Kora's Sloppy Joes

Kora's Sloppy Joes
     This recipe came from a family friend. 10/10 would recommend.

2 lbs. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1/2 c. celery

2 TB vinegar
2 tsp. lemon juice
3 tsp. worcestershire sauce
2 Tb brown sugar
ketchup to taste
1//2 tsp. prepared mustard
1 1/4 tsp. salt, pepper

     Brown and mix beef, onion, and celery. Drain extra fat and juices from mixture. Add additional ingredients to meat and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve on buns.

Note: For more versatility this recipe can be altered to become 'Taco Joe.' Now it can double as Sloppy Joe filling and also taco meat. Just omit the brown sugar, use less ketchup, and add some taco seasoning.

Spanish Rice

Spanish Rice
     This one pot meal is easy and delicious! Serve with tortilla chips and some freshly cut veggies or fruit to round out the meal. Bonus: it's great leftover as well.

1 TB vegetable oil
1  medium onion, thinly sliced
1/2 lb. lean, ground beef
1 c. regular rice, uncooked
1 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce
1 3/4 cups hot water
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. mustard
dash black pepper

Heat oil in skillet. Add onions, beef and rice. Stir over high heat until meat is lightly browned. Add tomato sauce and remaining ingredients. Mix well. Bring quickly to boil, lower heat, cover tightly, and simmer for 25 minutes. Serves 4.

Mom's Chocolate Chip Muffs

Mom's Chocolate Chip Muffs
     These muffins were a staple in our household growing up. Now I regularly make them for breakfast and keep them in the freezer so they last. Just nuke them in the microwave and they're good as new!

1 egg
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 c. milk
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 c. chocolate chips

     Beat egg in a mixing bowl. Stir in oil, milk, brown sugar, and vanilla. Sift in dry ingredients and add chocolate chips. Stir until just mixed. Fill 12 muffin cups and bake at 375 degrees for about 18 minutes, or until done.

Mini Ground Beef Crescent Rolls

Mini Ground Beef Crescent Rolls
     This recipe was inspired by a meal served at my high school. It began as an experiment, but I would say it was a success.

1 container refrigerated crescent roll dough
ground beef. browned
Optional: other fillings such as jam or cinnamon sugar.

     Open can of dough as instructed. Use a small handful of ground beef as a filling before rolling crescent rolls. Bake as instructed. Necessity is the mother of invention - I didn't have a regular baking pan, so I placed the rolls in my muffin tin. They self greased themselves and came out perfectly! Serve with a dipping sauce or gravy.

     If you are feeling adventurous, try experimenting with other fillings. These rolls can be served as a meal or snack.

Apple Crisp

Apple Crisp
     Apple crisp is a mix between apple pie and a fruit cobbler. It's great because it's easy to make and it can be whipped up quickly, even quicker if you're a wiz at cutting up apples. Plus it tastes great!

1 TB lemon juice
2-3 apples, partly peeled and chopped
1/2 c. flour
1/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter
cinnamon
salt

Add lemon juice and sliced apples to pan. Mix together flour, sugar, and butter. Add a dash of cinnamon and two pinches of salt. Cover apples with mixture. Bake for 40 min at 350 degrees.

Rag Wreath

     A cheery rag wreath is a great way to make your house feel like a home, as well as an easy craft that will make a dent in your scrap stash! You will need 1 wire wreath frame from your local craft store (I used an 18" one), as well as color-coordinating cotton fabric scraps. Be warned, depending on the depth of you stash you may need to purchase more fabric to finish your project out. If you are buying fabric for this project you will need an estimated 2.5 yards total.

     Once you have your wreath frame and fabric it's time to get ripping! Or cutting, if you prefer. However, with the woven nature of cotton, ripping is more accurate, as well as more time and energy efficient. If you have not ripped fabric before, it may be a little intimidating. Feel free to test out your technique on a separate piece before beginning. Make an incision into the fabric a couple inches, where you want your rip to be. This gives you a start and something to hold onto - your fabric will rip along the grain!

     Whatever your method, figure out a process, because we will be ripping a lot of strips! Your strips will need to be 1.5" X 8". I recommend ripping a long 8" wide strip and then cutting that strip into 1.5" lengths. This seemed to be the most efficient process.

My strips are in a summer-fall color scheme.

     Once you have all your strips ripped, it is time to begin tying. Using the wire wreath frame, you will have three rows of strips. Pick a starting point and first tie a strip around the two outermost wires. You'll need to do a double knot to keep the tie in place. Your next strip will be tied around the two middle wires, and your third strip on the two innermost wires. Obviously, your strips will be overlapping each other to some degree. This helps to evenly disperse the strips. Continue this pattern around the wreath.

Here is my wreath, partly finished,

     It may take a while, but the result will be worth it! When your wreath is complete and all the wires have been covered, fluff out your ties a bit and hang your new wreath proudly on your door!

Corn Dog Muffins

Corn Dog Muffins
     This recipe uses a boxed corn bread mix to make simple 'corn dogs.' It's like hamburger helper! Just add hot dogs!

1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
1/2 package hot dogs
8 muffin liners

     Follow directions for boxed mix. Place mixture into lined muffin tin, filling liner up about 2/3 full. Cut hot dogs into appropriately lengthed segments and place in batter. Bake according to directions on box.

Note: Needing something to do with the other half of your hot dogs? Either make another batch or try out this recipe for easy Hot Dog Dinner!