Crock-pot Sloppy José's

Get it? The Spanish version of Sloppy Joe's? 

I rarely make recipes I see on Yahoo! Shine, but this one already had some reviews and it looked interesting. I was lured in by the versatility of the recipe, claiming you can use eat it on buns, in taco shells, or in a taco salad. Frankly, taco salad was the magic word as it is one of my weaknesses. We had two hungry 20 year old boys (missionaries) coming over for dinner right after I got home from work so I decided this would be a perfect time to try out the recipe. 

As I know how my mornings usually go, I cooked up the meat and chopped all the veggies the night before so that the next day I just pulled it all out of the fridge and threw it in the crock-pot for a 5 minute preparation. 

After work, I was welcomed home by a wonderful smell. We set the table with buns, tortillas, tortilla chips, salad, salsa and shredded cheese and told the missionaries to create their own masterpieces. Between the two of them they proceeded to eat: 5 sloppy joes, 1 huge soft taco, a plate of nachos, and some salad on the side. I think they liked the food. :)  Today for lunch I had an excellent taco salad and verified the recipe's claim. 

Ingredients:

2 lb lean ground beef

3 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

1 1/2 cups chopped red and/or green pepper

2 tsp salt

4 cloves garlic

2 16oz jars salsa (I used 1 jar mild and 1 jar medium)

1 1/2 cups shredded carrots

1/3 cup tomato paste

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper*

      (this is a tame amount, if you like spice feel free to add more)

Directions:

1. In a skillet cook beef over medium heat until brown, stirring to break meat in pieces. Drain fat. In 5- or 6-qt. slow cooker stir together beef and remaining ingredients (except rolls).
2. Cover; cook on high-heat setting 4 to 5 hours or low-heat setting 8 to 10 hours.
3. 
   

Recipe Credit: http://shine.yahoo.com/food/recipes/spicy-beef-sloppy-joes-535428.html

Chocolaty Chocolate Cookies

I made these first the first time last night for a cookie exchange and boy are they delicious!! To give credit where credit is due, I found the recipe here but have posted it below for convenience. Enjoy!

CHOCOLATY Chocolate Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter, softened 1 1/2 cups white sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup cocoa powder 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.	In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Roll into teaspoon sized balls onto foil lined cookie sheets.
3.	Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

*should you wish to cover in toppings, such as peppermint candy or nuts, dip tops of balls before baking.