sloppy joes, from scratch (sort of)

So yesterday I told you that I was doing homemade sloppy joes for dinner, using allergy friendly rolls recommended by the clerk at the local health food store. I made them and they were quite tasty, rolls included.

Here's what I do to make sloppy joes. As always, all quantities are estimated. Oh, and the batch I made last night was pretty large so that I could freeze half of it.

Brown 3 lbs ground beef in a large frying pan

While beef browns, dice 1 medium sweet onion, 2-3 cloves of garlic and 1/2 bell pepper (Okay, honestly, I have trouble digesting peppers, so I slice them into strips- sausage & peppers style & store them in the freezer. For my sloppy joes, I just add as many strips as I think will do the job. This gets the flavor into the meat and allows me to be able to pick the pepper bits out.)

When meat is pretty much browned, drain it, but not quite completely. You don't want the meat or pan to be dry, but you do want most of the fat to be gone.

put the pan, with the meat in it over medium heat. Make a space in the center of the pan, pushing the meat to the side, and add the onions and garlic.

grab 2 cans of tomato paste and a jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce from the cupboard. Add both cans and half the jar to the pan, plus about 3 cups of water. Stir until the paste is dissolved into the water. Increase heat to high.

Add a teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes and about 1 tablespoon of your favorite mexican or chili seasoning blend, plus garlic powder, if desired. Stir to distribute the seasonings.

Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and cook until the sauce is the desired consistency.

Serve over bread.

You can freeze leftovers in a container, or for convenience, line a muffin pan with cupcake liners and add a serving's worth of joe to each liner. Once frozen (about 2-3 hours), remove the joes from the muffin pan and put them in a freezer bag- don't forget to label the bag with when the joes were made and what they are! This makes life easy for a quick, hot lunch or dinner. Just pop a single joe into a bowl, cover it with wax paper or paper towel to minimize tomato splatter, then into the microwave for about 2-4 minutes.