Stylin' It Up - Sloppy Joes

According to Wikipedia: A sloppy joe is an American dish of ground beef, onions, sweetened tomato sauce or ketchup and other seasonings, served on a hamburger bun.

 

 You had me at  sauce!

 

I tore this page out of an American magazine, years and years ago. Something about it appealed to me then, and still appealed when I found it the other day, in a sewing room tidying frenzy. My desk seems to be the place where I dump all the things I am going to get to later. This then results in piles being moved around when I actually want to use my desk, or worse still not using my desk and therefore not sewing. The upside of not sewing is though, that I get lots of crochet done, but I digress!

So anyway, I saw sauce, I saw pickles, I saw mustard and I was hooked. This recipe uses things that you commonly have in your pantry and fridge, and could be easily adapted to use any spices you may have  and vegies lurking in the crisper.   It was quick and easy and a big winner with the family.  Here is my version:

SLOPPY JOES

500gm lean beef mince
1 chopped onion
1 crushed garlic clove
5 pieces of chargrilled red peppers roughly chopped (or 1/2 red capsicum chopped)
1 large carrot, grated
Corn kernels (frozen, or tinned)
1 tin tomotoes
3 tbs tomato paste
2 crushed weetbix (or use oats or bran)
2 tbs worcestershire sauce
1-2 tsp chilli powder (depending on taste)
1 tsp cumin

Brown meat, spices, onion and garlic, breaking up lumps. Add carrot, capsicum, corn, tomato paste, worstershire sauce, weetbix and tomatoes and bring to the boil. Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes, until it is thick and delicious!

To serve: buns or rolls (I used stone ground ciabatta rolls from Coles Bakery), tomato sauce, mustard and picked cucumbers. I served ours with kettle crisps, to look like the magazine picture. That went down very well, I must say!

Serves 4
Easily doubled for larger families or to freeze a batch for a busy night.
A perfect way to disguise vegetables for the fussy eaters!

There are heaps of Sloppy Joe Recipes out there:

super food ideas - Tasty, versatile and easy to clean up afterwards, this meal with mince is perfect for the weeknights.

All Recipes.com.au  (with coleslaw) Sloppy joes are an all-American favourite that will be a hit with the whole family. They are messy to eat but taste delicious.

 I can't wait to cook it again!