Wife Practice, Level 2

Hi ya'll! As ya'll know, I'm a wife in training.  I'll let ya'll in on a little secret: Even though I'm proud to have something pretty delicious to feed to my soon to be husband, it's really me that all this cooking and table setting is for.  I just love entertaining and cooking delicious food too much.  So I'm gonna let him think this is for him but I wanted ya'll to know the real truth! So tonight, I added another level of complexity to my wife training (jk)! Along with making a meal, I also set the table and added an element of presentation that I avoided last night.  I would like to thank my roommate, Kimberlee, for being a brave taste testing guinea pig.  Tonight's menu consisted of the classic sloppy joe's (from henceforth to be known as sloppy jac's) and baked beans.  I finished up the meal with simply delicious strawberry parfaits.  Here are the pics from the evening:

                         



Here is the recipe for Sloppy Jac's:

1. Put 1 1b. ground beef, 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped and seeded bell pepper, and 1 chopped clove of garlic into a nonstick skillet and cook, stirring frequently and breaking up the beef with a wooden spoon, over medium heat for about 8-10 minutes, until beef is evenly browned.  Carefully, drain the fat.
2. Stir in 1 tbsp mild mustard, 3/4 c. of ketchup, 1 tsp of white vinegar, and pinch each of chili powder and paprika.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.
3. Divide mixture evenly among 4 hamburger buns and serve immediately. 

For the beans, I just grabbed a big can of original baked beans.  I diced up 1/2 an onion and 1/2 a bell pepper and sauted them in a pan for a few minutes. Then I added the baked beans and a spoon of each: ketchup, syrup, and brown sugar.  Adding a few things to a simple can of beans makes them taste like homemade instead of outa the can :)

For the parfaits, I whipped up some lowfat instant vanilla pudding.  I added a layer of crushed graham crackers, then some diced strawberries, then a layer of vanilla pudding. I repeated once more and finished up with a sprinkle of graham cracker crumbs on top.

This recipe turned out so delicous: both of my roommates gave it there seal of approval! I can't wait to whip this up one night and see what reaction I get from Matt.  I suspect that he will greedily ask for seconds. So ya'll get in the kitchen and see what kinda trouble ya'll can get into! Thanks for stopping by and talk to ya'll again real soon!