Root Beer Sloppy Joes

When I first saw today's recipe in the September 2014 edition of Cooking Light, I immediately knew I had to try it. For one, I'm a huge fan of root beer. People are typically shocked when they learn this little tidbit about me - I don't like to eat sweets, yet my favorite soda is, well, pretty darn sugary. I'm not sure why I can do sweet drinks but not sweet food, but that's no matter. On top of loving root beer, I also love sloppy joes. Yes, they're typically considered a "kid's" food, aren't exactly something you'd find on a gourmet restaurant's menu and are really quite messy (hence the name), but there's just something comforting and nostalgic about them. Come on, admit it: you like them, too. And I can assure you, you'll LOVE this recipe. It's super easy, done in less than 20 minutes and YUMMY. Can't beat that! I paired it with some store-bought sweet potato chips (I purchased SimpleTruth brand). Fabulous.

"Root Beer" Sloppy Joes

Cooking Light, September 2014

2 tsp canola oil

3/4 cup chopped onion

1 lb 90% lean ground sirloin

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1/4 cup bottled chili sauce (like Heinz)

1/4 cup root beer (I used Barq's)

1 tbs Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp tomato paste

4 hamburger buns, toasted

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add oil and swirl to coat. Add chopped onion and cook for 3 minutes before adding beef. Cook beef approximately 5 minutes, or until browned. Stir in tomato sauce, chili sauce, root beer, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, dry mustard, chili powder and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly, stirring occasionally. Divide sloppy joe mix evenly among 4 hamburger buns and serve with sweet potato chips or whatever side you prefer.

Until next time...

Cheers!

Spicy Shrimp & Mango Stir Fry

Happy Saturday, friends! To be really honest, I'm not a huge fan of shrimp. My husband, on the other hand, loves it, so every now and again I'll make it at home. This recipe is from the April 2014 edition of Cooking Light (my favorite publication for great recipes!). I have to say, I loved all of the flavors in this dish - I even liked the shrimp! Don't leave out the basil in this one - it's a must.

Spicy Shrimp & Mango Stir Fry

5 ounces uncooked rice noodles

3 tbs water

4 tsp lime juice

2 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp fish sauce

1/2 tsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1/4 tsp black pepper

10 ounces medium shrimp, peeled & deveined

1 tbs canola oil

1/2 cup sliced Vidalia onion

1 sliced red bell pepper

1 tbs ginger paste

1 cubed, peeled mango

1/4 cup torn basil leaves

 

Cook noodles according to package directions and drain. Set aside.

 

Combine water, lime juice, brown sugar, fish sauce and cornstarch and stir together. Set aside.

 

Combine crushed red pepper, black pepper and shrimp in a medium bowl and toss to mix. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 1/2 tsp oil to the pan, swirling to coat. Add shrimp and cook 3 minutes or until almost done, turning once while cooking. Remove from the pan.

 

Add remaining oil to the pan and add onion, bell pepper and ginger. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add shrimp, juice mixture and mango to the pan. Cook 1 minute or until shrimp are done.

 

Sprinkle with basil leaves and serve over cooked rice noodles.

 

Until next time...

 

Cheers!

 



Chicken & Veggie Tostadas

Hello, friends. Spring has finally "sprung," and I couldn't be happier! Here's a light (but flavorful) meal that's perfect for this time of year. Enjoy!

Chicken & Veggie Tostadas

Adapted from Cooking Light, Nov. 2012

 

2 tsp canola oil

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 cup shredded rotisserie chicken breast

1 cup fresh corn kernels

1 cup chopped zucchini

1/2 cup salsa verde (I use Frontera brand)

2 tbs chopped fresh cilantro

4 8-inch flour tortillas

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

cooking spray

 

Preheat broiler.

 

Combine canola oil, ground cumin and kosher salt; mix well and add to large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, corn, zucchini to pan and sauté for 2 minutes. Add salsa verde and 1 tbs cilantro and cook another 2 minutes, stirring regularly.

