By Marie Fagan Peart | marie@haldimandpress.com
If you have a young family involved with extracurricular activities such as hockey, dance, gymnastics, or figure skating, to name only a few, you know the value of a quick, nutritious meal.
This sloppy Joe recipe fits the bill. It is quick and easy to make, plus allows for easy adaptations to fit the nutritious needs of your family. I have made this dish for years but recently came across a slightly different version online. I tinkered with the recipe to come up with one that better suited my taste. I made it using the suggested ground beef and at the last minute added a can of pork and beans. It was delicious.
This week I wanted to make it again but I only found ground turkey in the freezer. As they say, “necessity is the mother of invention”. So why not try ground turkey? In all honesty, I was a bit concerned about this substitution, so I didn’t add pork and beans this time.
I was pleasantly surprised that it tasted great. For this versatile recipe, I wouldn’t hesitate to substitute pork or ground poultry for the ground beef.
One of my favourite ways to enjoy vegetables in the fall is by roasting them. Readers may have noticed that I have shared a number of recipes for a variety of vegetable that you can roast.
The Roasted Harvest Vegetables with Rosemary recipe takes some additional time to prepare, but it’s worth it. It makes a great side dish to the Sloppy Joes. As this recipe is a little more time consuming, in the future I would double the recipe. This enables you to have plenty available to quickly reheat for your weekday evening meals. Enjoy!
HOMEMADE SLOPPY JOES
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1/3 of a green pepper, minced
½ large yellow onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon brown sugar (or less, if you prefer)
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
¾ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Heat butter and oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add beef and brown, breaking it apart as it browns, about 5 minutes. Remove to a colander to drain.
Add onion and bell pepper to pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, until soft. Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add beef to the pan along with tomato paste. Stir well.
Note: you can easily add corn, pork, beans, or your favourite vegetable.
ROASTED HARVEST VEGETABLES WITH ROSEMARY
24 tiny red potatoes
4 carrots
4 parsnips
½ rutabaga
¼ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Scrub potatoes but do not peel. Cut the larger ones into quarters. Cut carrots and parsnips into 1½ inch pieces. Cut rutabaga into ¼ inch slices, then cut each slice into 5 wedges.
In large, greased shallow baking dish, combine vegetables, oil, rosemary, salt, and pepper.
Toss to coat well. Drizzle with lemon juice.
Bake, covered, in 450°F oven for 30 minutes. Uncover; roast 25 minutes or until tender and browned, stirring after 15 minutes. Serves 6.
