Sloppy Joses

No, the Jose isn't a mis-spelling. Steve calls it a Sloppy Jose because he adds a dash of Tobasco sauce to make them a little spicy. I was quite stunned when we first made these because I had never had Sloppy Joes on anything but a burger bun, but Steve likes to have his on a single slice of bread and eat it open-faced with a fork. I will still use a burger bun if I have them on hand, but his method is by far the more common method in our house now.

1 lb hamburger
ketchup
Worcetershire sauce
Tobasco sauce
liquid smoke
1 egg

This recipe is almost entirely a 'feel it as you go' kind of thing so sharpen your cooking instincts and enjoy the ride :) Brown and drain the hamburger. Add a few generous shakes of Worcestershire, one to three dashes of Tobasco (depending on how much you want it to bite back), a cap-ful of liquid smoke, and then enough ketchup to bring it to your desired consistency. When all of that is well-mixed and thoroughly heated, push the meat mixture to the outer edges of the pan, leaving an empty space of hot pan in the middle. Crack your egg into this well and immediately begin scrambling it in, allowing it to mix into the meat as it cooks. Once your egg is mixed into the meat (you should just see small flecks through your Joses) it is ready to serve.

Worcestershire and Garlic Burgers

We were quite pleased with the results of this recipe, found on the back of a bottle of Worcestershire sauce, and have done it a few time since. Regretably, we don't often make our burgers from scratch, since it's so much easier to buy the Costco package of patties.

1 lb hamburger
1/4 cup Worcestershire
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt

Combine thoroughly, shape into patties and grill.

Bob's Swiss Steaks

We don't do this one as frequently as some others, but it came to us from Steve's dad and is still one that we really enjoy having when we can.

Sufficient portions of cube steak or well-tenderized round steak for your family
flour, salt, pepper mixture to dredge meat in
1/4 cup oil
1 envelope ionion soup mix
Worcestershire sauce
1 cup water

Heat 1/4 cup oil in frying pan. Dredge meat in flour mixture and brown in hot oil, removing to a 9x13 pan as they are browned. Sprinkle meat with the onion soup mix, a generous drizzle of Worcestershire (3-4 tbsp perhaps), and the water. Bake uncovered at 350 for 1 hour.

Porcupine Meatballs

Porcupine Meatballs were a completely new concept to me when Steve first made them for me while we were dating. We were having some friends over for dinner and he really wanted to make this for dinner. I had an apartment in Spokane, while he had one just outside of town in Cheney where he was attending Eastern Washington University. He started the meatballs in the crock pot at my apartment, went to get our friends, and then took them home again afterwards. Amazing the memories that can be tied up in one food item.

1 1/2 lbs hamburger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp onion powder
1 cup uncooked rice
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 cans tomato soup
1 can water

Mix raw hamburger, salt, pepper, rice, onion and worcestershire with hands; roll into 1" balls. Place in pressure cooker with about a 1/2" space in between the meatballs, to allow for heat flow. Combine tomato soup and water and pour over meatballs. Cook at pressure for 20 minutes. Allow pressure to come down on its own and serve hot over mashed potatoes.

Note: these can be made in the crock pot, cooking on low for 4 hours, but the meatballs won't hold their shape as well and end up rather on the mushy side.