar mixture over peach mixture and toss to evenly coat, set aside.
In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Cut butter into flour mixture with a fork or pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, whisk together egg, sour cream and vanilla extract. Pour egg mixture into flour mixture and stir until well combine. Add in remaining 1 cup granulated sugar and stir until combine. Spread and press half of crumb mixture into an even layer in a greased 13x9 inch baking dish. Toss peach mixture once more and pour over bottom crumb layer and spread peaches into an even layer (spread juices evenly too). Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture over top of peaches into an even layer. Sprinkle top evenly with optional Turbinado sugar. Bake in preheated oven 45-50 minutes until golden. Serve warm with optional vanilla ice cream or allow to cool and cut into bars (Note: I prefer these bars warm but you could also serve them cold with sweetened whipped cream). Store bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator.


Recipe Source: Cooking Classy

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Lemon Belgian Waffles with Blueberry Syrup

I can't believe I've had this blog for nearly 10 months and I haven't posted one waffle recipe yet! Breakfast foods are some of my favorites to make (and blog) so I can't tell you why I've waited until now to do a waffle post. 

In my home I make pancakes and french toast more often than waffles and I think one reason I prefer to do so is because with Belgian waffles you can only make one at a time. With pancakes and french toast I can make like 6 at a time. I've been wanting to buy one of the Belgian waffle irons that cooks two at a time. I have a long list of kitchen gadgets I want, you'd think the list would get shorter as I get more things but it just gets longer. I don't get into fancy clothes and home decor just fancy kitchen accessories =). I'm running out of kitchen storage space.

Anyway, thanks to this recipe I know waffles are going to make their way into my home far more often, even if it means cooking one at a time until I get a double Belgian waffle iron. These are crisp on the outside, moist and tender on the inside. Just as a waffle should be. You get a perfect flavor combination when you pair the vibrant, citrus flavor of the lemon waffle with the sweet, mellow flavor of the fresh blueberries. I decided to add a little bit of applesauce in this recipe rather than doing all oil. I like to be just a little healthy when I can =). If you want to you could replace the applesauce with more oil or butter but I do love them just as they are. Also, if you didn't notice I added the lemon poppy seed variation at the bottom. All you have to do is add poppy seeds since these are already lemon. Enjoy!

Lemon Belgian Waffles
Yields 5-6 waffles


Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup milk 
2 Tbsp vegetable oil (or melted butter, cooled)
2 Tbsp applesauce
2 large eggs, separated
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 tbsp lemon zest
2 Tbsp lemon juice


Directions:
Preheat a Belgian waffle iron (and butter if necessary). In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together buttermilk, milk vegetable oil, applesauce, 2 egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice. In a small mixing bowl, using and electric hand mixer, beat 2 egg whites until soft peaks form.
While whisking, slowly add flour mixture to buttermilk mixture and whisk just until combine (don't over-mix, batter should be slightly lumpy). Using a rubber spatula, gently fold egg whites into batter just until combine. Cook batter (mine fit about 3/4 cup) on waffle iron according to manufactures directions, until golden (cooking time will vary depending on brand and model of waffle iron). Slowly lift lid when removing waffle from iron so waffle doesn't split. Serve warm with Blueberry Syrup, Vanilla Cream Syrup, Maple Syrup or butter and powdered sugar. 

Lemon Poppy Seed Variation: simply mix in 3 Tbsp poppy seeds into flour mixture and prepare as directed. I would recommend serving them with Vanilla Cream Syrup and if you want to make it Lemon Vanilla Cream Syrup just add a little bit of lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Blueberry Syrup


Ingredients:
1 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 cup cold water
2 cups fresh blueberries (frozen works too, I use frozen when not in season)
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice


Directions:
Whisk together sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Stir in water, add blueberries and lemon juice. Cook mixture over medium high heat, stirring frequently until mixture reaches a boil. Once mixture reaches a boil, reduce heat to medium low and allow to gently boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Pour syrup into a blender, cover and blend on low speed about 1 minute until well pureed. Alternately, if you don't want skins and seeds, force mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Store in refrigerator up to one week (You will likely have some left over, it makes great blueberry lemonade. Just add cold blueberry syrup and lemon juice to sparkling water to taste).


