Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Jennas?
I never liked Sloppy Joes until high school when I ate them at a friend's house.  Before then I had only had Joes from school or from a can.  These Joes were unlike any I had had before.  They were homemade.  I loved them, and greatly enjoyed the occasion that I went to stay at her house and they were on the menu.
These Joes are not those Joes.  As delicious as they were, they were but the first step on my Joe journey.  These are a recipe I adapted over time from a recipe I found online several years ago.

Sloppy Joes

1 lb. ground beef
1 C. ketchup
1 Tbsp. yellow mustard
2 Tsp. Worchestershire sauce
1/2 C. water
salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder

Brown the beef.  Drain well but don't rinse.  Return to the pan.  Add ketchup, mustard, Worchestershire, water.  Stir well to coat.  Add a dash of salt and around 1/4 tsp. of pepper, garlic and onion powders to taste.  Stir.  Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat.  Drop the heat to low and cover.  Cook, stirring periodically for fifteen to twenty minutes.
Serve on your choice of buns.  My husband also likes the meat on tortilla chips covered in cheddar cheese like chili nachos.

I am a picky eater in a lot of ways, so these are not chunky, pepper-laden Joes that some people may be accustomed to.  Pretty quick and easy dinner that travels and reheats well.  A winner-dinner for me.  :)

Whoopie Pies

I recently started birth control for the first time in my life.  I am on a serious sweets and fried stuff kick and I am cranky as hell.  In that spirit, my grandmother's whoopie pies!  They are quite good but as I have gotten older I want the cookie to be a little darker and more bitter.  The filling is super sweet, so it would be a nice contrast.  But for now:

Whoopie Pie Classic

Cookie:

Mix together: 2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda, ¼ tsp salt, 1/3 cup cocoa and 1 cup sugar. Mix together: 1/3 cup oil, 1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla and ¾ cup milk.  Add to the dry ingredients.

Drop batter on ungreased cookie sheet by tablespoon. Bake 12 mins @ 350 °

Cool.

Filling:

Beat together until smooth: 1.5 sticks butter, 1.5 cup 10XXX sugar, 1/3 cup marshmallow creme and 2 tsp vanilla.  Spread on bottom side of a cookie and top with another to make a sandwich.

Be prepared for cavities!