Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes

I thought I would give Jo a break today and write a blog about the interesting dinner I made the other night.

This sandwich turned out really yummy for how easy it was. I prefer it to a "regular" sloppy Joe.

My husband enjoyed these because I left off the green pepper that is in a regular Philly cheesesteak sub. If you wanted to, you could add in some chopped green pepper.

I admit this wasn't my favorite meal BUT I definitely enjoyed it for something different.

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes

Ingredients

1 Tbsp oil

1 lb lean ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

salt & pepper

1/4 cup HP sauce (or other steak sauce)

1 cup beef stock

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

1 cup milk

1 cup Provolone cheese, shredded

4 hoagie (or other) buns, split in half diagonally

Directions

Heat oil in large fry pan. Add beef and cook and stir until well crumbled and cooked, about 5 - 6 minutes. Add onion and salt & pepper. Cook onions until tender, about 8 minutes.

Stir in HP sauce and beef stock. Bring to a bubble and cook about 2 minutes.

While meat is cooking: melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook for about 1 minute, until thickened. Slowly whisk in milk and bring to a bubble. Stir in cheese.

Remove from heat.

Spoon meat mixture onto bottom half of bun. Top with cheese sauce and remaining top half of bun.

Pretty quick and easy. Not terribly fancy but if you are getting tired of the usual fare you might like this for a change. Especially if you don't want to heat up the kitchen and want to go from start to finish in about 20 minutes.

You can add in some chopped green pepper to the beef mixture when you add the onions if you want a more "traditional" philly cheesesteak.

A quick note though - You definitely want to use the Provolone cheese and not something with a milder flavor. You want the cheese sauce to be nice and strong with the beef to get that Philly cheesesteaky-ness.

We linked this up at Ms. enPlace. be sure to check it out!

Project 56 and Birthday Cakes (made of soda cans)

Great minds think alike.

It's true.

Know how I know?

Sue and I made each other matching birthday cakes out of mini pop cans.

We didn't know we were making each other the same cakes.

I think we had a bit of a twin thing going on there.
The fact we are both addicted to Pinterest may have also had something to do with it...

I made Sue the Coke "cake" and she made me the Diet Coke "cake". (Notice the one I made is fancier with the curly ribbon..... just sayin'....)

Sue's pretty Coke "cake".

My pretty Diet Coke "cake".

They aren't terribly fancy.

Just a bit of ribbon laying around and a glue gun and "ka-pow" pretty birthday cakes.

Sue and I had just gotten back yesterday from a week vacation out of town and wanted to whip something up for each other for our birthday (today).

Not only were we both too tired (read: lazy) to bake "real" cakes, we both made can "cakes'.

Our twin powers apparently work pretty good for turning 40 today.

Here we are enjoying our birthday cakes.

So, because we turned 40 we were trying to think of something we could do to show our appreciation for everything we have and how lucky we have been to this point in our lives.

40, apparently, is a landmark birthday.

Then I saw THIS POST on Culinary Concoctions by Peabody regarding something called "The Birthday Project" started by Robyn Bomar. Basically Robyn decided to do 38 random acts of kindness on her 38th birthday. (If you click the above link to Peabody's site then you can also find the link to Robyn's site.)

Sue and I decided that doing 40 random acts of kindness was something we would definitely like to do.

So why did we name it Project 56?

Well, Kenzie (Sue's daughter) wanted to get in on the giving. We definitely wanted to encourage her spirit of giving! She turned 16 this year - another landmark birthday - so we figured 16 + 40 = 56.

So, Project 56 for 56 random acts of kindness. 

We haven't set a time limit for our acts of kindness...we are hoping to finish them before this time next year so we can start again for our next birthday. We have a list of ideas started to inspire us but we are always looking for suggestions or ideas if anyone would care to share.

We will, hopefully, try to take some photos and such so we can keep everyone upated with how our Project 56 is going.

The place to improve the world is first in one's own heart and head and hands. -   Robert M. Pirsig

Looking for some cool links? Check out My Turn (for us)
Don't forget Kitchen Fun With My 3 Sons too!
There's also The Mandatory Mooch as well. :)

Holiday Time

I know you are looking at that picture thinking, "Wow, what a couple of fashionistas!"

You'd be right about that.

