Sweet & Spicy (Meatless) Sloppy Joes

Remember this?


Source

 I was never big fan of sloppy joes growing up, but when I married Matt he convinced me to give them another try - a vegetarian version of course, using Morningstar Farms soy crumbles. I had to admit I actually really did like them; they make a fun dinner when you've had a long day and just feel like eating something with your hands off a TV tray while watching last night's episode of the Worst Cooks in America. Or am I the only one who watches that show?

Rather than relying on the stuff from the can to make our sloppy joes, though, we wanted to make our own version of the sauce without the use of any preservatives or corn syrup. This stuff is awesome! We add cayenne and hot cherry peppers since we like our joes with a little kick, but you could definitely leave those ingredients out for a more mellow sauce.

After mixing up the sauce tonight, which took all of ten minutes, we added it to some soy crumbles and then sandwiched the filling inside soft potato buns. Obviously you can use ground meat if you're not a veggie.



We served the joes alongside some fresh cauliflower I cooked with cumin, garlic powder and paprika. I love this dinner because it's quick and feels like junk food, but it's actually low in fat and high on protein. Good stuff!

Sweet and Spicy Sloppy Joes

Makes 2-3 servings

Ingredients - Sauce

3/4 cup ketchup

1 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. water

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. yellow mustard

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. onion powder

Salt & pepper to taste

Ingredients - Meat Mixture

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 hot cherry peppers, chopped

12 oz. soy crumbles or ground meat

3 rolls

To make the sauce, combine all ingredients and simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.

While sauce is cooking, saute onion, garlic and hot peppers in pan with cooking spray or a bit of olive oil until translucent. Add soy crumbles/ground meat and cook until browned. Once meat is cooked, add to sauce and mix until blended. Spoon onto rolls and serve!