 

Lightly spray tortillas with cooking spray and place on baking sheet; broil for 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Spoon equal amounts of chicken mixture into the center of each tortilla and sprinkle each with cheese. Place under the broiler for 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Top with remaining chopped cilantro.

 

 



 

Until next time...

 

Cheers!

 

 

 



Pierogy Wonton Soup

Hi there, Cocktail Cutie readers. It's been a long, long time! In the past oh, 6 months or so, a few major things have happened in my life - the most important of those things being, of course, that I had a baby! My husband and I very happily welcomed our first daughter, Zoey, into the world on December 11, 2013. She's all that we imagined and more, and we love her to the moon and back! Becoming a parent really is an amazing experience. I've had 9 weeks of maternity leave so far (out of a total twelve) to enjoy with her, and I have to say that I'm very much NOT ready to go back to work and lose the time I have with her day in and day out while on leave - I'm going to be one sad momma the first day (and likely all of the subsequent days) I have to return to real life. That being said, I'm going to be rearranging some of my priorities so that I can maximize the time I spend with my family during my free time...and I've thought a lot about what those changes mean.

I didn't want to completely give up on this blog, because I really do enjoy sharing great recipes with my friends and family. I don't, however, really have time to continue to maintain it or even write in it as extensively as I might like. At this point, I feel like I really need to focus on one writing "project" at a time. In this case, that project is the urban fantasy trilogy that I've been working on for the past two years (you can read more about it here).

Like I said, though, I don't want to completely give up on Cocktail Cutie. Instead of taking a break, I've decided to simply change the "format," so to speak. I'll focus a lot more on just posting recipes rather than writing a blog post to accompany those recipes. I've already started a Pinterest board for the blog and will be utilizing that as a source of searchable recipes as well as a way to easily share my posts. Those who "like" the Cocktail Cutie Facebook page will still receive updates whenever I post a new recipe, but I'll no longer post the notifications on my personal page.

I'm hoping that this change will be better for both you and me, since only posting recipes takes a little bit of the pressure off of me but still gives you ideas for easy meals that you can make at home. This way, I should be able to share more of the great recipes that I hope you'll love!

Thanks for sticking with me. Here's your recipe for today!

 

Pierogy Wonton Soup



2 1/2 cups baby spinach

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp ground ginger

2 cans (15 oz) chicken broth

1 tsp soy sauce

1 package Mrs. T's Mini Pierogies (any flavor - I use 4 cheese)

1/2 cup sliced radishes

Toasted sesame seeds (optional)

 

Bring broth, soy sauce, garlic and ginger to a boil. Add pierogies and cook (at a boil) until heated through, 5-7 minutes. Stir in spinach and cook until spinach wilts. Add sliced radishes and remove from heat. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with sesame seeds (if using). 

Until next time...

Cheers!

Slow Cooker Special: Shredded Chicken

Happy Fall! I'm so happy that I can officially say that now. I love this time of year!

Today's slow cooker special recipe is a little bit unconventional (as in, it's not really a complete recipe), but I'm really hoping that you'll find it as helpful and enjoyable as I do. Recently, I've found myself purchasing rotisserie chickens almost every time I go to the grocery store, usually so that I can shred it and use it to make one of a few of my favorite recipes (I'll tell you exactly what those are in just a minute). Honestly, though, it's kind of a pain - and somewhat messy - to pull apart by hand. So, I decided that there had to be an easier, less messy way to get the same result...and lo and behold, there is!

Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 (14 oz) can low-sodium chicken broth

Salt and pepper

Place chicken breasts in slow cooker and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Pour chicken broth into crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours. Remove chicken from slow cooker and place in a small bowl; using a fork, shred the chicken. Store in a sealed container in refrigerator for use in your favorite recipes!

I use this chicken in several of the recipes that you can find on this site, and I've included links to a few of them below for easy access. In the below picture, I've taken the Chicken Salad Cups recipe from the Origami Owl post and simply used the chicken salad mixture on a sandwich with toasted sourdough bread. Yum!!

