Sloppy Joes are perhaps the perfect food for a weeknight. They taste really great, they are good and filling and they don't cost a lot to make. Oh and if you do it my way it only takes about fifteen minutes to make them.
You'll need:
1 1/2 cups of picante sauce, I used mild but you can use whatever intensity you'd like
1 10 oz can of diced tomatoes and peppers drained, also use your favored intensity
1 lb of browned ground beef
Start off with a skillet on medium heat and toss in a pound of pre browned ground beef. This is what's going to save you so much time. I get a three to five pound pack of ground beef and brown it all up at the same time then store it in quart sized bags in my freezer I use it for soup and tacos and all sorts of things. If you don't want to do that ahead of time you can brown it now but it will take the cooking time up to about a half an hour which is still great. After about a minute or so the meat will warm up and you can toss in your tomatoes and picante sauce and mix it up. Let it simmer for about ten or fifteen minutes until it's the thickness you desire and serve it on hamburger buns with a side of fries. Oh and yes paper plates are the proper dinnerware for sloppy joes ;)
It's that time of year again, time for hearty and comforting foods. I can't think of anything more hearty and comforting than a good bowl of soup. The best thing about this soup is that you can put almost anything in it and it'll be good. The only constant ingredient is a 28oz can of whole tomatoes which I crush by hand. This week I used a 28 oz can of Veg-all which I rounded off with some left over corn and Lima beans from the fridge and some browned ground beef. I've added everything from cabbage to pearl onions to this and it always comes out tasty and if you leave out the meat it's vegetarian. A cube of corn bread on top to soak up the broth and you've got a meal fit for any Autumn night. The basic recipe goes something like this:
1 28oz can of whole tomatoes
1 28oz can of mixed vegetables *
1 14 oz can of corn*
1 14 oz can of lima beans*
1 lb of browned ground beef
*substitute frozen versions or any other veggie you would like.
Start off by pouring the tomatoes into a 4q soup pot and crush them by hand. Mix in all the other ingredients and let it simmer for about 45 minutes, or longer if you use frozen veg. Top with a square of cornbread and dig in.
