Blog Archives
Hot Day Today
It’s been miserable today, temps in the high 90s and humid. Perfect day for mowing. Buddy helped a bit. I came in from mowing and was sitting right here in my fabulous monster sized recliner when Mrs J let Jack back in from a short stint out for “business”. He was limping again, favoring the right forepaw. He was quite a sight as he had hurt the left foot earlier in the month and has been favoring it for a couple of weeks now. X-rays say no bone problems in that one, looked like a hyper-extension. I had been worried about arthritis. Mrs J was losing her mind worrying about bone cancer or similar. The vet had been worried about a bone infection or Rocky Mountain spotted fever. We’ll see how he does with this new ailment, he has an appointment with the vet tomorrow morning about the earlier injury that seems to be lingering. Poor dog is accident prone.
Sloppy Joe
How long has it been since you fixed these? It has been too long for me. Every time I make these it’s an adventure. Always starts the same, hamburger and onions sauteed together, breaking the lumps of meat with a spatula as it fries. This time I minced about six small garlic cloves to finish off a bulb. Tossed those in. Went to the fridge and spied some sweet chili sauce that was last used as a dip for crab rangoon. A few ounces of that went in as I finished it off and tossed the bottle. Some sweetener followed, a fair dusting of the generic Splenda we buy. Some Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce, a squirt of ketchup. Some chili oil, a dollop of sriracha sauce. Was wishing for some bell peppers to toss in there but we were out. Jalapenos would be great save for the thrashing Mrs J would give me, I opted to put them on my sammich. May not be to everyone’s taste, but we have grown found of letting a slice of Velveeta melt atop the mix and scooping it with the meat onto the buns. Hard to time the cheese and the buns toasting, too soon on the cheese and it gets too thin and runny, too late and it’s still a slice of Velveeta just sitting there. Got it just about perfect this time.
Haven’t done any research on the question: Are they Sloppy Joe’s or is it Sloppy Joes? The first would indicate they were first devised by a Joe with neatness issues, the second that the name of the sammich is Joe. Other possibilities will surely come to mind.
Enjoy!
Thursday Night Menu: First Snow Edition
We are expecting our first snow this weekend, so I thought a good soup would be nice. This is not your mom’s canned soup or grilled cheese. These are tasty, hearty and easy to whip up. And the flax cookies are addictive (I can say this because it’s a friend’s recipe). On the board tonight:
- Hearty Tomato Soup
- Totally Awesome Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
- Flax Cookies
Hearty Tomato Soup
- 28 oz canned tomatoes*
- 1 tsp crushed garlic
- 8 oz carrots
- 2 stalks celery
- 3 green onions, including greens
- 1 tsp basil
- ¼ tsp oregano
- salt & pepper to taste
- 2 cups milk
- 2 tbsp whole wheat flour
2 quart saucepan
In a blender, mix tomatoes, garlic, carrots, celery & onions. Blend until liquid. In saucepan, combine tomato mixture with spices, heat over medium heat, stirring constantly. Let bubble (don’t let boil or use high heat, it will scorch) for 5 minutes. Add flour to cold milk, blend until smooth, add to soup. Let bubble again, reduce to low heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
* This is the time to use up any left over garden tomatoes, instead of canned. Blend until you have 4 cups of crushed tomatoes.
Totally Awesome Grilled Cheese
For each sandwich:
- 2 slices whole wheat bread (or favorite firm bread)
- Enough favorite cheese (Velveeta, cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack, etc. to cover bread (about 3 slices)
- Sliced Jalapeños (if you want some heat)
- 1 large slice of tomato w/dash of salt
- 1-2 tsp Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
- Butter
- Spray Oil
Spread salad dressing on both slices of bread and add ½ of the cheese to one slice of bread, place tomato & jalapenos on the cheese and top with remaining cheese and the other slice of bread, this keeps bread from getting soggy from the tomato. Lightly butter outside of both sides of the sandwich and grill in skillet sprayed with cooking spray or lightly oiled on medium heat until cheese is melted and bread is toasted. While it is grilling, press down hard with a spatula, “squishing” the sandwich. We don’t know why, but this makes them taste better. 
Flax Cookies
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup oatmeal
- 1 tsp soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup ground flax
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup chopped almonds
Bowl & cookie sheet
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cream butter and sugar, add egg, vanilla and beat well. Combine dry ingredients together and then fold into egg mixture until well blended. Mix in almonds and drop by the spoonful onto the cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden, don’t let them brown.
Shopping List:
- 28 oz canned tomatoes or fresh tomatoes (4-6 large)
- 1 tsp crushed garlic
- 8 oz carrots
- 2 stalks celery
- 3 green onions
- 8 slices whole wheat bread (or favorite firm bread)
- 8 – 10 oz favorite cheese (Velveeta, cheddar, Monterey Jack, etc)
- 1- 2 Jalapenos or 2 oz pickled Jalapenos
- 1 large tomato for slicing
- Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
- 2 sticks + butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup brown sugar
Also: crushed garlic, basil, oregano, pepper, whole wheat flour, unbleached flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, oil spray
EDIT: From comments at Balloon-Juice:
As for BHF’s menu (which sounds delicious): you have to love a menu whose shopping list reminds you that you’re going to need basics like butter and brown sugar, but just assumes you’ll have flax in the pantry.
Yes, you will need flax. My bad. 1/2 cup flax meal works best.
