Sloppy Buffalo Joes

This is Rachael Ray's spicy version of sloppy Joes. My sister-in-law made this for dinner the other night and it was delicious!

2 tbsp of olive oil
2 pounds of ground chicken or ground turkey
1 carrot, peeled chopped or grated
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 yellow onion chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
Salt & pepper
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
2tbsp Worcestershire sauce
¼ to 1/3 cup of hot sauce
*1 cup of tomato sauce
*1 cup of chicken stock
8 burger rolls
1 cup blue cheese crumbles
2 large dill pickles, chopped

In a mixing bowl combine vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and tomato sauce and set aside. Heat a large skillet with olive oil in medium heat. Add turkey and cook for about 5-6 mins or until turkey is fully cooked. Add carrots, celery, onions and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook for 7-8 minutes. Pour into the pan the vinegar/sauce mixture and stir to combine. Simmer for a few more minutes. Pile sloppy buffalo filling onto buns and top with cheese and chopped pickles.

*The sloppy filling was a bit watery. So I would add ½ cup chicken stock or replace the tomato sauce for tomato paste to make the filling less watery. Hope you guys like it!

Easy Shrimp Scampi

(Photo courtesy of Google)

Ingredients:
1 lb. shrimp (peeled)
3 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. lemon pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

If your shrimp did not come peeled, then make sure you peel them before you start cooking them. Combine the butter, lemon pepper, and garlic powder in a pan, and turn the burner on to let the butter melt. Then add the shrimp. Saute the shrimp for a few minutes until pink (shrimp do not take long), and make sure all of the shrimp are covered in the butter. Then they are ready to serve..very quick and easy!

I like to have some extra sauce on the side to dip my shrimp in. So in a bowl, I just combine the same ingredients (butter, lemon pepper, and garlic powder) and put it in the microwave for a minute or two. Then you have a quick and easy dipping sauce for the shrimp. Hope you enjoy!

Indian Inspired Chili

It seems wrong to put two chilis so close, but this one should taste pretty different. At a family gathering a while ago, I tried out this Indian-inspired chili on my Ohio relatives. My family thought it was way too hot, so I tamed it down, blended it with more familiar Cincinnati-style chili ingredients and it was a lot more popular. So this is sweet, but spicy. You can always kick it up a bit by adding more emphasis on the spicy elements.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves minced garlic
  
• 2 medium onions, diced small
  
• 2 inches minced ginger root (or 1 tsp ginger powder)
• 4 cardamom pods (Indian food aisle or spice aisle)
• 2 in cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp chili powder (cayenne if you're braver, paprika if not)
  
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 1 tsp garam masala (Indian food aisle or spice aisle)
• 1 tsp coriander (Indian food aisle or spice aisle)
• 1 tsp pepper
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 lb ground meat
• 32 oz diced tomato
• 32 oz kidney beans, rinsed and drained
  
• 32 oz tomato puree
• 1/2 c brown sugar

Optional:

• pasta or rice as a base
• shredded cheddar (to top)
• diced sweet onion (to top)

Directions

1. Warm the oil in a large pot. Then sautee the first five non-powder spices. Stir them occasionally until the onions look clear.
2. Stir in all the powdered spices so the onions are nicely coated and cook for another minute or two.
3. Stir in the ground meat and brown it with the spices.
   
4. Once the meat is thoroughly browned, add in the tomatoes, beans and brown sugar. I ditch the bean fluids and keep the tomato fluids.
   
5. Simmer your chili until it is as thick as you like.
6. Especially when you're serving to folks unfamiliar with Indian spices, remove the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods before serving. They won't kill you, but aren't a fun texture when you bite them unawares.