I am rockin' those cornrows and that jumpsuit and, what can I say about Sue's trendsetting T-shirt and jeans.
We definitely paved the way for generations to come.

Why I am posting a photo of Sue and I in all of our stylish glory instead of delicious food?

Sue and I are heading up to Prince George for a week of swimming and shopping and just plain relaxing with our Aunty Pat. (Sue's hubby and daughter and our mother are coming along too!)

I just wanted to post a quick note to let our readers know that we will back next Tuesday, July 24th (Our birthday!!) with some more great recipes.

This birthday is a milestone - so we are told - so we will be trying to come up with something special to celebrate.

Until then, we hope you have a great week and we will see you on Tuesday, July 24th - or, as I like to call it, the day Jo and Sue blessed the world with their presence (too much?).

See what happens when you are twins....

Every school photo up until we were old enough to make our own fashion decisions involves us being dressed the same.

I know...I know...."it's cute".

Well, okay, we were cute.

I'll admit it.

I just wanted to say that if you look closely at the photos you will see a difference in our hairstyles. Up until the day before the photo, we had the same one. Sue decided to give herself a haircut at the last minute. (Notice one pony tail is longer than the other and no bangs...)

Sue always was a rebel.

I was  am the good twin.

Anyway, we will be back in a few days!

Have a great week :)



Crockpot Korean Short Ribs

Time for another slow cooker recipe.

Yay!

Dinner without turning on the oven. Who doesn't love that?

This is another throw everything into the crockpot and walk away yet totally impress everyone with your culinary skills recipe.

I apologize in advance for the poor quality of my photos. I was using a point and shoot instead of my fancy schmancy camera and everything just looks blurry. Eeek!

I guess if you want to see how truly beautiful it looks you will have to whip this up yourself.

Crockpot Korean Short Ribs

(adapted from The Slow Cooker Bible cookbook)

Ingredients

4 to 4 1/2 lbs beef short ribs

1/2 cup green onions, sliced (divided in half)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup beef broth

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp fresh ginger, minced

1 Tbsp garlic, minced

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp sesame seeds, toasted

Directions

Spray crockpot with cooking spray.

Place ribs in bottom of slow cooker.

In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup green onions, soy sauce, beef broth, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and pepper. Pour over ribs.

Cover and cook on low for 6 - 7 hours, stirring once during cooking. (My crockpot cooks fast - it only took 4 hours on low!) Ribs should be fork tender.

Remove ribs from liquid. Cool slightly. Trim excess fat, cut rib meat into bite sized pieces, discarding bones and fat.

Let liquid stand for about 5 minutes to allow fat to rise. Skim off fat.

Whisk sesame oil into liquid until well combined. Return beef to liquid in the slow cooker. Cover, cook another 20 - 30 minutes, or until hot.

Serve with rice, if desired, and garnish with toasted sesame seeds and remaining green onions.

If you are using ribs that you think may not be very tender - you can always simmer the ribs on the stove top in a pot of water for an hour or two, drain them, and then continue making the recipe as per above. This also removes more of the fat as well.

The more tender, the better!

We served this on Basmati rice with a side of beet greens. So good!

I really liked the flavor of the sauce on the ribs. I think whisking in 2 or 3 tsps of cornstarch into the sauce when you add the sesame oil would thicken it a bit and make it even nicer to serve on the rice.

I didn't do it this time...but I definitely want to try it the next time I make it.

Be sure to visit Hun...What's For Dinner? for some great links.

Banana Coconut Muffins with Vanilla Coconut Custard

Think you have the best banana bread/muffin recipe?

Hmmm...

don't get mad at me BUT...

I think I may have you beat here.

This just may be the moistest, tastiest, squishiest, banana-y, coconut-y, delicious handful of goodness you will ever taste.

I usually use this banana bread recipe as my go to but I think I may have to crown a new winner.

I promise I am not even exaggerating a little bit.

The coconut custard just puts these over the top.

Banana Coconut Muffins with Vanilla Coconut Custard

Ingredients

Muffins

3 cups flour

1/3 cup coconut, shredded & toasted

2 tsp baking soda

pinch sea salt

1 cup butter, room temp

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

4 bananas (about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cup mashed)

1 cup coconut cream, whisked

Custard

1 1/4 cup milk

1 cup coconut cream, whisked

1 vanilla bean

4 egg yolks

1/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

pinch sea salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 - 12 hole muffin trays with paper muffin cups. Set aside.

