Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes

So I’m addicted to Pintrest.  Absolutely obsessed.  (Follow me!)  I am collecting lots of inspiration for decorating our lovely apartment, but lately I’ve been salivating over lots and lots of yummy recipes.  I  came across this gem, and knew I had to try it.  It seemed to be a hit!  The original recipe was a little fancier than this, but since I’m lazy, this is my adapted version.  And also the first time I’ve played with my new camera in the kitchen!!  Hope you enjoy.

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes
At one point this was a Rachel Ray recipe, but not really anymore…

1 pound ground beef
1 quarter onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons bbq sauce
1 cup beef stock
Salt and ground black pepper
4 dinner rolls
A few slices of provolone cheese

In a large skillet, start browning your ground beef… until it’s all brown (usually 6-7 minutes, but just eye ball it!)  While it’s browning, start chopping your veggies!

Once the veggies are chopped and your meat has browned up, add the veggies into the pan.  Let them soften up in the pan… it’ll probably take 3-4 minutes.  You’ll be adding liquid to the pan in a minute, so you don’t need them to be too soft!  The liquid will help soften them up.

Add a cup of beef stock and a few tablespoons of barbeque sauce (or steak sauce if you have some on hand!) and let it simmer until it thickens for a little bit.

While your sauce thickens, throw a few rolls in the toaster oven and put some provolone cheese on top so it gets all melty and delicious.  Pile some of the sloppy joe mix on top, and enjoy!  Best served with some fresh, summery corn on the cob (unpictured), or even some yummy steak fries.  (I didn’t make fries this time, but I’m sure Robert will request them after reading this post!)

I was so proud of myself for making a new recipe – I get stuck in cooking ruts sometimes.  Have you made any yummy new recipes lately?!

May by the Numbers

Hello friends!  Hope you’re all doing well.  I’ve been doing some thinking and I realized that I keep getting stuck in the past on the blog, and don’t ever find time to write about the present.  So I’m going to power through – fire off a bunch of old posts that I really want to remember, mixed in with some fun new things.  Feel free to skip the old, boring stuff if you want!  I hope to be done in two weeks or so, and then finally be all caught up.  By that time, we should have our professional wedding pics, in which case I’ll also bang out some Weddingbee style recaps, and then be on our merry way.  Sound good?  Good.

To start off, let’s recap the month of May in true accounting style – by the numbers.  (PS can you believe it’s June?  Holy Crap.)

1 – One new camera!  Check out this amazing gift that the hubster surprised me with.  I cried!  I can’t wait to use it on our honeymoon!

1 – Also a new iphone!  I’ve been loving using apps like instagram (see pic above!) and beating Robert at Words with Friends

2 – New blog friends who I finally got to meet for lunch last week!  Chrissey and Stephanie and I had a great lunch at Marathon Grill in Philadelphia.  It was surreal meeting people I met on the internet, but we had so much to chat about.

3 – Flavors of frozen yogurt I had at the new Yapple Yogurt down the street from our apartment!  It opened two weeks ago, and Robert and I went to welcome in summer over Memorial Day Weekend.  I tried white chocolate, peanut butter, and birthday cake – they were all so good!

4 – Number of books I read in May!  This includes Bossypants by Tina Fey (amazing, had me laughing on the train, and loving all of the Pennsylvania references!  she also included a great message for women – not just women comedians.  Girl power!)  I also read The Love Season by Elin Hilderbrand.  This book was good, but I threw it on the couch at the end because I was disappointed by the ending. Finally, I read Firefly Lane and True Colors by Kristin Hannah.  I am now officially addicted to her books!  The first had me bawling on the train, and the second was so deeply real.  Kristen Hannah really paints you into the story, both in the plot and in the setting.  You find yourself so invested in the characters!  I loved both books and can’t wait to read more of her work in June!

7 – Inches I chopped off of my hair right after the wedding!  I couldn’t wait to get my Post Wedding Chop, and scheduled my appointment for the first day that the salons were open after the wedding.  Take a look:

             Before………………………………………………………After!

8 – Number of yoga classes I attended at Dana Hot Yoga this month.  I really enjoyed the chance to fulfill my groupon, but by the end of it, I was ready for a little break.  But I truly feel like I am a better “yogi” now… except:

1 – Number of times I FACEPLANTED while attempting crow pose.  OUCH.  My nose was bruised for days!

13th – My 25th birthday!  Robert and I celebrated with an amazing dinner of calamari, basil mojitos, and amazing bacon burgers at 20 Manning.  The burger was great, but not the best burger I ever had!  (Although I might have kept comparing their food to 20 Manning’s sister restaurant, Audrey Claire.  The mussels at AC are in the top 5 of favorite meals ever!)  We finished the night with drinks at Table 31 on the Thursday prior.  Although I work right above Table 31, I’d never been there.  We sat outside, and I swear it felt like we were in Miami!  The celebration continued at my BFF Kirsten’s house, where she and her husband bbq’ed for our friend Georgia, Bob’s friend Pat, Robert, and me.  We drank strawberry wine from Heritage Vineyards, ate a giant cookie cake, and just chatted.  It was the perfect way to celebrate my birthday! 

31 – Days of being a wife!  I never thought that being married would feel very different.  We’d  been living together for almost 3 years by the time we got married, but it has been amazing.  I feel more connected to Robert, and I’m just giddy with love.  (Ok I’ll stop making you puke now.)

80,000 – Degrees that it’s been outside.  OMG it is so hot and humid, and it was only May.  I’ve never wanted rain so badly before in my life.  Anything to break the heat!

What were you up to in May?!  I can’t believe my favorite month is over

The weekend, as briefly as possible

So in all that is unfair and cruel, Robert has had off for the whole week for Spring Break.  However, since I’m not working in Public Accounting anymore, I was able to take a day off with him to enjoy some time together.  We started our Friday with a wedding chore… picking up our Marriage Certificate!  We headed down to the courthouse in Media, PA in the morning to pick up our [expensive] right to marry.

To celebrate, we headed downtown to cash out some Groupons that I’ve been collecting.  Our first stop was The Academy of Natural Science to check out some dinosaurs!  Robert loves dinos  

Rawr!

After the museum (and all of the screaming children on field trips), we needed to refuel with some Mexican food and of course some alcoholic beverages at Mexican Post!  We had a Groupon for this as well, and since I do love myself some Mexcian Post, I jumped at the opportunity to visit!

We feasted on nachos, burritos (for the boy) and fajitas (for me!)  Super yum, as usual!

After our feast, we high-tailed it to the closest pub to watch the second half of the SJU-Duquense game in the A-10 Tournament Quarterfinals… which we WON!  What an amazing way to round out the day.  There was even another Hawk fan in the bar to share in the excitement.  High-fives all around!  The Hawk Will Never Die!

Saturday, we started out the day with another Hawk game, this time against Dayton in the Semi-finals.  Unfortunately we lost, but I couldn’t help but be appreciative of how the team really rallied around for the second half of this rebuilding year.  We have a strong freshman class, and I can’t wait to see how next year goes!

After the game, we headed out to join the Erin Express!  We really only went to one bar, but the beers were good, people watching was classic, and company was handsome.  What more could a girl ask for?

It was a great long weekend, just like this was a [great?] long post.  I know I said I’d keep it brief… but I couldn’t help it!  How was your weekend?