Luanne's Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:

5 lb Hamburger

3/4 c. chopped onion

3/4 c. chopped celery

1/3 c. chopped green pepper

1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

2/3 c. Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup Mustard

1 tsp Chili Powder

4 c. Ketchup

Salt and Pepper to taste.

Awesome Savory Waffles

Ingredients
Waffle Batter:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

Savory Filling Suggestions (but don't limit yourself to just these):
Bacon (cooked, crumbled)
Finely chopped onions (or green onions...or shallots)
Spinach
Cheese

Instructions
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat egg yolks, milk and butter; stir into dry ingredients until smooth. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; fold into batter. Add savory ingredients. Before making each waffle, stir batter. Bake in a preheated waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions until golden brown. 

Notes...we borrowed this idea from a local waffle restaurant, and from all recipes...and then added some stuff to make it our own (of course!).

Suggestion:
Make an awesome breakfast sandwich:
Put a fried egg and some sour cream in-between two waffle squares.
Also, you can freeze whatever waffles you don't eat and warm them up or toast them later.

Pancake Batter

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour (sift twice)
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp white sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Instructions:
In small bowl, beat egg, add melted butter and beat lightly until blended, then lightly beat in milk and vanilla (careful not to over-beat your egg).
In large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
Make a well in the center, and pour in the egg mixture from the small bowl.
Mix (some lumps are ok).

Tortilla Soup with Chicken

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

One tablespoon olive oil

One handful of tortilla chips, crunched up

1 large onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

6-8 tomatoes, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1-3 jalapenos, seeded and chopped

1 poblano pepper, chopped

6 cups chicken broth/stock

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded, bones removed, etc

1 lime

Garnish ideas:

Shredded Cheese

Avocado

Sour Cream

Cilantro

Tortilla Chips

Instructions:

On medium heat, saute onions, garlic, and red pepper in oil about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, other peppers, and handful of chips. Cook for 5 more minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Cool slightly. 

Using an immersion blender or upright blender, puree the mixture until smooth. Return to medium heat, stir in chicken and heat through.

Squeeze lime over the soup and stir.

Serve and garnish as you like.

Edit: February 2013
Some Pictures. As you might be able to see, we have been just adding whatever peppers we could find that looked good, and regular stemmed tomatoes instead of the canned stuff (about 10 or so). Still one of our favorites!

Peppers, onion, garlic. Sauteing in olive oil.

With tomatoes added.

With broth and chips added.

With chicken. Nearly done!

With fixings (chips are crushed up on the bottom of the bowl). YUM.

Upside Down Ravioli

Ingredients:

8-12oz Jumbo Pasta Shells (we use Barilla)
1 Pound Italian Sausage
2 Tbsp. Extra virgin olive oil
1 Bag (6 oz) baby spinach, chopped
1 Cup finely chopped onion
1 Garlic clove, minced (1/8 tsp garlic powder also works well)
1 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp Ground Black Pepper
1/8 Tsp ground nutmeg
1 egg
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
As much shredded mozzerella cheese as you can handle
1 jar (26 oz) Red Sauce (we use Prego meat-flavored spaghetti sauce)

Instructions:
PREHEAT oven to 350
COOK Jumbo Shells according to package directions; drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water (we usually just do a ladle or so full).
WHILE pasta is cooking, cook italian sausage in large skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink, stirring occasionally. Drain grease.
Stir in oil, spinach, onion, and garlic; add some of the reserved pasta water until blended, adding more water as needed; continue cooking 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat; add seasonings and blend well.
Let mixture cool.
Stir in egg and Parmesan cheese.
POUR 1 cup sauce into 13x9-inch baking dish.
FILL jumbo shells with meat mixture and a pinch of mozzerella cheese and place in baking dish (We usually find it helpful to have it all lined up...bowl of meat mixture, bowl of shells, cheese, baking dish), making sure the shells are sealed and that the sealed part is facing down into the sauce.
Pour remaining sauce over the shells; sprinkle remaining mozzerella cheese over the top. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes or until thouroughly heated.
Makes 4-6 servings.

Enchilada Sauce (as found on allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup diced onion
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons hot chili powder
4 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 (1 ounce) square semisweet chocolate (a couple tablespoons of semi-sweet chocolate chips work just fine!)

Instructions:
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high high heat. Saute onion until tender. Stir in garlic, oregano, cumin and cinnamon; saute for a few minutes.
Stir in flour and chili powder, stirring until sauce thickens. Slowly whisk in chicken broth; reduce until sauce reaches desired consistency. Stir in chocolate until melted and well blended.

Chicken Enchiladas (as found on allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
10 Corn Tortillas heated
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (4 ounce) can green chilies, chopped
1 pound cooked chicken, shredded
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce (or, make your own sauce!)
1/2 cup jalapeno jack cheese, shredded
cooking spray

Instructions:
Saute onion and garlic in a large oiled skillet over medium heat, about 5 minutes.
Add chilies, chicken, and enchilada sauce; cook 2 minutes.
Fold in cheese.
Remove from heat.
Fill each tortilla with 1/3 cup of chicken mixture and roll up. Place seam side down in an oiled (pan spray) baking pan.
(tip: Dip each warmed tortilla in water, shake off excess before filling with ingredients.)
Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes. Broil for 5 minutes and serve hot.

Steve's Pizza Dough

Ingredients:
1 package of quick rising yeast
1 teaspoon of sugar 1 cup of warm water
1 egg (beaten)
1 Tablespoon of olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons of salt
3 ½ cups of flour

Instructions:
Mix the yeast, sugar, and ¼ cup of the water in a separate container to activate the yeast (should only take 5 minutes).
While yeast mixture is activating, mix the rest of the water (3/4 cup), egg, olive oil, and salt.
Add yeast mixture and mix in.
Then add the flour.
Mix until everything is mixed together well and the dough holds together. If it is a little too wet or sticky sprinkle in a little more flour.
Shape into a ball, place into a greased bowl, and cover with a damp towel to rise.
Dough should rise for at least an hour, but more is great.
After the dough has risen, punch it down and reshape into a ball. Separate the dough ball into two smaller balls (one batch of dough makes two pizzas).
Roll out with a rolling pin, add your toppings, and bake for 17-20 minutes at 425 F (218 C). Or until the crust looks golden brown and the toppings look cooked to your liking.
Hint:
Make sure that the bottom of the dough has plenty of flour on it so that it will not stick to the pizza stone (or whatever you are preparing your pizza on).