Muffins: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, coconut, baking soda, salt.

In a large bowl, beat butter until smooth. Beat in sugars until well combined. Beat in vanilla, eggs, and mashed bananas.

Alternately beat flour mixture and coconut cream into butter mixture until batter is well mixed.

Scoop evenly into prepared muffin tins.

Bake at 350 until nicely browned, about 20 - 25 minutes. Toothpick inserted in center should come out clean. Let cool in pans for 5 minutes and then remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Custard: In a medium saucepan, whisk together milk, coconut cream, coconut, and vanilla bean. (Slice vanilla bean in half, lengthwise, and scrape out seeds. Place seeds and bean pod in milk) Bring to a simmer over medium heat, remove from heat, cover and let steep for about an hour.

After an hour - remove bean pod from milk and discard or save for another purpose. Heat milk back to steaming.

In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually whisk in the hot milk. (Do this slowly so you do not curdle the eggs.)

Pour everything back into the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. When thickened, remove from heat and let cool completely. Whisk before using.

To assemble:

Using a sharp knife, cut a cone shape wedge out of each muffin. Save the very top to replace back on the muffin. You can do whatever you would like with the muffin you cut out of the middle.

I ate mine...

big surprise....

Fill the hole with the cool custard and replace top of muffin.

Dollop a spoonful of custard on top. Chill and enjoy.

These are best stored in the fridge.

Actually.......

they are best stored in your tummy, but, you know...if case you don't want to eat them all in one sitting.

If you have been searching for the "perfect" banana muffin then give this one a try.

It may become your new favorite as well!

Be sure to stop by Blissful and Domestic for some great links.
Kitchen Fun With My 3 Sons and Carole's Chatter also have some great links.

Crockpot Country Chicken

I love cooking in my crockpot. Especially during the summer when I don't want to heat up the kitchen by using the oven.

I receive a book about 2 years ago called "The Slow Cooker Bible" and there are several pages that are dog eared and stained from use already. I hadn't tried this particular recipe before but, now that I have, it may be a new favorite.

I love that most crockpot recipes are super simple, ie: throw everything in the pot and go watch a movie.

This one is no exception.

Super

De Duper

Simple.

Crockpot Country Chicken

(adapted from The Slow Cooker Bible)

Ingredients

4 carrots, cut into 1 inch chunks

4 stalks celery, sliced

1 medium onion, chopped

6 - 8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, quartered

1 tsp dried tarragon leaves

1 tsp dried thyme leaves

salt & pepper

1 can (~10 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup (not diluted)

1 envelope (~1 oz) dry onion soup mix

1/3 cup cooking sherry (or white wine)

2 Tbsp cornstarch

Directions

Place carrots, celery, and onion in bottom of crockpot.

Arrange chicken breast pieces over vegetables and sprinkle with tarragon, thyme, and salt & pepper.

Spoon cream of chicken soup over chicken and sprinkle with dry onion soup mix.

Cover, cook on high for 3 - 4 hours, stirring once during cooking.

Blend cooking sherry (or wine) with cornstarch, whisking in a small bowl until smooth. Stir into the crockpot. Cook, uncovered, for about 15 minutes - or until sauce thickens.

Serve over rice or pasta or egg noodles.

It really is that easy.

I have a little note about this recipe.

Well....about crockpots in general.

I find my crockpot cooks really fast.

I had it on low and it still only took about 3 hours to be done. I was thinking I had a good 5 hours on low...but...nope. Done in 3, on low.

It can be hard to plan when to start my crockpot as it cooks so much faster than most recipes state.

What I am trying to say is - know your crockpot. Learn how fast it cooks so you can plan out when to turn it on.

Because this was done in 3 hours on low in my crockpot I had to turn it to "warm" for the another hour until dinner time. It wasn't overcooked at all and the chicken was soooooo tender you could cut it with a fork.

OH...and...if you don't want to use alcohol in this dish you can just use apple juice.

Stop by Ms. enPlace and Hun...What's For Dinner and Carole's Chatter for some great links!