Wednesday 7/21 "Sloppy Joes"

This is a Quick Fix by Robin Miller meal. You need to make a giant meat base, and this will make 3 meals: Lasagna, Tacos, and Sloppy Joes. I am showing you the base plus Sloppy Joes, so the cost will probably be higher today.

Meat filling
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (already purchased)
• 1 cup chopped onion (already purchased)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (already purchased)
• 3 pounds lean ground beef or ground turkey ($4.98)
• 1 tablespoon dried basil (already purchased)
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano (already purchased)
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (already purchased)
• 3 (28-ounce) cans diced tomatoes ($1.09 each)
• 1 (14-ounce) can tomato sauce ($0.88)

Heat the oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute 3 minutes, until soft. Add, beef and cook 5 to 7 minutes, until browned all over, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Stir in basil, oregano and red pepper flakes.

Add diced tomatoes and tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Sloppy Joes
1 1/2 cups leftover lasagna filling
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels ($2.29)
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped ($1.56)
1/2 cup ketchup (already purchased)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (already purchased)
1 tablespoon chili powder (already purchased)
2 teaspoons dried basil (already purchased)
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (already purchased)
4 Kaiser rolls, halved (I bought English muffins: $0.29--Kroger savings!)

Spoon filling into a large saucepan. Add corn, green pepper, ketchup, Dijon, chili powder, basil, and cayenne pepper and bring mixture to a simmer. Cook 5 to 7 minutes, until green pepper is soft and mixture is heated through.
Spoon mixture onto rolls and serve hot.

Peas with mint
• 2 teaspoons olive oil (already purchased)
• 3 cups frozen green peas ($2.29)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves (already purchased)
Directions
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium meat. Add peas and cook 2 minutes, until crisp-tender. Add salt and pepper and stir to coat. Remove from heat and stir in mint.

Potato wedges
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges (I purchased Russet potatoes b/c my hubby does not like sweet pots. I had one sweet pot in the fridge for me. $2.01)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
Arrange potato wedges on prepared baking sheet in 1 layer and coat them with cooking spray. Sprinkle potatoes with salt and black pepper. Roast 30 minutes, until tender and golden brown.

The verdict: I thought this was delicious. I felt good that I was offering a starch and a veggie. My girls would not eat the sloppy joes to save their lives, but I think this was just a weird night. My hubby and I and son loved it! Total cost: $17.57. But remember, this will make 3 meals!