Hot Lunch for My Sweet Husband

Ever since Russ and I bought our house we started going home on most weekdays to eat lunch. We not only eat healthier, but also it is less expensive than eating out all the time. We could take our lunches to work, but this way we get to see each other and hang out with Cash for a little bit. Typically we just eat sandwiches, usually turkey, sometimes chicken salad. Sometimes we have leftovers or something, but more often than not it is a turkey sandwich. Last week Russ had one too many sandwiches and requested some variety this week for lunch. For the first couple days we had leftover Chinese food thanks to Russ’ parents, but I wanted to come up with something hot that I knew Russ would like. I decided on a CL recipe I have made once before for Sloppy Joes.

To make the Sloppy Joes you brown the ground beef with chopped onion and green pepper. Once the meat is cooked through you add tomato sauce, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, dried oregano, kosher salt, pepper, sugar and chile powder. You then let it simmer for about 20 minutes. I went ahead and made it last night and more than doubled the quantity in order to have some to share with family. Consequently I just eyeballed the seasonings, but if I remember correctly from last time I felt like it needed a little more salt and pepper than called for if you use the no salt added tomato sauce. I like to use no salt added sauce and then control the salt I add. This is one of those dishes where you need to taste it as it simmers to adjust the seasoning as needed. (Note: CL had this recipe as a party option for children, so the serving size is kid size not adult. Just something to keep in mind when planning.)

This is a quick and easy dish that is both hearty and yummy. I especially like the flavor and texture that the chopped onion and green pepper add. This is a great dish for our lunches for the rest of the week since it reheats well and the flavor only gets better after it has sat for a day. Like other meat sauces, such as spaghetti, this will freeze very well. While it is not a fancy dish it is a winner in our house and has saved Russ from turkey sandwiches... at least for this week! Russ rates the Sloppy Joes a 9.

(Nic, If you like Sloppy Joes this is a recipe you could definitely make.)