Sloppy Joes

Sloppy joes hold a special place in my heart.  We grew up on deer meat and I always looked forward to sloppy joe night where the usually tasteless deer burger would be transformed into a flavorful sandwich!  In my teenage years I discovered that most people make their sloppy joes with ground beef and the first time I tasted this variety I was hooked.  I haven't had a deer meat sloppy joe since!

Tonights recipe is time tested in my house.  The boys love these sloppy joes and have no idea that I have added spinach and beans to the sauce to sneak in some extra vegetables and fiber!

Sloppy Joes

Serves 6-8

1 lb ground beef

1 small can tomato sauce

1 packet sloppy joe mix

1 can kidney beans drained and rinsed

1/2 an onion, diced
Garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cumin

 -Brown beef with diced onions. Drain fat.

-Place entire can of tomato sauce, 1/2 can of kidney beans, 1/4 cup of water and about 1 cup spinach in blender and puree until smooth.  Add more water if mixture is too thick.

- Add pureed sauce to cooked meat.  You'll notice the sauce is an un-appetizing green color at this point, but don't worry, the green will fade as you add more ingredients.

 -Add packet of sloppy joe mix.

-Add about 1 TB of paprika.  This is to put some red coloring back in the mix and add a little flavor.  If you don't have any paprika, you can add a squirt of ketchup to redden it up a bit.




-Taste the sauce and add garlic, onion or cumin powder as desired.

-Serve on a hamburger bun and enjoy!