Butter: Open Faced Sloppy Joes- Stretching a buck

      In an effort one night to put off going to the store one more day, I began searching my kitchen for something I could throw together. I took a stock of what I had; 1/4 lb of beef, onion, garlic, red pepper, frozen corn, & left over wheat rolls. I thought about doing a form of hamburger with a corn side...boring. That's when I thought of Sloppy Joes.

     I make it a point to have a well stocked kitchen so that there is always something I can throw together, I strongly encourage you to figure out your staples & keep your kitchen stocked with those things. After pulling together my staples & the extras I had I was PLEASANTLY surprised by how awesome these joes came out & we have even eaten them quite a few times since.

     There are a few benefits to this version; 1) cuts a meat portion in half by only using a quarter pound of beef which is good for health & financial reasons 2) there is a TON of vegetables in here & you could even add more if you wanted. This is also one of those recipes that is fantastic the next day, so you may want to double or triple your batch.

- 1/4 lbs ground beef, defrosted & browned

- 1/2 yellow or Spanish onion, diced

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced

- 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels

- 1/2 cup carrots, finely diced

- 6 oz tomato sauce

- 6 oz water

- 1 tablespoon (tbsp) Worcestershire sauce

- 1/2 teaspoon (tsp) hot sauce

- 1/2 tsp salt & pepper

- 2 tble brown sugar

- 1 tble dried parsley (or 2 tble fresh, chopped parsley)

- 4 whole wheat rolls or buns 

- 1 tble butter

Brown & crumble beef in large skillet, remove from skillet & set off to the side once it is mostly browed.

Saute onion, garlic, bell pepper, & carrot in the skillet that the beef was in (do not wipe or pour out oils from the beef) for about 10 minutes. Stir frequently to ensure garlic doesn't burn.

Add the remaining ingredients & beef & saute over medium low for about 20 minutes. Check & stir occasionally

Set mixture aside.

Add butter to a saute pan & add rolls inside or face down in skillet with butter. Cook for just a few minutes until golden brown & turn over, repeat, then move to plate.

Top rolls with sloppy joe mix & serve immediately. 

Pantry Stock

*onions

*garlic

*frozen corn

*Worcestershire sauce

*hot sauce

*salt & pepper

*brown sugar

*parsley

*butter

*carrots

*red pepper