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How to Make Homemade Sloppy Joes

Forget the cans of Manwich sloppy joe sauce, because my mom’s homemade sloppy joes recipe is just as easy to make and sixty-four (or more) times as good, especially knowing there’s a generous helping of vegetables inside this homemade, ground hamburger-ed, comfort food, beef-ey sandwich.

Remember the days when licking your plate was encouraged? They still are. And your fingers, and your chin too.

I originally published this recipe in the earlier days of le FoodieCrush blog, and after making it time and time again, I felt it was time for a little refresh. It’s totally worthy.

One of my favorite dinners as a kid was always Sloppy Joes, and the memories of stealing tastes of this burger/veggie mixture as it simmered on the stove still renders the same take-a-bite-then-burn-the-top-of-my-mouth-oh-no-it’s-now-become-a-blister result today as I hear the subliminal retort of my mom echo in my adult ear to “leave it alone or there’ll be nothing left for the rest of us to eat.”

Guilty as charged. But, sorry mom, I still can’t help myself. And if you’re a fan of easy recipes and you make this one, my mom will tell you it’s okay that you taste-test your way through the making of it, too.

And I’m here to attest, the top-of-the-mouth-blisters are totally worth it.continue to the recipe… about How to Make Homemade Sloppy Joes

Market Street Clam Chowder Recipe

A favorite of locals and tourists alike, this creamy clam chowder recipe comes from one of Salt Lake City’s longest running restaurants, Market Street Grill, and is easy to make at home.

This recipe is a favorite I published in the early days of FoodieCrush. This past weekend I ran into a friend at the grocery store who said she’d been searching for the famous clam chowder recipe from Salt Lake City’s Market Street Grill, which reminded me to re-share this easy clam chowder recipe with some updated photos for you. So, without further adieu, here is a re-post of the best clam chowder recipe, in my opinion, EVER.

“Hey, Chowda-head!”

It was a greeting that one of my fellow waiters at my post-college/pre-real-life-seafood-restaurant-job has been teased about for lo’ these many years. And he has NEVER been happy about hearing it again, and again, and again.

See, that job at Salt Lake City’s Market Street Grill was all about presentation and customer service. That meant every dish, every cup and even every spoon was served by the waiter from a tray.

So when you had a 6-top—that’s waiter-speak for a table of six—who all ordered the house specialty, famous clam chowder, we would load up a HUGE tray, hoist it high over our heads with the straightest arm we could possible muster, and charge forth through the sea of waiting to be seated customers to serve our eagerly awaiting diners bowls of creamy, white chowder in heavy china bowls with plated liners.

One especially busy night—it must have been a big rush before a Utah Jazz basketball game—my friend had a big table and of course they all ordered chowder. He loaded up the tray, even stacking the bowls two high! It was a feat to behold for mere waiter mortals.

Breathless from running between tables and the kitchen, we watched him navigate his way through the crowded waiting area, arm hoisted high with nary a wobbly arm in sight. And then, he hit the double french door frame. Literally. Hit it, clipped the china bowls still hovering overhead. And then like a dominoe-ing Humpty Dumpty, all the bowls came tumbling down.

Clam Chowder, all over his head, his shirt, everywhere. And ever since then, he has fondly been called Chowda-head.

Here is the very recipe, delicious in every respect, the best clam chowder recipe outside of New England. Yep, I’m staking my claim.

continue to the recipe… about Market Street Clam Chowder Recipe

The Best BBQ Baked Beans and 5 More Baked Beans to Love

Just the thought of this recipe for BBQ Baked Beans makes the top of my mouth hurt. Because willpower and baking beans simply do not mix.

This is my mom’s baked beans recipe and with it comes a flood of summer memories. Of coming home after a full, hot day swimming, swimming, swimming and diving and flipping and flirting at the pool. Then finally home to the coolness of the air conditioned house where my mom often had these babies on the stove, percolating their way towards dinner.

It took just one step through the door and me and my swimsuit soaked shorts were making a beeline for the stove. There was always a wooden spoon sitting to the side, laced with the dried sauce from my mom’s stirring of the baked beans. One lick and that set off the need for more.

continue to the recipe… about The Best BBQ Baked Beans and 5 More Baked Beans to Love