Sloppy Joes and Coleslaw

I know what you are thinking, wow Sarah, do I really need a recipe for Sloppy Joes. Well you do! The other night I was talking with Chris and told him that I had some ground beef in the fridge and wasn't sure what to make with it. I didn't want to make chili, cause I made 2 pots of soup the day before and I didn't want to make hamburgers. He was like why not Sloppy Joes. I thought hmmm, that sounds kind of good. I don't think I have ever made them and the last time I had one it was most likely made from a can. Well I think we should bring back homemade Joes because they are delicious and easy and not that bad for you! I didn't even take pictures of the process because I really didn't think I would want to post it, but I do.

Recipe
Sloppy Joes
1 pound ground beef
1 small onion diced
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 can of black beans
1/2 green pepper diced
1 cup tomato sauce
2-3 tsp diced chipotle in adobo sauce- this makes it smokey and a little spicy!
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 buns- I used mini kaiser rolls- i don't like big buns :)

Coleslaw
1/2 cup yogurt
2 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 cabbage chopped
1 carrot - I use my vegetable peeler to get thin strips
1/2 green pepper diced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper


Brown the beef with the onion for about 8 minutes or until cooked through. Pour off the excess liquid. Add ketchup, beans, green pepper, tomato sauce, chipotle in adobo and cumin. Bring this to a boil and then let it simmer for about 5 minutes or until nice and thick. Season with salt and pepper.

For the slaw, combine the yogurt, cider vinegar and hot sauce. In another bowl combine cabbage, carrots and green peppers. Pour the yogurt sauce on the vegetables and combine well. Season with salt and pepper.

Feel free to top your Sloppy Joe with some slaw! yum!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

I love whoopie pies! There I said it. jejeje. I discovered pumpkin whoopie pies at the Thursday farmers market in Daley plaza. It was my little treat to take a break from work and get one of these delicious little treats! Well the summer is gone, and so is the farmers market :( I thought, why not make my own little pumpkin treats! This would be a great recipe if you are having a lot of people over for the holidays!

Recipe- adapted from Martha Stewart Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

makes about 14 whoopie pies
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cloves
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 1/2 cups pumpkin puree - I think I used 1 large can - I feel guilty using a can of pumpkin considering I have 2 large pumpkin sitting on my front porch. oh well!
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

frosting
1 stick butter
1 8 oz package of cream cheese
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar - the original recipe called for 3, but I didn't want to use that, so feel free to add more if it is not sweet enough for you.
1 teaspoon vanilla

Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl mix together all the dry ingredients, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Set this aside.

In another bowl mix together the sugar and oil.

Add the pumpkin puree, eggs and vanilla to this mixture. Mix it well. I used my mixer for this, but you could do it by hand as well. Once this is mixed add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture.

Use a 1/4 cup measuring scoop to plop these onto the parchment paper. You can make them as big or small as you want. Make sure to space them at least 1 inch apart. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes.

Set the pies aside to cool and start to whip up the frosting.

For the frosting, mix the butter and cream cheese well. Then add the confectioners sugar and vanilla.

Now you get to do the fun part, frost them! Put a little frosting on one side and then top it with another pie! Then bite into one of these delicious creations. I store my extras in the refrigerator and then you can set them out 10-15 minutes before you plan to serve them.