Family Meal Plan: Backyard BBQ Mushroom Sloppy Joe Skillet Sliders + Mama's Fried Potatoes + Simple Lemonade

Backyard BBQ Mushroom Sloppy Joe Skillet Sliders

Happy & Healthy Cooking,

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

• chop :

  to cut something into small, rough pieces using a blade.

• dice :

  to cut foods into small pieces of equal size so that the food is cooked evenly or looks uniform and pleasant when used in the recipe.

• fry :

  to fry in a pan in a small amount of fat.

• measure :

  to calculate the specific amount of an ingredient required using a measuring tool (like measuring cups or spoons).

• mix :

  to thoroughly combine two or more ingredients until uniform in texture.

• sauté :

  to cook or brown food in a pan containing a small quantity of butter, oil, or other fat.

• squeeze :

  to firmly press or twist a food with fingers, hands, or a device to remove its liquid, like shredded potatoes, frozen and thawed spinach, or tofu.

• stir :

  to mix together two or more ingredients with a spoon or spatula, usually in a circle pattern, or figure eight, or in whatever direction you like!

History of the Sloppy Joe Sandwich!

• A Sloppy Joe sandwich typically consists of browned ground beef mixed with a tomato-based sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and spices and served on a hamburger bun. 
• There are a few theories about when and where it originated. One story has the sandwich created in Havana, Cuba, in 1917, and American tourists bringing it to the US, along with the creator's nickname, around 1937. Another theory is that it was based on the "loose meat sandwiches" produced in the 1930s in Sioux City, Iowa, by a cook named Joe. 
• American cookbooks in the mid-1900s included recipes for similar sandwiches with names like "chopped meat sandwiches" and "Spanish hamburgers." Food companies started selling canned versions of Sloppy Joe sauce in the 1960s. 
• We hope you enjoy our delicious Sticky Fingers Cooking version, Backyard BBQ Mushroom Sloppy Joe Skillet Sliders, which are full of vitamins and minerals, replacing ground beef with mushrooms and carrots.

Let's Learn About Iowa!

• Iowa is a state in the upper Midwest region of the United States. It is the 29th state, joining the union in 1846. It is bordered on the north by Minnesota, the south by Missouri, the west by Nebraska and South Dakota, and the east by Illinois and Wisconsin. 
• Iowa was part of the Louisiana Purchase and used to be part of French and Spanish Louisiana. Its state flag is similar to the blue, white, and red French flag except for an eagle in the wider center white stripe with blue streamers andntye state motto in its mouth and Iowa printed in red below. The motto is "Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain."
• The name "Iowa" comes from the Ioway people, part of the Sioux Nation who inhabited the area. Iowa's nickname, the "Hawkeye State," came about in the 1930s partly because of the popularity of the character "Hawkeye" (Natty Bumppo) in James Fenimore Cooper's novel, "The Last of the Mohicans," and partly to commemorate the Native American chief, "Black Hawk."
• Des Moines (pronounced duh-moyn) is the capital of Iowa and its largest city. Iowa's total land area is 55,875 square miles, with a population of over 3 million. That makes it 23rd in land area and 31st in population compared to other US states and territories.
• The state lies in the Corn Belt, an area in the Midwest where corn production has dominated the agricultural economy since the 1850s. Iowa is the top corn producer in the United States, and about 90 percent of its land is devoted to agriculture. 
• Iowa has expanded its economy to include meat and poultry processing, manufacturing, financial services, green energy production, and information technology.
• Four rivers border Iowa: the Mississippi River on the east, the Missouri River and Big Sioux River on the west, and the Des Moines River on the south. Carter Lake is the only Iowa city west of the Missouri River.
• Iowa has its own "Great Lakes," also called the "Okoboji." They consist of seven natural lakes in northwestern Iowa, with the largest of the three major ones, Spirit Lake, totaling 5,684 acres. The other two are West Okoboji Lake and East Okoboji Lake.
• The state's topography is mostly rolling hills and some flat plains. Hawkeye Point, in northwest Iowa, is the highest point at 1,670 feet elevation.
• Iowa experiences all four seasons and has cold, snowy winters and hot, humid summers. Spring and summer bring frequent rainfall and thunderstorms, and sometimes tornadoes. 
• A popular attraction in northeast Iowa is Pikes Peak State Park. It is named for Zebulon Pike, who visited the area in 1805. (Pikes Peak in Colorado is also named for the American explorer.) The park features a 500-foot bluff with a view of the upper Mississippi River near the Wisconsin border. Families enjoy hiking, camping, and touring the Native American burial or ceremonial mounds—many look like animals—at the Effigy Mounds National Monument a few miles north of the park.
• The Iowa State Fair is an annual summer event enjoyed by well over a million visitors each year. It is one of the country's largest and most famous state fairs. It is known for its "butter cow," a life-size cow sculpted out of butter yearly for the fair, and other butter sculpture, like Elvis Presley and Leonardo DaVinci's "The Last Supper." The agricultural and food competitions are also very popular.
• Some of the foods Iowa is known for (besides corn!) include Maid-Rite (loose-meat) sandwiches, similar to Sloppy Joes but without tomato sauce. Another Iowan dish created in a restaurant in Des Moines is Steak de Burgo, made of beef tenderloin. Taco pizza is said to have originated at a pizza parlor in Davenport, Iowa. 
• A couple of the state's favorite sweet snacks are "scotcheroos" and "puppy chow," also known as "muddie buddies." Scotcheroos are dessert bars that include Rice Krispies, peanut butter, chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips. Puppy chow is a homemade candy made of cereal (often Chex cereal), melted chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar.