Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes is ones of those meals that the big girl refuses to eat on principle. She does not like any type of ground meat sauce dish, including lasagne, spaghetti bolognese, chili con carne, etc. Sometimes she will eat them to be polite at other people's houses, but not at mine. So tonight, she had dinner at her friend's house, and we took the opportunity to have Sloppy Joes without having to make a regular hamburger for her as well. A few years ago, I would not touch ground beef with a ten foot pole, but I have slowly been weaning myself from my unsubstantiated food phobias. I can totally understand where big girl is coming from. Just ask my parents. It is possible to eat spaghetti with meat sauce and not consume a single shred of ground beef. A few years ago, I did find a recipe for Sloppy Toms, and thought, great! Unfortunately, ground turkey was hard to come by in Sweden, so I had to make do with ground beef/pork. We started making them, and I realized that ground beef wasn't going to kill me. And the sauce actually was pretty great. Besides, it was a bit of American childhood nostalgia. These are as good, if not better, than a Manwich.

Sloppy Joes

My husband did not get the concept of stirring slowly to benefit the photographer.
This is his dish - give him a recipe to follow and he is content.

Scallions and oats

Simmering

The toddler ate faster than we could blow on it to cool it.

Sloppy Joes

Serves 4-6

2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 small green pepper, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. chili powder
1 1/4 lbs (500 g) ground meat (turkey, beef, pork, or a combo)
a dash of salt
1/2 c. water
2/3 c. Heinz chili sauce
1 T Worchestershire sauce
1 T barbecue sauce
1 T tomato paste (more if you want a redder color)
1 T oats
3 scallions, minced
6 hamburger buns

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and pepper and sauté until soft, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and chili powder and sauté another minute until aromatic. Add ground meat and salt, breaking up the chunks with a wooden spoon or other appropriate utensil and cook until meat is done.

Add the water, chili sauce, Worchestershire sauce, barbecue sauce, and tomato paste, bringing to a boil. Lower heat and simmer with pan covered for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Stir in the oats and scallions. With the lid off, simmer until the sauce thickens to desired consistency, about 7 minutes.

Serve on hamburger buns. Goes great with a side of coleslaw or some veggie crudités with dill dip.