Turkey Sloppy Joe Sandwiches

Things were quite hectic around here last night and the last thing that I wanted was to be was stuck in my kitchen for hours. I whipped up another easy-to-do family favorite--turkey sloppy joe sandwiches. I took the easy way out and served seasoned French fries alongside the sandwiches.

I used this recipe a lot when I was low-carbing by replacing the regular ketchup with Heinz low carb ketchup and the brown sugar with a low carb brown sugar substitute. Either way, it's really good.

Turkey Sloppy Joes

What you need:

olive oil

1/2c. celery, sliced (I omitted)

1/2c. onion, chopped

1/2c. red & green peppers,

chopped (I now use all green to

save $$)

2c. ground turkey, browned

1c. ketchup

3 Tbs. white vinegar

1Tbs. brown sugar, packed

1/2 tsp dry mustard-this is needed

but I did use regular spicy brown

mustard in a pinch and it worked

fine

8 hamburger buns

What you do:

Brown turkey in olive oil and drain well if there is any leftover grease in the pan.

Saute celery, onions & peppers, cook until tender.

Add cooked turkey, ketchup, vinegar, br. sugar & mustard. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes--doesnt really need to simmer that long if you don't have the time.

Spoon into buns. Enjoy!

Tuesdays with Dorie - Pumpkin Muffins

I was so excited to participate in my first Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. I was even more excited when I realized that we would be making pumpkin muffins. Thanks, Kelly of Sounding My Barbaric Gulp, for choosing a great recipe!

My family loves just about any type of pumpkin baked goods and this recipe didn't disappoint!

I added mini chocolate chips to half of the batch and to the other half, I added raisins. The pumpkin/chocolate chips satisfied my cravings for my new favorite flavor combination and the pumpkin/raisin combo made my husband a happy camper.


Like many other have commented, I had to adjust the baking time. Using silicone baking cups, I baked these muffins at 400* for 17 minutes. They turned out very moist; but, they are a more dense muffin, not light and airy. I had a few left over so I decided to freeze them. They weren't nearly as good warmed up again as they were the first day straight out of the oven. I would recommend only making what you are going to eat that same day.

Trick or Treat Toffee Grahams

Do you have to make something for an upcoming fall festival or bake sale? My recipe for toffee grahams is super easy and looks great packaged in bags with pretty bows!


Click on the title of the recipe to see full instructions on how to make them.

Breakfast for Dinner - Cinnamon Raisin French Toast & Hash Brown Casserole

Today was one of those days when I could've stayed under the covers all day and slept the day away.

**Snap back to reality**

I had a lot to do today, including going grocery shopping.

I took the easy way out for dinner tonight and made our favorite so-called breakfast meal consisting of cinnamon raison French toast and my version of Cracker Barrel's hashbrown casserole.

We are lucky to have an Entenmann's Bakery Outlet nearby. I can picked up Sun Maid raisin bread there for a much better price than in a regular grocery store.

Usually everyone has their own favorite French toast recipe and here is mine:

Cinnamon Raisin French Toast

1 loaf of raisin bread

6 eggs

1/2 C. milk

1 TBSP. vanilla

2 tsp. sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

Break eggs into a bowl and beat wisk lightly. Wisk in sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and milk. In a frying pan, over medium-low heat, melt 2 tsp. of butter. Place the bread slices, one at a time, into the bowl, letting the slices soak up the egg mixture. Turn the bread over to coat the other side. Transfer bread slices to skillet. Cook until the bottoms are golden brown. Flip and cook the same on the other side. Serve hot with butter and syrup.

The hash brown casserole recipe came about by lots of experimenting. I've finally perfected to the way we like it.

Hash brown Casserole
1 can of cream of chicken soup

8 oz. of sour cream

2C. + 1/2 C. Cheddar cheese, grated

1/2C. melted butter

1 small onion, minced

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

2lb. bag frozen shredded hashbrowns--THAWED--Important!!

Spray a 13 x 9 dish with non-stick spray.

In a bowl, combine all ingredients except potatoes + 1/2 C. cheese to sprinkle on top.

Gently fold in potatoes into mixture and pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle with leftover cheese.

Bake at 350* for 5o - 60 minutes. If you want a crispier top, stick it under the broiler at the end of baking.

This will freeze well.

Thaw first to speed baking. If you baked it frozen, increase baking time.

Mostacolli & Sauce

My husband said that I couldn't have made him a better dinner to celebrate our 12th anniversary. :)

One of my many versions of Mostacolli and Red Sauce with Sausage


2 lbs of Mostacolli, cooked al dente

3 big cans of tomato sauce
1/2 lb of bulk hot sausage
1 lg. pepper, dice into small pieces
1 medium onion, diced into small pieces
1 pint of baby bella mushrooms, chopped
3 tsp. of minced garlic
2 tsp of red pepper flakes
2 TBSP Italian seaosonings
olive oil

In a large frying pan, saute diced pepper, onions and mushrooms in olive oil. Set aside.

To the same pan, add hot sausage and cook until no longer pink. Add garlic and heat through for 1 minute.

Add the pepper, onions and mushrooms back into the pan. Pour in tomato sauce. Add garlic, red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, and then reduce heat to low and continue cooking for 2 hrs. If the sauce becomes too thick for your liking, add a bit of water or chicken stock to it.

Ladle sauce onto warm pasta and top with shredded Mozzarella cheese.