Food doesn't have to be sophisticated to be good, and often the best foods are the ones we remember loving as children, hence the comfort food craze we began to experience a few years back.  I loved sloppy joes as a kid, and as an adult, they still hold a special place in food memories. 

What was one of your favorite kid foods?



Growing up, we made sloppy joes from Manwich or some other seasoning packet, and they were good.  I can't complain, but somewhere I decided I wanted to make more things from scratch so I could know what was supposed to be in them.  I saw this recipe on Food Network years ago, and it was one of the first dishes I could confidently cook.  We break it out from time to time, and this one's taste exceeds the memory of those first sloppy joes. 



If you have kids, this is a devious way to sneak more vegetables into their diets.  No cook's notes on this one, because I feel it's pretty perfect as is.  If you don't have and don't want to purchase the seasoning blend, just know it's a combo of salt, pepper, garlic, and I think onion. 

Super Sloppy Joes
from Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan

1 1/4 pounds ground beef sirloin

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon steak seasoning blend, such as McCormick brand Montreal Seasoning

1 medium onion, chopped

1 small red bell pepper, chopped

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 cups tomato sauce

2 tablespoons tomato paste

4 crusty rolls, split, toasted, and lightly buttered

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and meat to the pan. Spread the meat around the pan and begin to break it up. Combine brown sugar and steak seasoning. Add sugar and spice mixture to the skillet and combine. When the meat has browned, add onion and red peppers to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and cook onions, peppers, red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce with meat for 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste to pan. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to simmer and cook Sloppy Joe mixture 5 minutes longer. Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, pile sloppy meat onto toasted, buttered bun bottoms and cover with bun tops.