Not So Sloppy, Sloppy Joe

Again, a very easy & inexpensive meal to put together quickly... are you sensing a theme here lately?

1 lb ground beef

1 small onion 

6 oz can tomato paste

2 tsp mustard

3 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp ketchup

1 Tbsp minced garlic

salt & pepper

1. Brown the meat, and add chopped onion while meat is still cooking

2. Once meat is almost cooked through, add remaining ingredients.

3. Stir, and slop onto buns!

YOU'RE DONE!

Sweet & Sour Chicken with Rice

This is a super easy dinner to whip up. Only 3 ingredients for the chicken, and rice. I remember my mom making this for us many times, and it was one of my favorites!

All you need is apricot jam, Catalina dressing, and onion soup mix. 

Now... I don't really measure these out. I use about half the jar apricot jam, about 1/3 the dressing, and 1 packet onion mix.

Just cut up chicken into cubes, mix it all together, and pour into a greased 8x8 pan. 

Bake at 350-375 for about 30-45 minutes.

(hehe you can see my lunch in the top of the picture... do I need to say, "makes great leftovers!"?)

"Northwoods Inn" Red Cabbage

Northwoods Inn is by far one of my absolute favorite restaurants. So when I saw this recipe floating around Pinterest... first off, I HAD to try it! Second, I HAVE to share it because who can resist the red and blue salad from that wonderful place! That restaurant (to which I always thought Santa Clause lived) is very near and dear to my heart... I remember many birthday dinners there with my Grandma Lavey. 

The key to this is making it at least 3 to 4 days before you intend to eat it... 

As you can see, I paired it with my version of their blue salad as well, to which my husband said was "spot on"... but I'm not bragging. It's simply crisp iceberg lettuce. 

For the dressing I get store-bought ranch dressing (the Marie Calendar "buttermilk ranch," usually found in the refrigerated section in the produce area...) Now I am not a fan of thick store-bought ranch, so I add sour cream and milk to get it to the thinner consistency that I like. I also add garlic power and fresh cracked pepper. 

Now, to imitate Northwood's blue salad dressing, I added blue cheese crumbles to my ranch, and let that sit for a few days as well. 

This meal with require patience. 

Ok, here's the red cabbage recipe:

1/2 head red cabbage (thinly sliced)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup + 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar

3 Tbsp sugar

4 tsp salt (I used kosher)

1 tsp seasoned salt (I used Mrs. Dash)

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Whisk all the ingredients together and add in the cabbage... and remember... let it sit in the fridge AT LEAST 24 hours... 4 days if you can!

You're welcome ;)

Beef Stroganoff

This literally took 20-30 minutes to make. I'm on a mission to find inexpensive, fast meals... in preparation of me going back to school! :( This is a fast and easy ground beef recipe that I paired with broccoli and carrots!

All you need is:

 roughly 1/2 to 1 lb ground beef (I used 3/4 lb)

garlic salt

1 onion soup mix packet

1/2 cup milk

1 cup sour cream

Simply brown the meat, while adding desired amount of garlic salt (I over-salted so be careful.)

When meat is almost browned, add onion soup mix, and then milk. Stir

Lastly, add the sour cream and let simmer lightly, or sit over low heat (stirring occasionally) letting the sour cream mixture thicken up.

Pour over egg noodles... and ENJOY! 

Chopped Chicken Taco Salad

There's nothing like inviting yourself over for dinner at home... SO glad I did tonight because my mom and I made a pretty easy, inexpensive, delicious salad! And made enough to feed 5 hungry people!! 

There is LOTS of chopping involved... but that can be done ahead of time! And the homemade dressing has only 4 ingredients! Well... actually 5 ingredients... we added milk to thin it out. Make the dressing first and then set aside.

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup greek yogurt

1 Tbsp ranch seasoning 

1 Tbsp taco seasoning

(We noticed it was a little too thick for our liking, so we added milk to get our desired consistency) 

And here's what ya need for the salad....

1 to 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1 head lettuce (either iceberg or romaine) 

1 green pepper, diced

1 can black beans, rinsed

1 cup sweet corn

1 tomato, diced

4-6 green onions, sliced

chopped cilantro (just under 1/4 cup)

1 large avocado, diced

1 cup crushed chips (tortilla, Frito... whatever you got!)

Toss everything together, except the chips. Slowly add the dressing... a little goes a long way. Top with the crushed chips!

Chicken Stir-Fry

I'm all about prepping... the day before, if you can... or the morning or afternoon before. Once all the chopping is done for this recipe that I remember my mom making for us as kids... this is a super easy meal to make! Just pick up that "Sun-Bird" brand stir-fry seasoning in the Asian food aisle at your grocery store, your favorite veggies, and chicken. 

After starting the rice cooker, heat up oil in a Wok (I used a big skillet before I was given this Wok as a wedding gift) and brown the chicken, but don't cook fully yet. Add the veggies and stir fry for a few minutes... then add the mixture from the seasoning packet (which is soy sauce, water, sugar, and the seasoning,) and keep stir frying... until all cooked!

Broccoli Salad

To quote my sister... "Hats off to whoever can get me to eat broccoli!"

All you need is:

2 bunches fresh broccoli (so, 4 bushels) 

10 slices of bacon, cooked and cut thin

1/2 red onion, chopped

2/3 cup raisins or dried cranberries 

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tbsp vinegar (I use apple cider) 

Here's the secret to mine... I use kitchen scissors to cut the broccoli into pretty small pieces... and I altered the original recipe (which was given to me at my bridal shower by my parent's neighbor... GREAT idea for an up-&-coming wife! ...have all the guests bring their favorite recipes to help her get started) I added the sunflower seeds, and change it up with dried cranberries instead of raisins. 

I've impressed people who aren't easily impressed with this dish ;)