Schloppy Joe, Schlop, Schlop, Schloppy Joe

We needed some comfort food on this cold and dreary night, so I decided on a healthier version of a school cafeteria favorite - Sloppy Joes.

Sloppy Joes
1 carrot, finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
1/2 medium sweet onion, diced
1/2 medium red bell pepper, diced
1 lb ground turkey
1 chipotle, diced and 1 tsp adobo sauce
1/2 tsp ground cumin
salt to taste
1 - 8 oz can tomato sauce
4 Tbsp smokey barbeque sauce

Coat a cast iron skillet with cooking spray over medium heat. When pan is hot, add carrot and celery, saute for 2 minutes. Add onion and bell pepper and saute 4 minutes longer. Add ground turkey and cook, stirring to crumble meat, until browned. Add chipotle and adobo sauce, cook an additional 2 minutes. Add spices and sauces, cook until sauce reduces, about 15 minutes.

Serve on a bun with cole slaw on the side.

Tasty Skinny Margarita

Have I told you that I love Bethenny Frankel?  I think she is hilariously funny and I appreciate her raw honesty. I also think she has one smokin' hot bod! While I don't think her great figure is solely due to her Skinny Girl recipes and products, her marketing approach totally worked on me. So one sunny weekend afternoon I mixed up her recipe for the Skinny Girl Margartia, and much to my disappointment, I thought it was awful (straight tequila with a squeeze of lime - I haven't had a night like that since college)! So awful, in fact, that once her margarita mix made it big, I could not be convinced to buy it. Instead, I decided that I could come up with my own Skinny Margarita recipe. So, you know what? I did, and humbly I must say it is so much better (albeit probably has more calories) than the Skinny Girl Margarita. Sorry Bethenny. I guess ultimately the jokes on me, because she's laughing all the way to the bank!

Skinny Margarita
1 part white Tequila
1/2 part freshly squeezed lime juice
1 part soda water
A splash freshly squeezed orange juice
1 Tbsp Agave Nectar
Crush ice
Salt, if desired

Mix liquids in a cocktail shaker and serve of the crused ice in a salt rimmed glass. Enjoy!

Help a Sister Out & Enter for a $35 Gift Card!

I know I don't reveal much about my personal life on my blog, but in order for you to understand the plea that follows I am going to open up a bit! For the past 5 years I have spent my life's work focused on students with autism. I am a school psychologist and soon to be Board Certified Behavior Analyst (sat for the exam in May and am on pins and needles waiting for my results), which has allowed me to work with students not only as a diagnostic clinician, but also as a provider of interventions. Therefore, I am often able to follow students from first diagnsosis through several years of treatment. Watching these students blossom is an amazing process and I feel fortunate that I am able to be a part of it!

Now here's where you come in ;) I have a great opportunity for you to support the autism community and help me win an iPad to use with my students. The iPad is not only a fantastic instructional tool for kids who are nonvocal and/or have strengths in visual processing, it also will be invaluable in collecting and graphing data on my students’ academic and behavioral progress. I simply need to sell any combination of 60 of the items pictured below.

How to participate:

• Place an order from the website (http://www.thepuzzlingpiece.com/products.html).

• When you make your purchase you MUST put my first and last name (Heather Langknecht) in the section that says "Challenger's Name", otherwise I won’t receive credit & you won't be entered in the drawing :(

• After you place your order, come back here and post a comment telling me what you ordered and if/how your life has been touched by someone with autism.

• Once I cross-check your name with the orders you will be entered in a drawing for a $35 Amazon gift card (this could turn into a money maker for you!). I will announce the lucky winner on July 15.

The following are the only items from the site that count toward the challenge:









Thank you for your support!