SLOPPY JOES
Not just for sandwiches.
One of the great comfort foods in our home is sloppy joes. With mixes you can find at the grocery store, browning a little ground meat is all it takes to create a hearty treat that is just as easily serve with chips as it is with au-gratin potatoes or pasta salad.
For those more ambitious, this food favorite is easy to make from scratch, and lends itself to a range of variations, from sweet and saucy to hot and spicy. Click here for several recipe versions that are sure to please.
Of course, it's very easy to substitute ground pork, turkey, or textured vegetable protein for the traditional ground beef. However, another great variation is to substitute shredded chicken or turkey. This makes a great filling for sandwiches, pitas, and more.
What is not widely known is how versatile the sloppy joe meat mixture can be other than in sandwiches. Since the recipe is very easy to double or triple, and leftovers freeze so well, it is the perfect base for various dishes. It's also a great addition for those who do once-a-month cooking.
Here are a few ways to use sloppy joe mix to create other simple dishes:
- Serve as an alternative taco filling. Simply warm and serve inside corn or flour tortillas. This is particularly helpful when you have only a cup or two leftover, since that amount is enough to make several tacos for a subsequent meal.
- Ladel mixture over macaroni and cheese or cooked pasta.
- Prepare hash browns, add diced onions and green peppers and cook until tender. Stir in sloppy joe mixture and heat through. Sprinkle with a little cheddar cheese before serving.
- Prepare uncooked sloppy joe mixture according to recipe (if using a canned version, add mix to raw meat). Form into loaf and bake 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes. You'll have one of the moistest meat loafs you've ever tasted.
There's many more ways you can utilize the mixture in your cooking. Be creative! For yet another idea, below is a variation on an old favorite which uses sloppy joe mixture in place of the traditional ground beef with salt and pepper. This is one of our family's all-time favorites!
Shepherdess Pie
Ingredients:
1 lb of prepared sloppy joe meat mixture
2 cups of mashed potatoes
1 can of corn or peas (optional)*
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
Directions: Spread sloppy joe mixture in bottom of casserole dish. Pour vegetables over meat and distribute evenly. Spread mashed potatoes over the top, spreading evenly and making sure potatoes completely cover the top and touch the sides of the dish (this will be your "crust"). Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are set and slightly brown. Sprinkle cheese over top. Cook 2-3 minutes longer until melted. Serve with warm biscuits and a side salad.
This is the base recipe. For our LOK family, we usually double or triple the recipe to feed everyone.
*Since my kids tend to either like corn or peas, when I prepare this dish, I put a can of peas on one side of the dish, and a can of corn on the other side. This way, everyone can take which vegetable they prefer. If someone likes both vegetables (like me), they take a bit from both sides, or you can overlap the corn and peas in the very middle.
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Article by: Michelle Lehmann
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