A New Twist on an Old Favorite

 I love tried and true recipes. I'm not one for stepping outside the box and creating my own recipes but I am getting better at "tweaking" recipes I've already made, or recipes that I've found elsewhere. Sometimes I have to make them once exactly "as the recipe reads" before I brave any "tweaking". I think it's because I'm afraid of totally ruining it and wasting all those ingredients. I need to get over that mindset!

Last Friday was a crazy day as I posted about here. That evening I needed to come up with something for dinner and honestly, there wasn't much left in the house to eat. I had about a pound and a half of ground turkey left and some sandwich thins (if you haven't tried these  you need to). I decided to make some sloppy Joes. I also had some Yukon Gold potatoes and because they were too small to really make fries I decided to make Medallions..Yukon GOLD Medallions (I thought that was clever).


I'm not a fan of canned sloppy Joe mix. I really try to stay away from Pre-packaged things like that, or if I do use it I try to find the best ingredients. I don't do this on everything, but that's the key I think...I don't do it on "EVERYTHING".  I found this recipe in my Taste of Home Cookbook that my hubby got me last year at Costco.


There are so many Sloppy Joe recipes out there. I was looking this morning and some called for chili sauce, some for BBQ sauce, some with many herbs and veggies added in. Really, you cannot go wrong with this quick meal. It's one that just cries out for creativity. I needed to simply use what I had on hand that night. 
The recipe called for few ingredients:
1 c. ketchup
1/4 c. water
2 tbs. brown sugar
2 tsp. worcestershire
2 tsp. prepared mustard
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Now this was all fine, but it really lacked some flavor. I opened the fridge to see what I could find and decided to try some Balsamic Vinegar. That did the trick. Just a bit of Balsamic added an amazing new flavor to this old family favorite. I can't wait to try some of the other recipes out there...I mean, come on, doesn't chili sauce sound yummy.   

Now for the Yukon Gold Medallions. I had some smaller potatoes so I simply cut them into 1/4" slices. I spread EVOO onto a baking sheet, placed the potatoes on top and spread the oil onto both sides. I seasoned with pepper, garlic powder and a bit of paprika and baked in a 400 degree oven till crisp. I flipped them over once or twice so that they'd get crispy on both sides. Soooo good!!
Thought I'd also add a picture or two from our vacation..it is beautiful here in Central Oregon.

 We have never been here when there's been so much snow. We are loving it. It's a bit warmer today and the snow is melting a bit. We're praying it gets colder  and continues to snow so there's a lot when our company comes. 

(Pictures: Outdoor dining anyone? The view from our living room and Kat with her snowman friend Mr. FlumperGump (see how healthy he is...squash eyes, celery nose, carrot mouth and eyebrows)


With Joy UNquenchable,