UPSCALE SLOPPY JOES

Upscale Sloppy Joes sort of sounds like a contradiction, doesn't it? I am here to tell you that this recipe is definitely good enough for company (at least MY kind of company, lol).  It is made  with a chuck roast in the slow cooker, so what could be simpler? 

The beef chuck roast juices combine with the Sloppy Joe seasonings while it cooks and the result is fork tender beef and an absolutely delicious gravy/sauce. I only had bargain hamburger buns for this photo, but I can see this same recipe served on crusty sourdough rolls along with some potato salad that would please any guest.

UPSCALE SLOPPY JOES
2 pounds lean beef chuck roast (trim any large fatty areas)
1 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup chopped celery
2/3 cup green pepper
2/3 cup ketchup
½ cup water
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon red pepper sauce
1½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon mustard powder

Brown the beef chuck roast in a frying pan, then place in a slow cooker. In the same frying pan, saute the vegetables until the onions are almost transparent.  Put the vegetables in the slow cooker.

In a bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients and pour over the meat and veggies. Cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or on low for 8 hours. It isn't necessary, but I turn the meat over a couple of times during cooking and spoon the sauce over the meat.

Thirty minutes (or so) before serving, thicken the sauce with a slurry of 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of water.  Cut the beef into sandwich slices (or just pull it apart) and top with some of the
sauce.  OH SO GOOD!!

NOTE: This would even be delicious over rice.
NOTE:  My slow cooker took only 4 hours on high to make the meat extremely tender, but still slice-able. If you like your beef more like pulled pork, cook it on high for 5 hours.

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CRISP BACON and GUACAMOLE SANDWICH

I first posted this idea a couple of years ago and then promptly forgot about it. However, summer is often too busy (or hot) to cook, so recently I dug into my files for a good sandwich idea and re-discovered this treat.

You will not find this delight on any health food menu and you won't find it on your weight watchers plan, but man oh man, is it tasty. Crisp fried bacon, on top of a thick layer of guacamole and topped with lettuce and tomatoes. You just have to say yes to a good sandwich some times!

The guacamole for these sandwiches is excellent:
3 avocados
juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup sweet (or red) onion diced small
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 Roma tomatoes diced small
1 teaspoon minced garlic
pinch of ground cayenne pepper (optional)

Mash the avocado with the lime and salt and then stir in the rest of the ingredients. You can use this right away, but the flavors blend better if it sits in the fridge for an hour or so.

Spread a nice thick layer of guacamole on your toasted bread, then top with crisp bacon, tomato slices and favorite lettuce.  Eat your sandwich in the shade with a tall glass of sweet ice tea !!

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SWEET & SOUR PORK RECIPE

There are three reasons to try this great recipe. First, this recipe is made in the slow cooker, so it's super easy. Secondly, this recipe is very cheap to make and thirdly, it gets rave reviews whenever I make it. What more can you ask for?

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You should know that I am not a big sweet and sour fan, but I love this recipe. It is extremely moist and just the right amount of sweet to sour ratio.

 Walmart sells a small vacuum packed 2 pound pork roast that is perfect for this recipe. The package says "pork loin rib eye pork roast" and even here in Alaska, it's only $4.50!!
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2-3 pound lean pork roast
1 cup sugar (seems like a lot, but it mellows out)
½ cup white vinegar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons ketchup
20 ounce can crushed pineapple (drained)
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Brown the pork roast on all sides and put it in your slow cooker. Mix everything else and bring it to a boil, then pour it over the meat.
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Cook on low for 4 hours or until very tender (spoon the sauce over the meat every once in a while).
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That's it...super easy!! At the very end of the cooking time, I thickened the sauce a little with a slurry of cornstarch and water (right in the crockpot). To serve, slice the meat and spoon a little of the sauce over it; it's great with rice.

Now this last suggestion is not for everyone, but my picky-picky hubby absolutely loves it. On day two, I pull this pork apart and mix it with a little of the sauce (make sure you include some pineapple out of the sauce). While its still cold, I roll it into a large burrito size tortilla (folding in all the ends) and then I brown the whole sandwich in a little butter until its piping hot. Hubby is extremely UNdemostrative when it comes to food, but he ooohhh'd and ahhhhhh'd about this sandwich until the last bite.

NOTE: Sorry about these photographs. This is one of those recipes that, no matter how hard to try to get a good photo, it just doesn't work. You'll just have to trust me that it is delicious.

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BIG MAC & FRIES (CLONE)

I don't know about you, but we enjoy eating a Big Mac 3 or 4 times a year. So I was happy to find this recipe. The sandwich (because of the "secret sauce") really does taste like the "real thing" except so much better!!

First of all, make the "secret sauce" (stir well) and let it sit in the fridge overnight:
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½ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Wishbone deluxe French dressing
4 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
1 tablespoon re-hydrated onion flakes (*see note)
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
For the sandwich, you will need some 80% lean ground beef, some thinly sliced dill pickles, some super thinly shredded iceberg lettuce, some slices of American cheese and some very small, inexpensive hamburger buns (see note).
Make 2 very small, very thin pattys for each sandwich; salt and pepper them and fry them on a hot griddle. Starting with the bottom bun, construct the sandwich according to the following diagram:
McDONALD's FRENCH FRIES
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Cut two Russet potatoes into shoestring size french fries. Dilute ¼ cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons corn syrup in 2 cups hot water. Soak cut french fries in this sugar water for 30 minutes.
Drain potatoes well, and blot dry. Pre-fry in 375 degree oil for 1 minute then drain and chill for 10 minutes. Do a "final fry" in 375 degree oil for about 5 minutes or until golden brown. Drain and salt.
NOTE: I couldn't find Wishbone French dressing, so I used Kraft bright orange colored French Dressing.
NOTE: The recipe specifically calls for re-hydrated onion flakes. I was skeptical at first, but soaked some dehydrated onion flakes in a cup of hot water (for about 10 minutes) and they are EXACTLY like the onions that McDonald's uses. You can use fresh onions, but it won't taste the same. **MEASURE THE ONIONS AFTER THEY HAVE RE-HYDRATED!!
NOTE: The recipe says that your only supposed to use three very thinly sliced dill pickles, preferably Vlasic.
NOTE: Use the small cheap hamburger buns (here they cost about 89 cents for 8). It takes 1½ buns per sandwich. I cut the crust off of one of the buns to use it for the "center bun" in the sandwich. I preheated the buns for just a couple of minutes in the oven, but that isn't necessary.
NOTE: I hope you try this, it is a lot of fun and no more waiting in line at McDonald's for an inferior sandwich.

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