BBQ Cocktail Weiners

This is an easy side/appetizer and I figured Annie would eat this if she didn't want the main course.

1 package of cocktail weiners
~1/2 c. BBQ Sauce
~1/2 c. grape jelly
~1/4 t. garlic powder, optional

Combine all ingredients in a small crock pot (we have a 3 qt.). Give a little stir. Cook on low for about 2 hours. Yum!

Taco Soup

And for the main course of the evening...

Taco Soup (from the kitchen of Paula Deen)

Here are the few changes we made (and it's a good thing we did, because all the ingredients probably wouldn't fit in our 4 qt. crockpot).

1. We went with less beef (probably about a 1.5 lbs.)
2. 1/2 the amount of onions
3. Only 1 can of pinto beans
4. Replaced kidney beans with black beans
5. Used Italian tomatoes instead of Mexican (couldn't find them in Target)
6. No olives

I'm sure this would pare down nicely for less people.

One more note: Close all your bedroom doors! This soup can have a pretty meaty smell...yummy...but meaty.

Italian Meatballs

We kind of got tired of the same old spaghetti and meat sauce but didn't really want to sacrifice cost. So the new twist was meatballs, but we've never been really satisfied with the frozen ones we usually get from Costco. Instead we tried the homemade stuff which was much better. The only sacrifice here is it takes just a little longer to cook. The recipe we used was for Mama Iuliucci's Famous Meat-a-balls.

Let me know if you have/find a good recipe for Italian meatballs. We're always up for trying something different. For now, we might stick with this recipe and may try it with the Italian Spaghetti Sauce recipe Grandma Googie gave us.

Note: I didn't feel like frying anything and since it was soooooo cold, we baked them on a broiling rack (so the fat could drip away) at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Sloppy Joes

1 T. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 t. chili powder
3/4 lb. ground beef
1 t. brown sugar
Salt and Pepper
1 c. tomato puree
1/2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. water
Tabasco
4 hamburger buns

Heat the oil in a skillet over med-hi heat. Add onion and cook until lightly browned (~5 minutes). Add garlic and chili and cook for ~1 minute. Add beef, sugar, 1/4 t. salt, 1/3 t. pepper. Reduce heat to medium and cook until no longer pink (~4 minutes). Stir in tomato puree, ketchup and water. Cook until thickened (~5 minutes). Season with Tabasco, salt and pepper to taste.

Sometimes it tastes a little too tart for me, so I add about a two rounded teaspoons more of brown sugar in the end.

Also, we don't eat them sandwich style. Instead we eat them open faced for more filling and less sloppy. I guess you could just call is Joe-style. Hah!

From The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook