Coffee Spiked Venison Sloppy Joe's

This is my first time participating in Surprise Recipe Swap.  Thanks to Jutta at Hungry Little Girl for organizing this fun event! I thought it sounded like a great idea to meet some new bloggers and a fabulous way to try some new recipes!

The blog I got to check out was Curious Cuisiniere. It was great getting to read through Sarah's blog and recipes. She is another Wisconsin girl, so that made her blog even more fun for me to read. It was so hard to pick a recipe, as they all sounded so good. Once I clicked around into her recipe index, I was so excited to see in her Main Dishes category, she broke the recipes down by protein type, including a Venison category! I am frequently cooking with venison, so I am always looking for new idea's and it was just so fun for me to see someone else that cooks with it as much as I do!

Once I found the venison category, it did not take me long to decide on Coffee Spiked Venison Sloppy Joe.  We loved the flavor that Sarah packed into these. As usual, this was a large batch for the two of us, so I just freeze the leftovers in a cupcake pan. Super easy to take out a portion for dinner, or to even send along with Truckin' Man in the truck. The only thing I changed to Sarah's recipe was to add some green bell pepper, and that was just because I love bell pepper in as many things as possible!

Coffee Spiked Venison Sloppy Joe's  (Source: Curious Cuisiniere)
2 lb ground venison
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped

Sauce
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 - 6 oz can tomato paste
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp coffee grounds, finely ground or instant  (I used instant)
 2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3/4 cup water

In a small bowl, mix sauce ingredients. In crock pot or slow cooker, mix venison, onions and sauce.  Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or until meat is cooked and sauce has thickened.

Serve on your choice of buns.

Enjoy :)

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Rosemary Parmesan Bread

This is the second recipe I am sharing from Mary Swanson's Big Hearted Cookbook. This time I chose to share Rosemary Parmesan Bread. It's a yeast bread, and it's a braid. Was I up for the challenge? Sure!! Sadly, it was not successful. But, I was not going to be defeated by a loaf of bread! I called for help to my new friend that does so much baking, and she was a life saver! She has given me a better understanding of working with yeast, and she reviewed the recipe and showed me how to reorganize the steps and I ended up with the most beautiful loaf of bread I have baked to this day.  This was the first time I have ever purchased fresh rosemary, and I loved it. It's a lovely flavor. I do hope you will try this bread.

Don't forget about the big event coming up the next month. My friend, Stacey, is participating in America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  To help Stacey out with her fundraising, we will be having a bake sale and raffling off several prizes to raise money for her cause.  The bake sale will start on May 2nd. Be sure to be signed up for email and facebook, so you get all the updates!

Click here to read more about what Stacey is training for.

Rosemary Parmesan Bread

1/4 c. luke warm water
1 1/2 tsp. dry active yeast
1/4 tsp. sugar
1 c. luke warm milk
1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, minced
3/4 c. fresh parmesan, divided, shredded
3 1/2 - 4 cups flour (I used all-purpose)

Dissolve yeast and 1/4 teaspoon of sugar in the 1/4 cup of lukewarm water. Set aside.

To large mixing bowl add milk, olive oil, salt, 2 Tablespoons of sugar, minced rosemary, and 1/2 c. of the fresh parmesan.  Once the yeast mixture has got nice and bubbly, and it to the mixing bowl.

Slowly add the flour one cup at a time, until it comes together. Once you have added your 3rd cup of flour, add the remaining flour a tablespoon at a time. Once it has come together, knead for 8-10 minutes. I let my dough hook do the work.

After 10 minutes, check your dough. Gently stretch it. If it rips easily, continue to knead. If you can get a good stretch out of it, it's ready.  Set the dough in a greased bowl, covered, in a warm area to rise. Let rise about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Once it has doubled in size, punch the dough down.

Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces, cover and let rest for 10 minutes.  Roll each piece into an 18 inch rope.  Cover the ropes in olive oil, except for the ends, then place them side by side on a greased cookie sheet, and braid.  Press the ends together.  Sprinkle with remaining parmesan.

Let rise for about 30 minutes, or until almost doubled.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Rotate in the middle of baking.

Enjoy :)

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Chocolatey Rice Krispie Bars

Hershey's Drops. Have you tried them? I LOVE them. They are one of my favorite candies. 

We seem to always have a bag laying around.

Sometimes, it is the simplest recipes that are the best. What to do when you have extra candy laying around, just add it to Rice Krispie Bars! Remember my Overloaded Rice Krispie Bars? Well, these are super yummy too, but not so crazy sweet. With these Chocolatey Rice Krispie Bars, you CAN have two!  Really... It's ok... Go ahead and have another one!

Chocolatey Rice Krispie Bars
3 Tbsp butter
1 - 8 oz pkg Hershey's Drops
1 - 10 oz pkg marshmallows
6 c. Rice Krispies

Butter a 9 x 13 inch pan, and set aside.  Set aside 1 cup of the Hershey's Drops.  Take remaining chocolate candies and rough chop for topping.

In large saucepan melt butter and the reserved 1 cup of Hershey's Drops over low heat.  Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted.  Remove from heat.  Add Rice Krispies, stirring until coated.  Pour into the prepared pan, and use buttered spatula or piece of wax paper, press evenly into pan.

Sprinkle with chopped candies.  Let set for 15 minutes.


Enjoy!!!


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Root Beer BBQ Baked Beans

Several of my friends lost a friend, very dear to them, this past December. I do not know how it is possible that I never had the privilege of meeting their friend, Mary, but our paths never crossed.

In June of 2011, Mary found out that she had Acute Myeloid Leukemia. She fought this Leukemia, and was in remission until late 2012 when she began having health concerns and found that it had returned. She passed away in December.

During a fund raiser that was being held for Mary, the family put together a cookbook of many family recipes. One of Mary's daughters is a baker, so the recipes for the cakes and other baked goods are said to be outstanding. My friend, Stacey, made sure that I got a copy of the cookbook! Stacey takes good care of her foodie friend!

I suppose you are wondering why I am sharing all of this. Well, in memory of Mary, Stacey is participating in a sports endurance event as a member of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team In Training. She is riding with Team Minnesota in America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride around Lake Tahoe. This bike ride is 72 miles long! She has several different climbs in the ride, the most notable, are an 800 foot, and a 1,000 foot climb. These are all done at elevations not normal in Minnesota. Stacey is taking on quite a challenge in memory of her friend Mary, and I admire her so much for this! No matter how tough the training has been in preparation for this, she hasn't backed down. To help Stacey out with her fundraising, we are going to have an AMAZING EVENT going on here at the end of April, so make sure you are signed up for email and facebook to keep up to date! We will be having a bake sale and raffling off several prizes to raise money, to help my dear friend out with her cause.

In the mean time, I will be doing a series of posts this month out of Mary Swanson's Big Hearted Cookbook! There are so many recipes in here that I am excited to try!

Root Beer BBQ Baked Beans (Source: Mary Swanson's Big Hearted Cookbook)


5 Slices Bacon, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
1 36 oz can baked beans, preferably Bush's ( I used 2 - 21 oz cans)
1 c. root beer (no diet allowed here!)
2 Tbsp dark molasses
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. lemon pepper
2-3 whole celery ribs

Cook the bacon with onions in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the bacon is brown and crisp, and the onions have become transparent and are just starting to brown.  Add remaining ingredients.

Over medium high heat, bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring often, until the mixture is slightly thickened, about twenty minutes.  Remove celery and serve.


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