The Sloppy Joe's from my Youth

I'm not so sure these ARE the sloppy joe's I remember my mom making for me when I was a child.  A while back I had asked my mom if she had or remembered the recipe for the sloppy joe's she made.  She told me she remembered that she got the recipe from a bottle of A1 sauce.  So I went to the A1 sauce website and found their recipe for Clean and Simple Sloppy Joe's.  This has to be the recipe, because I can't imagine that A1 has made up new recipes for sloppy joe's. 

This was simple and fast which made me a very happy camper.  First you brown the ground beef, then drain the excess fat.

Next add one chopped onion and one chopped green bell pepper, saute until softened. 

Once that's done you add 3/4 cups of A1 sauce, 1/4 cup tomato paste, 1/4 cup of beef stock, and chili powder cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes. 

Lots of steam in this picture!

Then it's done.  I heated up some frozen tater tots and brussels sprouts for side dishes. 

Final Product:

My thoughts:  Oh childhood how I miss you.  Lately I have been reminiscing about the food of my youth.  This whole meal took me right back to being a kid.  So simple and yet still delicious.  This sloppy joe might have been the best one that I have made.  Anthony really enjoyed it too.  I give this recipe an A and encourage you to try it on a night when you don't feel like slaving away in the kitchen.  The flavors were really good. The steak sauce made it a little sweet, but it was still savory enough that it didn't bother me.  I have my doubts as to whether or not this recipe is exactly what my mom used, but it's possible I just can't remember the flavor as well as I thought I could. 

Once in awhile it's nice to have a meal that is super fast and easy to make.  And it's great if it can take you back to a happy time in your life.  I've been eating PB&J and grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch with Frito's on the side and that brought me back too.  Although it makes me realise I really didn't eat very healthy when I was little, thank goodness for a fast metabolism and lots of playing outside!

Next Up:  More Vegetable Less Egg Fritatta-my first attempt at making a Mark Bittman recipe.  I'm very excited. 

Meatless Sloppy Joe vs. Meatfull Sloppy Joe

It’s the battle of the meatless sloppy joe vs the meatfull sloppy joe! I remember loving sloppy joe’s when I was a little kid. They tasted salty and sweet and were an absolute mess. What kid doesn’t love a mess?!

Trying to be as healthy as possible I decided to make some vegetarian sloppy joe’s last week. I got the recipe here: Bekka’s Vegan Sloppy Joes. Instead of ground beef in these sloppy joe’s you use “beef” crumbles such as Boca Crumbles. SJ’s are so easy to make I might start putting them onto a monthly rotation. Why in the world did I wait so long to make Sloppy Joe’s?! Anyway back to the recipe, first you chop some onion and green pepper. You put that into a skillet with the crumbles and cook until crumble is cooked and the vegetables are tender. Then you add ketchup, sugar, white vinegar, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Stir it all in, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. I taste tested as it was simmering and it didn’t seem sweet enough to me. I added more ketchup and I still couldn’t really get a real Sloppy Joe taste from it.

Final Product:

It was okay. I’m not sure I would make it using this recipe again, because to me it didn’t taste like a sloppy joe. Anthony agreed that it was fine to eat, but not a sloppy Joe. Plus the texture with the Boca crumbles wasn’t super appealing.

Now let’s talk about the Meaty Sloppy Joe. I’ve never mad Sloppy Joe before, but I had an idea of what I was looking for. When I saw Rachael Ray’s Super Sloppy Joe recipe I knew that was the one I was going to try. All the ingredients seemed to be what I believe if in a good Sloppy Joe.

First you cook the ground beef in a skillet with some oil. Once the meat is broken up, add a mix of brown sugar and steak seasoning. Mix it well. Once the meat is starting to brown add chopped red pepper, chopped onion, Worcestershire sauce, and red wine vinegar and cook over medium heat for about 5 more minutes. Next add the tomato sauce and tomato paste and mix them in well; simmer for another 5-10 minutes. I taste tested as I was letting this one simmer and it still didn’t seem sweet enough, so I added some ketchup.

Final Product:

Yummy! Now this one was pretty darn good! It didn’t completely taste like what I remember as a child, but it was very delicious. Anthony also thought it was good and I’m putting this recipe into a monthly rotation. Fast, easy to make, and good! Try it! I encourage everyone to make sloppy joe’s!

Anthony suggested that we do a mix of the veggie crumbles and the ground beef to keep it a bit healthier. I think I’m going to do that and use the Rachael Ray recipe, because the sauce was so much better and more like what I wanted it to taste like. Has anyone had Manwich recently? I thought it was like canned chili, but apparently it’s just sauce! Go figure. Next week I’m going to buy a can of this and see if this might be what I had when I was little. I’ll keep you updated!