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Not Your Average Sloppy Joe!

the urban baker: Not Your Average Sloppy Joe!

the urban baker

The Urban Baker is deliciously photographed blog about nourishing your family's soul through life in the kitchen. The recipes for fabulous savories and sweets are easily replicated and will inspire you.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Not Your Average Sloppy Joe!

It's the end of September and summer has finally arrived in sunny, southern Cal.  Record heat and with record heat, for some of us, comes a loss of electricity and power.  I was one of the not so lucky ones that had partial power yesterday.  It was over 100 degrees and although I lost power in the kitchen, I didn't loose the air conditioner!  Thank goodness for that!  However, my fridge was not so lucky.  I didn't loose much.  I realized the power was out, before my frozen peas and ice cream turned to mush. Eli helped me take much of our perishables to our second fridge/freezer in the garage and eight hours later, the power was back on!

With the day being what it was, I needed something quick, easy and nutritious for dinner. My kids have never really been a fan of Sloppy Joes.  I have tried several homemade recipes and until this one, they couldn't stand it.  So, when they lifted up the lid on the sauce pot and asked what was for dinner, I renamed it.  Instead of them scrunching up their noses and walking away, they asked how soon they could eat (it was 4:45).  I happily said, "now"!

I lightly buttered the buns, wrapped them in foil and stuck them in the oven for a few minutes.  Then unwrapped them and put them under the broiler for just a few seconds.  Roasted some "yam fries" on high heat, cut up some Persian cucumbers, tomatoes, organic sweet onions - sprinkled it with feta and balsamic vinaigrette and voila, dinner in minutes.  Isaac added pickles to his sandwich (of course) and Eli  added Jalapenos.  They each ate two.  This is going to be one of those staple weeknight meals.

Sloppy Joes
adapted from an Gourmet Quick Kitchen

ingredients:
1 15 oz can whole tomatoes in juice, drained
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 Tbls. unsalted butter
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1 1/2 lb. organic, ground chuck
1 Tbls. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 Tbls. Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 Tbls. packed brown sugar
4 potato rolls

instructions:
• heat saucepan over medium heat.  add the butter.
• in the bowl of the food processor* fitted with the metal blade(or chop by hand), pulse the onion and the garlic until finely chopped. add to the melted butter.  saute until very soft, about 5-10 minutes.
• rough chop both the carrot and celery and add to the work bowl of the food processor.  process until finely diced. add to sauteed onions with 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  cook until veggies are soft.
• add drained tomatoes to the food process and puree. set aside.
• once veggies are soft add the meat to the pan and brown, stirring to break up the lumps.  cook until the meat is no longer pink.
• add the chili powder, cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 3/4 teaspoon of pepper and cook stirring 2 minutes.
• add the pureed tomatoes, wine, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar and boil, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened, about 6 minutes.
• season, if needed, to taste and place on buns and eat!

* I use the food processor to chop my veggies because my kids do not like chunks of veggies in their food, unless it is a big bowl of soup!

Yam Fries

ingredients:
3 large sweet potatoes
2 Tbls. good olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
3/4 tsp. ground chili powder
1/2 tsp. dried thyme

instructions:
• preheat oven to 500*.
• wash, peel and cut sweet potatoes into long match sticks.
• spray a sheet pan with cooking spray.
• mix potatoes with the rest of ingredients and massage spices and oil into the potatoes.
• spread, evenly, in one layer, on the prepared sheet pan and put in the middle of the preheated oven.
• bake for 30 minutes.  rotate pan half way through and turn fries a couple of times during cooking.
• sprinkle with a little sea salt and serve.

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10 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

Wish I was having this for lunch right now!

September 29, 2010 at 11:35 AM  
Anonymous Adrienne Vernon said...

Saving this! My fiance loves sloppy joes and I hate buying the canned sauce.

September 29, 2010 at 3:19 PM  
Anonymous Laura (Blogging Over Thyme) said...

I can't believe I've never had legitimate sloppy joes before, but these look delicious! Well done.

September 29, 2010 at 7:19 PM  
Blogger The Sukkar Chef said...

This is one I'll try. I love sloppy joes but my husband only tolerates them, and my children...well, they eat it as long as it isn't metal, plastic or wood!

September 29, 2010 at 7:29 PM  
Blogger The Urban Baker said...

Sukkar chef - my kids hated sloppy joes until this week. this is one of those perfect family style recipes. give it a go and i guarantee your husband will be a convert! if he doesn't go to the other side, I will send you a box of cookies!

September 29, 2010 at 7:59 PM  
Blogger Susan said...

Total comfort food. I remember having these in the dead of winter in Ontario and feeling warm and cozy.

September 30, 2010 at 5:35 AM  
Blogger Eliana said...

Hmmm - this looks delicious and sounds like the perect meal to me :)

September 30, 2010 at 7:22 AM  
Blogger jocelyn said...

with our family eating a bit healthier these days, i forgot about sloppy joes. the kids really like them- i have tried various recipes so i will try this one on a night when we want to "splurge"

as always, thanks for the ideas.

September 30, 2010 at 4:38 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I've put this on the dinner menu for this week. I saw your post and got a sloppy joe craving.

October 3, 2010 at 4:11 PM  
Blogger Dani Spies said...

Unlike your little ones, I LOVE Sloppy Joe's so a home made version is right up my alley! I made a version of Sloppy Joe's a while back using Lentils (which was surprisingly super good) but am eager to try this recipe!! Thanks:)

November 13, 2010 at 8:05 AM  

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