Recipe Source: Cooking Classy

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Pan Seared Honey Glazed Salmon with Browned Butter Lime Sauce - The Best Salmon I've Ever Eaten

Okay so, I wrote a long post about the pure amazingness of this salmon then I went to cut and past it below the photo and forgot to paste it, posted it and lost my "paste." Yeah the most frustrating and stupid thing ever! I hate when that happens! Oh well, moving on =)...
I'm going to be a little lazy about it and just tell you, you need to try this salmon! It is really the best salmon I have ever eaten! I saw this recipe over Epicurious, from Gourmet Magazine. I will be honest, Gourmet Magazine is sometimes too "gourmet" for me. Their version of this however looked awesome! Simple yet incredible. I created my own version by jazzing it up to suit my taste. Rather than grilling it I pan seared it, obviously. I wanted a tiny bit of sweet to balance out the citrus-y tang so I added honey, and what better way to get that perfectly golden brown, crisp crust then to pan sear it along with a little sprinkling of flour? I also thought if you're going to make butter one of the main components of the dish then you may as well brown it and add another layer of delicious flavor. It's amazing how well the citrus of the lime, the silky sweet of the honey and the deep, rich flavor of the browned butter go together. They all compliment the salmon perfectly. I can tell you now, the majority of the time this is going to be my go to salmon recipe. Not only does it taste phenomenal but it is incredibly easy to make. Serve this alongside some roasted aspargus and garlic mashed red potatoes and you've got a delicious, elegant meal definitely set to impress. Enjoy!

Pan Seared Honey Glazed Salmon with Browned Butter Lime Sauce
Yields 4 servings


Ingredients:
4 (6 oz) salmon fillets, rested at room temperature 20 minutes
8 tsp flour, divided
2 Tbsp honey, divided
zest of 1 - 2 limes (I like it with a generous amount so in my opinion 2)
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 recipe Browned Butter Lime Sauce, recipe follows


Directions:
Working in batches of two salmon fillets at a time (or using two skillets, because you don't want to overcrowd the salmon when cooking it on the stove-top so it cooks more evenly), place salmon fillets on a cutting board or plate and sprinkle 1 tsp flour over each side of the salmon fillets and spread flour to evenly coat. Evenly drizzle 3/4 tsp honey over each side of the flour coated salmon fillets.* Drizzle 1 Tbsp olive oil into a 10 inch non-stick skillet, swirl pan to evenly coat bottom and heat over medium heat. Once oil it hot, carefully place salmon ) in pan and cook over medium heat, 3-5 minutes per side until salmon has cooked through and bottom has nicely browned. Plate salmon immediately, drizzle each fillet with 1 1/2 - 2 Tbsp Browned Butter Lime Sauce and sprinkle with lime zest. Serve warm. 


*note that once you remove the salmon from the plate some of the flour and honey coating will stick to the plate so I'd recommend just scraping it up with a spatula and adding it to the salmon once it's in the pan, alternately you could just coat one side with the flour and honey then after adding it to the pan you can coat the top side with flour and honey. Either way works I'd just say don't waste any of that delicious coating.

Browned Butter Lime Sauce


Ingredients:
6 Tbsp salted butter, diced
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper


Directions:
Place butter in a small (light colored) saucepan. Cook over medium heat, swirling pan occasionally, until butter is fragrant and has turned a tan shade (for a step by step tutorial on how to brown butter see link here, although I would recommend not to stir constantly rather swirl pan occasionally). Remove from heat and add browned butter along with lime juice, garlic, salt and pepper to a blender. Blend on low speed for 30 seconds to 1 minute until well blended. Pour sauce into a small glass dish (note: whisk butter mixture with a fork before pouring onto salmon as it will separate, rewarm if needed).
I didn't have much of this left after drenching the salmon with it but I used what was left over fresh corn on the cob, so good! Try if you'd like.


Recipe Source: inspired by Gourmet Magazine, July 2006

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