Chicken Salad

White BBQ Chicken Baked Potatoes

Chicken & Prosciutto Salad w/Asiago

Until next time...

Cheers!

Slow Cooker Special: The Chicken Philly

Happy Tuesday! I hope you're all having a nice week so far. Mine has been quite productive, which makes me happy. You know what they say about finishing the way you start? Maybe, if I'm lucky, my productivity will last all week long...and not just in the workplace! I certainly have plenty to do at home, as I'm sure you can understand.

Today's super easy but oh-so-delicious recipe was inspired by a post I saw on Pinterest recently. I only saw the pictures, but they were enough to spark my interest. Quite honestly, I'm a little surprised that I'd never thought about doing it before! So here you have it, a slow cooker Chicken Philly that you will LOVE...made possible by Pinterest, at least by inspiration. I served them with baked garlic & paprika potato wedges (that recipe is for another day, but I promise I'll share it with you, too!).

By the way, I always said I'd never join Pinterest because I knew it would be a time sink...and guess what? I was right! I am now addicted.And that, my friends, is NOT good for productivity. Sigh. Such is life. ;)

Slow Cooker Chicken Philly Sandwiches

1 1/2 lb. chicken tenders

1 large green pepper, sliced

1 small vidalia onion, sliced

1 tbs McCormick Grill Mates Roasted Garlic Montreal Chicken seasoning

2 tbs water 

2 tbs butter

salt and pepper to taste

8 slices provolone cheese

4 hoagie rolls

Place 2 tbs butter in the bottom of slow cooker. Add onions and peppers, then layer chicken on top. Sprinkle seasoning, salt and pepper over all ingredients. Add 2 tbs water. Cook on low 6 hours. Shred chicken and stir to mix ingredients. Cook on low an additional 30 minutes. 

Spoon chicken philly mixture onto hoagie rolls and top with provolone cheese. To melt the cheese, place sandwiches under a pre-heated broiler until cheese is bubbly.

Until next time...

Cheers!

Slow Cooker Special: "Inside Out" Chicken Pot Pie

Hello friends, and welcome to September. You may remember that last year I devoted the entire month of September to slow cooker recipes...well, I hope you liked it (okay, I hope you LOVED it), because I've decided to do it again this year! Welcome to the 2nd annual Slow Cooker September! Stay tuned each Tuesday and Thursday of this month as I share more super easy, super yummy Crockpot meals with you. I know you're going to love them!

Now, before I get into today's recipe, I know that you're probably wondering where the heck I've been all these months. I know, I know. I disappeared. I've severely neglected the blog, and for that I'm truly sorry! I do, however, want to share with you the awesome and exciting reason why I've been MIA...

And here SHE is!

My husband and I are expecting! Our first little one is due January 1st, and we are so unbelievably excited to meet her! I'm right in the middle of my second trimester right now, and luckily I'm feeling a good deal better than I was...I dealt with some pretty nasty "morning" (HA!) sickness from 5 1/2 weeks until week 20-ish, and unfortunately for my husband, that meant I really didn't do much in the way of cooking. It also meant that I really had no recipes to share with you, since I wasn't spending any time in the kitchen.

Luckily, though, the sickness has now passed and I'm back in the swing of things! Today, I'm sharing with you a really flavorful twist on a classic comfort food. I hope you love it as much as we did, and I hope you'll come back and check out all of the great slow cooker recipes I'll be posting throughout the month!

"Inside Out" Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie

1 large can cream of chicken soup

1 regular can cream of celery soup

1 packet onion dip/soup mix

1 package frozen mixed veggies (peas & carrots, or whatever you like!)

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 cup baby red potatoes, quartered

4 boneless chicken breasts

1 can Pillsbury home-style biscuits

Put chicken breasts in bottom of slow cooker and top with remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 8 hours. Shred chicken with fork and stir all ingredients. Cook on low for additional 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, bake home-style biscuits as instructed. Spoon "pot pie" mixture over biscuits for serving.

Until next time...

Cheers!