Glide Zen

How on earth do you make a Sloppy Joe look classy? You don't =). They are just good ol' shloppy, yes sh loppy, deliciousness. Piled high and spilling over. It's impossible for any bun to fully retain all that saucy, meaty goodness. How I love a good Sloppy Joe. They may not be the fanciest meal but they are oh so scrumptiously tasty. I grew up eating them so I will always love them. These far outdo what comes in a can. Isn't everything better made fresh from scratch? Don't be scared of the long list of ingredients, other than the fresh peppers, most of them are ingredients you likely already have on hand. I kept adding a little of this and a little of that until I got this recipe just where I wanted it. If you are a cheeseburger fan, try them topped with a sprinkling of freshly grated cheddar cheese. Also, if you like a little heat feel free to add in some cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes. Enjoy! Sloppy Joes Yields about 6 servings Ingredients...

Spaghetti with meat sauce is one of my favorite Italian Classics. I grew up on it. I decided to post a second version in case you don't have 5 - 8 hours to tend my other recipe  as it simmers. I myself don't always have that much time to wait, so when I don't I often use a jar of marinara sauce and just doctor it up a bit. A jar of spaghetti sauce can definitely come in handy when needed, but to me they just lack flavor. All it takes is a few fresh ingredients along with some dried herbs and you've got a spaghetti sauce worthy of an Italian restaurant. I love a simple weeknight meal that pleases everyone and this simple sauce is sure to do just that. Enjoy! Simple Spaghetti Sauce Yields about 4 - 6 servings Ingredients: 1 (24 oz) jar marinara sauce* 3/4 lb lean ground beef 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced (I love garlic so I use 2) 1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish 1 tsp dried parsley 1/2 tsp dried th...

Looking for an amazing, delicious and cheap dinner recipe for a busy day? Then look no further, this meal takes about 5 minutes prep work and it's flavor is phenomenal. It only takes is a few simple ingredients to spice up a cheap cut of beef. These french dip sandwiches are loaded with fall apart tender beef (if your roast isn't fall apart tender after cooking it 8 hours then you may want to consider a purchasing a new slow cooker, I used one once that had a gap between the lid and the slow cooker so it didn't have a good seal on it, therefor the roast cooked unevenly and wasn't anywhere near tender enough). Cheese is optional but I'd say it's a must, it perfectly compliments all the flavors of the beef.  Serve this sandwich with a side of kettle chips and you've get a dinner that couldn't get any simpler. Yes you could brown the beef in olive oil prior to slow cooking it, and you could replace the onion powder and garlic powder with the real thing ...

I will always love Navajo Tacos. I've eaten them ever since I can remember. My mom makes the best Navajo Tacos ever (Navajo taco topping anyway =). She would cheat a little and use frozen Rhodes Rolls dough for the fry bread portion, which was also delicious but nothing compares to homemade Navajo fry bread. If you want to use frozen roll dough, all you have to do is fully thaw and rise the dough (according to directions on package) then fry it and top with the Navajo taco topping. This recipe I created for the fry bread really is incredibly simple though, you can basically make it in the time it takes just to prepare the roll dough for thawing.  I decided to use two leavening agents for the fry bread because I wanted the slight flavor yeast gives without having to have it rise for hours, but if you don't have yeast on hand you could just add another teaspoon of baking powder.  I would highly recommend you make 1 1/2 (or double) the recipe listed so you have left over fr...

There's nothing like a fall apart tender roast that's cooked low and slow along with some fresh veggies and a seasonings to highlight all of it's delicious flavors. This meal is one of the easiest meals you'll ever make. Yes there are countless ways to prepare a pot roast. You can be professional and brown the roast in some olive oil prior to slow cooking, as well as sauteing some sliced onions and freshly minced garlic. To me though, a slow cook meal is a hassle free meal. One that you can toss in and go. A busy day one pot meal. So, I created this recipe to be just that, no browning or sauteing required. The hardest part of this meal is dicing the potatoes, yes that's just how easy it is. Anyone can make this and everyone will utterly and completely enjoy it! Flavorful, unbelievably simple and amazingly delicious. If you want you can throw it all in from the beginning (roast first then veggies on top), I just prefer that my veggies don't turn to mush. That...

Do you want to mimic at home that amazing meat sauce they make in the Italian restaurants? Well look no further =). In my opinion I think there are a few key steps in creating that authentic, thick, richly flavored, meaty sauce. I've learned a few things trying to imitate that amazingly delicious pasta sauce that I get at a few of my favorite Italian restaurants. One of them being, you need to cook the sauce low and slow, 5 hours minimum. If you want great sauce you're going to have to have a little patience. This is one of those made with love recipes =). I think Roma tomatoes are best. A few weeks ago I made a similar sauce, entirely from scratch. I'm talking fresh Roma tomatoes, boiled, peeled, seeded and crushed them. It took far too much time and effort only to realize the next time around canned Roma tomatoes were better. They don't seem as acidic. The flavors of the fresh basil and parsley in this recipe lend it fresh from the garden flavor. I didn't wan...

Say hello to soup season and another restaurant copycat recipe you can make at home. Whenever we'd to go to Olive Garden I use to always get the Minestrone soup or once in a while the Zuppa Toscana. A few months ago I finally decided to step out of that comfort zone and try something new, their Pasta e Fagioli Soup. It is hearty and delicious. It is a meal of itself. I don't love everything at Olive Garden but I always like their soup and their salad (although I wish the salad had better greens in it and it wasn't so skimpy on the tomatoes and olives. And no I'm not picky =). Anyway I thought this soup would be pretty easy to recreate at home, so yesterday I went and ordered their Pasta e Fagioli Soup and brought it home to make my own and compare. They are nearly exactly the same. I didn't do the fancy matchstick cut of the carrots but feel free to do so if you'd like.  I just served this as the main dish along with some fresh out of the oven (unbeliev...