As much as I love cooking and everything that goes with it, at this time of the year, I try to make meals that don’t require a lot of time or stove/oven heat.
We live in an old Victorian “painted lady” house with a very small kitchen that faces south. When I bake or cook anything that requires much time, it gets very hot. So, this summer, I’ve been serving a lot of easy, cool meals like salads, sandwiches, etc.
Recently, Patti suggested Sloppy Joes. I’ve heard of them but never had one. When she was young, her mother used to serve them occasionally. I had no idea how to make them. I checked several cookbooks and found them only in “Joy of Cooking,” with a recipe that would have taken more time than I wanted to spend.
I checked one of my reference books and found a list of simple ingredients. So, I went to the supermarket to get everything I needed. Patti used to have them on hamburger rolls. They were too sloppy to pick up, and so were eaten using a knife and fork.
Below is a recipe from the Pace Picante bottle:
Sloppy Joes
1 1/4 lbs. ground beef
1 16-ounce bottle Pace Picante (Spanish for spicy) sauce
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Cook the meat in a skillet until done. Drain off the fat, then add the sauce, mustard, and sugar and bring to a boil. Then cover the skillet and reduce the heat to a simmer for five minutes.
We have this on split slider rolls, usually 1 ½ rolls per person. This takes about 15 to 20 minutes and is enough for about four. We have a half for the first meal, then freeze the rest for another hot night.
Enjoy and stay safe!
The rest of you readers, if you have suggestions or questions for this column, please contact me directly at guthrielarason@verizon.net.
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