This week's meal includes Loose Meat Sandwiches (with homemade buns and pickles), Broccoli and Raisin Salad, and Giant Crinkle Chocolate Chip Cookies.

The Loose Meat Sandwiches are ground beef slowly cooked with dried onions and chicken broth. The meat sits on top of a homemade bun, which is what makes this sandwich extra special. The sandwich includes all the necessary toppings: ketchup, mustard, homemade pickles, finely minced onion, and American cheese. The homemade pickles are dill pickles that are a little sweet, a little sour, and the tiniest bit spicey. They are delicious. Altogether, it is a great and classic midwest sandwich.

The Broccoli and Raisin Salad is one of my favorite picnic midwest salads that felt perfect with loose meat sandwiches. It's broccoli, raisins, sunflower seeds, and bacon. The dressing is mayo-based and a little tangy, and very sweet. I mince shallot into the dressing. It's sweet, salty, spicy, crunchy, and chewy. You can't get enough!

The Giant Crinkle Chocolate Chip cookies are giant chocolate chip cookies that you "bang the pan" during cooking. Simply put, you pull the pan out of the oven multiple times during the baking process and drop it against the stovetop. This action creates crinkled edges, while the middle stays soft. It is the same method as the Crinkle Sugar Cookies I made for week 3. The chocolate chip version is delicious!