She’s coming.  Hurricane Sandy is on her way and should arrive sometime tomorrow.

I hadn’t really thought too much about her since she easily could have stayed further out at sea and not made the hard left onto land. But this morning, as the weather alerts began popping up in both my emails and through texts, I realized that we’re in for an interesting few days.

I made a trip to the store to stock up on water and other necessities. Fall leaves blowing around the empty parking lot reminded me of tumbleweeds blowing through a western ghost town; where is everyone? Oh, right…they were smart and did this yesterday :-)

I also picked up the fixin’s to make these smoky chipotle sloppy joes. My parents, driving from Wisconsin to Virginia so that we can close on their new house tomorrow, will arrive sometime this afternoon, so I wanted to have something on the stove that could simmer until they arrived. It’s a long drive (and a harrowing one, apparently, since they’re driving with a trailer through some very heavy downpours) so comfort food upon arrival also qualifies as a necessity.

These are fantastic sloppy joes, if I do say so myself. Personally, I’d add a couple of whole, diced chipotle peppers to really spice them up, but since my girls and mom make up half of the group who will be eating them, I opted to keep them flavorful but without the heat. Besides, for those who wanted them, I added sliced, pickled jalapenos which added both heat and a nice texture, so it was a win-win. A little Havarti cheese and they became heavenly!

I hope to all who are in the path of Hurrican Sandy that you stay safe and dry!