Find your “Sloppy Joes” recipe for your family

 

Find your family’s sloppy joes. I know this sounds confusing, but I will explain.

For our household, Sloppy Joes are the go to favorite. Everyone loves them, I can make a huge batch in the Instant pot, and it keeps for all week. We can have lots of leftovers out of them. They are inherently Gluten and dairy free for everyone. Also, my recipe is EXTREMELY healthy and high in protein. (The recipe is at the bottom of this post.)

So, by “finding your sloppy joes,” I am suggesting you find a favorite meal that is easy to make, or at least if it is difficult, you can get several meals out of it to make the time invested worth it. Adjust it to suit your nutritional needs and omit your intolerances. I generally make a big batch of sloppy joes about once or twice a month and then we can eat it all that week. Yes, we have several other meals during the week as well, but there is a quick and easy lunch or large snack only a minute in the microwave away.

If we do not know what to make, Sloppy Joes is always an easy go to. I make sure we have enough of everything to make it on hand at all times.

I also like that our recipe is fresh from scratch, and I can control the number of preservatives and other ingredients in it each time. Of the five of us in our household, two have celiacs disease (can’t eat wheat/gluten), three are lactose intolerant, and I have an extreme allergy to whey (the other milk protein, I even have to carry an epi-pen in case it is in something that I don’t know about because one bite of ice cream could send me to the emergency room with my throat closing). I also have a few different health problems that food ingredients and types are part of how I manage them. We have also noticed that the ADHD people in our house have a better time in their day to day without a lot of sugar in our daily diet. Not saying that is the case for everyone, but it is something we have noticed over the years. We do not completely avoid it, and of course we still have some treats, but I try to substitute it whenever I can.

We always feel better when we eat at home from scratch. Granted that gives mom a lot more work, but it is usually worth it to know that we will be feeling better, spending less money, and we know exactly what is going into our body.

So, to get back to my point, find a recipe for your household that can be made to suit your needs, everyone enjoys, and can be made into a large batch so you can eat off it a few more times.

 

Kate’s Sloppy Joe’s recipe

One pound ground turkey (Sometimes I use two pounds if I have them defrosted, but I usually only use one. Also, you can use any ground meat, but I prefer turkey as it is cheaper and does not have a lot of fat in it that needs to be drained away.)

One cup chopped onions

One cup chopped celery

One cup chopped carrots

One large, shredded cabbage

½ cup chopped peppers, whatever color you like. I like Red.

One package firm tofu drained (And pressed if you have time)

Any number of tomatoes you have on hand. I have used as few as one and as many as six, you can also use canned if you want to

Three cans of assorted beans, drained (I usually use chickpeas, but when I have them I like to use black beans and pinto beans as well.)

One can of tomato paste (homemade if you can, but store bought is fine. My mother is a big canner so that is what I usually use)

One quart tomato sauce

Tablespoon worstershire sauce

Tablespoon steak sauce

Two tablespoons minced garlic, but feel free to measure this with your soul!

Several dashes of paprika- this is more for color than anything else, the tofu makes it a light pink color and it looks more appealing with the darker red. Plus we all like paprika, so it is a win-win

¼ cup brown sugar- you can substitute any sweetener you like. Molasses, maple syrup, coconut sugar, honey, corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, whatever you have or you desire.

Tablespoon or two of an acid to balance everything out. Apple cider vinegar, lemon, lime, balsamic vinegar- whatever you have or are feeling

Salt and pepper

Any other seasoning and herbs you have on hand that sound good that day. Basil, oregano, cilantro, onion powder, cinnamon, parsley, chives, you name it.

 

So, I put the veggies in the instant pot with some salt and pepper and let them sauté until they are pretty tender. I do not add fat to cook them in. If I find they are sticking I might add a few tablespoons of water, but they usually do not need it and I do not need the extra hundreds of fat calories added to my recipe. Then I add the ground turkey and break it up as it cooks until it is good and browned.

Next comes the tofu, I grind this up just like the turkey meat inside the pot and let everything cook together until it looks a little dry and browned. Usually about half an hour at this point.

Next, I add all the beans. I try to mash about half of them with the same masher that I used on the meat and tofu. I do not mind some whole beans in the final product, but I am looking for body and texture from using them, not making a sweet chili. I have also found that when the beans are already broken down they do not cause us any intestinal discomfort as when they are eaten whole.

After it looks like it is coming together I add all the tomato products, mix those in and then all the rest of the ingredients get mixed in together. If I am in a hurry I will mix it all up and pressure cook it for ten minutes or so, otherwise I will let it just continue to boil on sauté for another half hour after everything has been combined so it thickens, and the flavors have time to meld together.

 At this point it has usually been cooking for about an hour and a half. Not a lot of direct time though, a lot of it just needs to cook together.

We serve this with corn chips, or potato chips for the gluten free in our house, and on hamburger buns for those who can eat them. The chips are the most popular option for everyone and the easiest to have on hand. I also almost always have some potatoes around that I can slice and deep fry quickly to make potato chips. If we have it, I also like to serve it with a small side salad just to get some greens into our bodies after all the heavy vegetables and proteins. I do not make it a requirement considering all the other produce we eat during the week that I prep separately.

*Tips- I chop all the veggies as soon as I buy them when I prep the rest of the produce and I freeze them into one cup portions. The carrots and celery are the ends, tops, and peelings so that nothing goes to waste. The onions I like to chop as a whole bag at the same time, so my kitchen does not smell more than once during the week.

I also practically mince all the vegetables so that they cook faster, are smaller, and do not change the texture too much. My household does not care for the name brand can of sloppy joe mix (you know the one I am talking about…) and prefer my recipe to other ones. But I have added to it through the years to adjust for our tastes and needs.

One other, maybe odd, thing I do to prepare our food in advance is that I open all the cans that I might need during the week so that all I have to do is open a jar from the fridge instead of feeling like I have to use the whole can at once. Now I can use a tablespoon or two of tomato paste, the beans can be rinsed already and any other cans I might want. Evaporated milk, pumpkin, baked beans, fruit cocktail, pie fillings, or any other I can think of. I like the option to only use a bit of it if I want, instead of feeling that I have to use all of it and wasting what I do not. But this also is a quick and effortless way to just dump things in a pot for quick and easy dinners or lunches.

This recipe can also be doubled or even tripled and if that is the case I will sauté each stage separately and then put them all in my large roasting pan to use as a slow cooker as to allow it to do the final cooking together all day.