February 19, 2005

Rachael Ray's Super Sloppy Joes

So, for a long time I used to crack open a can of sloppy joe sauce and mix it with some hamburger for a quick meal for the family. Then I saw the "30 Minute Meals" episode where Rachael made these homemade sloppy joes. They are awesome. The flavor is so much better and doesn't have that processed taste the canned versions do. Rachael also shared her potato salad recipe on the show, which is an excellent compliment to sloppy joes. I do have to say I believe my potato salad recipe is better - sorry Rachael!

Once you make these sloppy joes, you will have a hard time going back to the canned stuff, I promise!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
1 1/4 pounds ground beef sirloin
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon steak seasoning blend, such as McCormick brand Montreal Seasoning
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 crusty rolls, split, toasted and buttered (I don't butter mine as a preference)

Instructions

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and meat to the pan. Spread the meat around the pan and begin to break it up. Combine brown sugar and steak seasoning. Add sugar and spice mixture to the skillet and combine. When the meat has browned, add onion and red peppers to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and cook onions, peppers, red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce with meat for 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste to pan. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to simmer and cook Sloppy Joe mixture 5 minutes longer. Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, pile sloppy meat onto toasted, buttered bun bottoms and cover with bun tops.

My Two Cents: I recommend chopping the onion and red peppers fairly small - then you can get the kids to get their vegetables in because they won't even know they are eating them!

recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray