"Normal Food"

Tonight was my night to cook for our little dinner club. One of our husbands asked recently why we can't just make "normal food" for dinner club - the women involved have sophisticated palates I guess. We thow in all kind of herbs and things that are hard to pronounce on occasion. In all honestly we just cook for the other women - if the men folk and kiddos don't like what we fix, they have cereal.

So, to appease the simpler ones among us I opted for the good 'ol Sloppy Joe tonight. I am almost embarrassed to type that but that is probably better than "Tuna Surprise" or something along those lines that would fit in the "normal food" category. But I do have to say - I believe these are the best Sloppy Joes around. Put it on a nice toasted buttery bun, top it with some big juicy slices of tomatoes and pickles and it is quite a tasty meal I must admit.

Forgive me for not posting a picture, I ate mine open faced, my kids shared one so it was hacked in half, and MJH had to cut his up in little pieces to eat it (see previous post about his tooth). So, there were no pretty Sloppy Joes to photograph.

Here's the Recipe:

Rachel Ray's Super Sloppy Joes

1 1/4 lb. lean ground beef
1/4 C brown sugar
2 tsp - 1 Tbsp. McCormick's Montreal Grill Mates Steak seasoning
1 med. onion, chopped
1 small red pepper, chopped
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. Worcerstershire sauce
2 C tomato sauce
2 Tbsp. tomato paste

Break up the meat in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it is about half-way cooked add the brown sugar and the grill seasoning. When the meat is cooked through, add the onion and red pepper. Reduce the heat to medium and add red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce - cook for 5 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Stir to combine. Reduce the heat and simmer 5 minutes longer. Taste and adjust your seasonings.

Pile meat onto toasted, crusty rolls (or large potato buns, which are my favorite) and top with tomatoes seasoned with salt and pepper and sliced dill pickles. Bring on the napkins!

Note: I like my Sloppy Joes pretty sweet so I almost always add more brown sugar at the end - but then again, I don't do a lot of measuring in this recipe so I'm not sure how close to 1/4 C I usually am. I also go heavy on the grill seasoning - it is the secret weapon in this recipe. But beware, it has a fair amount of pepper in it. This recipe freezes well.