The PERFECT Sloppy Joe

Sloppy joe, slop sloppy joe!

It's DI! I have my own kitchen, I'm cooking again, so I'm BAack!
Early in my marriage, my husband asked if I would make Manwich over rice for him. Eh? That sounded so disgusting to me! I had never had Manwich before, and I didn't even know what it was! I soon learned that sloppy joes were a favorite of his. I have tried over the years to perfect the elusive joe to no avail. Seriously, it's either too sweet, or not sweet enough, too spicey, flavorless, etc. I tried adding bell peppers, celery, carrots, even red beans, and it was never very good. Manwich has chopped up pickles in it, and it tastes like a tin can. NO WAY!
Lo and behold, I picked up my favorite magazine, Cook's Illustrated at Costco, and it had a recipe for sloppy joes! This magazine is so awesome because they write an article on each recipe explaining the many experiments they did to perfect it. They also recommend different brands of products and offer many cooking tips. I have never been disappointed by their recipes. So, without further ado:

The PERFECT Sloppy Joe!

2 T Vegetable oil (I used Olive oil)
1 medium onion chopped fine
Table salt
2 medium garlic cloves minced
1/2 t chili powder
1 lb. 85% lean ground beef (this percentage keeps it flavorful and less greasy, but just use what you have)
Ground black pepper
1 t. brown sugar
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1/2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. water
1/4 t. hot sauce like Tabasco
4 hamburger buns (the recommend Pepperidge Farm Bakery rolls, but I got the whole wheat buns, still good!)

Heat oil in skillet on medium heat, add onions and 1/2 t. salt. Cover and cook stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. If they start to brown, turn down the heat.
Add garlic and chili powder and cook about 30 seconds.
Add beef and break down with wooden spoon, until just pink.
Add 1/4 t. pepper, brown sugar, tomato sauce, ketchup, water, and hot pepper sauce. Simmer until mixture is slightly thicker than ketchup, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve on buns.

You won't be sorry!

Summer is here, and I am in fear!

I'm running out of dinner ideas!!! I feel like we have the same 5-10 dinners, and it's time to try something new. I like recipes with fewer ingredients. Anything crock pot recipe is great.. because Jed doesn't get home from work until 10pm-12am depending on where he is working that day. Oh.. and I'm looking for some new ideas with beef (we eat chicken allll the time, and he's getting tired of it), but we're usually too poor for anything but ground beef. Does anyone have anything they'd like to share?

One of our favorite beef meals is pretty easy, and scruptiously delicious! --Stuffed Bell Peppers!
This recipes is for 2 peppers. You can adjust as needed.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium green bell peppers
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce, divided
• 1/4 cup uncooked instant rice
• 3 tablespoons shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 tablespoon chopped onion
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions:

1. Cut tops off peppers and discard; remove seeds. Blanch peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water; set aside. In a bowl, combine beef, 1/4 cup of tomato sauce, rice, 2 tablespoons of cheese, onion, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and egg; mix well. Stuff the peppers; place in an ungreased 1-1/2-qt. baking dish. Pour the remaining tomato sauce over peppers. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 45-60 minutes or until meat is no longer pink and peppers are tender. Sprinkle with remaining cheese; return to the oven for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

This recipe is very easy to modify. I've used all colors of peppers. I always use soy sauce instead of Worch. And sometimes I like to use half ground beef/half ground sausage so it has some zing to it!