Wokking On The Run: Sloppy Joes

Last Night's Adventure -

Lettuce? Check.

Tomatoes? Check.

Onions? Check.

Pickles? Check.

Ketchup? Check

Mustard? Check.

Guess what we're making? Not hamburgers, not any more...

Hamburger meat? Check... oh wait, it's not thawed. So now, what the heck are we going to do? Hmm... let me root around in the pantry again and see what inspiration comes to me...

so... Tomato paste? Check.

Vinegar? Check.

Sugar? Check.

Mustard? Check.

Worcestershire Sauce? Check.

What is it going to become? I guess we are having Sloppy Joes. And who doesn't love Sloppy Joes?

From Eleyna "I hate sloppy joes."

Well, then you can have plain ol' boring ground up hamburger meat on a bun. Yup. Really. I cooked the hamburger meat with absolutely zero seasoning, because I knew that if I were to season the meat then add the sauce, it could potentially have been waaaaaaayyyy over seasoned.

Thankfully, Sloppy Joes are simple to cook, with just a couple of basic ingredients, which almost everyone should have on hand at all times. If you ever decide to make tons if it at a time for "Planned Overs" it freezes very well too.

It was a fun experiment, which forced me to really delve into the depths of creativity, as I, while a huge fan of sloppy joes, had never made them before. So going off of what I had tasted in other people's versions of the same was a bit of a comedy of trial and errors.

The sauce never seemed to be just right, probably because, while I did check to see if I had mustard, I forgot to put it in, and because Kim doesn't like onions, I couldn't add those as well. Darned hamburger meat.... sheesh. (Actually, I need to blame the darned refrigerator for keeping everything so freaking cold. Oh, wait... that's a good thing...) And, I was able to wash it down with a pretty decent beer.

Madison seemed to like it though, because I caught her grabbing a spoon and dipping it into the sauce to taste, even though it was REALLY hot. Rather amusing, yet gratifying to see that there was yet another soul who could appreciate food off the cuff. She did not even feel bad about getting caught; in fact, she asked if she could try some more. Too much fun. I have absolutely no idea what we are going to do tonight. Maybe more of the same. Kitchen improv. It's a fun yet risky proposition but hopefully only good things will come out of it.

I have really got to figure something out. Cooking on the fly like that is mentally exhausting. Until then, Good Eating, Friends...

*By the way, this is a new fun blog that my daughters and I are doing: feel free to check it out. http://smilesandfrownsabound.blogspot.com/

Awesome Sloppy Colins (fine, Sloppy Joes)

Ingredients

3 pounds ground beef 1 cup chopped yellow onion 1 cup finely chopped celery 1 (12 ounce) bottle tomato-based chili sauce 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 1/4 cup packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard (optional)

Directions

Crumble the ground beef into a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently until evenly browned. Drain off grease. Add the onion and celery, and cook until the onion is tender, about 3 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium and pour in the chili sauce. Stir in the vinegar and sugar. Add mustard if using. Simmer until the mixture is your desired thickness. Serve on buns.

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