‘Dinner Recipe’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Recipe: Sausage Alfredo Pasta

October 27, 2014 · Narrative

A quick and delicious meal that comes together in just about thirty minutes, featuring easy pantry staples like sausages, red peppers, mushrooms, and penne noodles.

I had pretty much next to no sleep last night. Both kids woke me up separately during the night. Then I woke up around 4 am after dreaming that the Backstreet Boys all died in a car accident. It was so vivid, I had to Google it this morning to make sure it didn’t actually happen. Rest assured, boy band fans, they are fine. And then just before the morning alarm went off, one of the cats was shrieking to be let out. Clearly the sleep gods were not in my favor.

Which pretty much means I couldn’t wait to come home at the end of today to just crash. This girl is exhausted. This also means I was looking for a super simple dinner that required exactly zero trips to the grocery store, and very little in terms of effort.

So here we are with this Sausage Alfredo Pasta.

I had a few vegetables languishing in my refrigerator, begging to be used. And looking ahead to a week of Halloween and other assorted activities, I knew if I didn’t use them in tonight’s dinner, they were heading straight for the rubbish bin. Sausages are an easy win with the kids, the vegetables in tonight’s dinner, not so much. I thought with the pasta and the sauce, they might not notice. Madeline ended up liking the bits of red peppers, so I’ll take that mini victory. To keep this dinner a little easier (and a little lighter), I used a pre-made light Alfredo sauce.

Just about half an hour later, we were sitting down to dinner. With about a cup and a half of vegetables, and a lighter Alfredo sauce, this meal was low on the guilt spectrum, and done quickly. Which are pretty much my favorite kind of meals for a weeknight.

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Recipe: Very Veggie Sloppy Joes

October 21, 2014 · Ad-Free, Narrative

A delicious, filling, easy-to-make go-to dinner that will please everyone in your family, these Very Veggie Sloppy Joes are a one pot meal that screams old school comfort food.

Growing up, Sloppy Joes were a semi-frequent meal to hit our dinner table. And for good reason. It’s quick, healthy, and a sure-fire crowd pleaser. Once I had my own family, I started making Sloppy Joes as well, because as long as you have ground beef on hand, you can have this on the table, with a few other pantry staples, in under thirty minutes.

Take that, Rachael Ray.

A little of this, a little of that, I never really measure, I just make them and adjust it along the way.

As cooks are wont to do.

But lately, or at least the past dozen or so times I have made Sloppy Joes, I’ve been adding some vegetables to it. Because although I don’t subscribe to the hide-the-vegetables-and-deceive-your-kids program, if I can tuck them in here and there without altering the taste, then I will.

But make no mistake. The kids knew the vegetables were in there. And Madeline did her very best to carefully pick out as many bits of bell pepper as she could, until she realized she was fighting a losing battle.

So. #winning

And to think she didn’t even notice all the mushrooms she ate.

Besides the yellow and red bell peppers, the mushrooms, and the tomato sauce, I also used 93% lean ground beef, so it doesn’t get much healthier than this. Beef, even that lean, is an inexpensive way to feed a family, which means more money for peppers and mushrooms like these, right from the farmer’s market. When the meat is on sale, I stock up and freeze a bunch. Just remove the butcher/grocery store wrapping and put the beef in a freezer-safe bag. Make sure to squeeze out all the air, close it up, and pop it in the freezer. It will keep safely for 6-12 months uncooked, and 2-3 months cooked.

If you’re looking for more easy and delicious beef recipes, be sure to visit Beef, It’s What’s for Dinner, and their Pinterest page (and they also have good money saving tips here). Now, for serving these Sloppy Joes, anything goes. I usually either toast a slice of bread and spoon the Sloppy Joes over the bread or I put it inside a toasted roll. I like them topped with melted cheese, but I skipped that this round because 1) I’m trying to be virtuous and 2) the kids prefer it without. Mix and match and serve how you like it best.

Hungry for more Sloppy Joes recipes?
This recipe is full of mushrooms, and the kids inhaled it. Delicious stuff from Cooking Light.

Psst … my site was having caching problems yesterday, so in case you missed yesterday’s post, you’ll find some delicious little meatballs right here. …

Recipe: Beef and Mushroom Sloppy Joes {Cooking Light}

October 4, 2012 · Narrative

“My Mom thinks Honey Boo Boo is a train wreck,” Nick said in a phone call to one of his friends.

He was outside, and I was in the kitchen making dinner.

He’s right, of course. It is a train wreck. But one that we haven’t looked away from. And honestly, for all their quirks and, um, interesting character traits, you can’t deny their love for each other.

Moving on.

Nick loves Sloppy Joes to the nth degree. (The ground beef kind, not the sandwich kind that’s more well-known in New Jersey)

Growing up, Sloppy Joes sometimes hit our table for dinner. Stick-to-your-ribs goodness. One of the Sloppy Joe recipes that my mom made came from a family friend. Ketchup. Mustard. Brown sugar. And I don’t remember what else.

Years later, I got the recipe from my mom and started making it for my own family. Then, during one of our various moves, I lost the recipe card and just started improvising. Same basic ingredients, going just by taste for the finished product.

The Ex loved them. Served on a toasted bread bun, smothered with Sloppy Joe goodness. Melted cheese on mine. Not his. Weird man doesn’t like cheese as much as I do. Says someone who has a Pinterest board just dedicated to cheesy goodness. Oh yes.

And Nick is following in his Dad’s footsteps.

At least in that respect: Sloppy Joes? Love.

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