Sloppy Joes

I was searching for a sloppy joe recipe at allrecipes.com and found this. (They call it Pennsylvania Coal Region Barbecue.) It was really delicious! Sweet, tangy and easy! You can even make it earlier in the day and keep it on low in the crockpot until dinner. (I added a little more brown sugar than the recipe called for, but I like my sauces a little sweet.)

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 hamburger buns

Directions

1. Crumble the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook and stir until meat is no longer pink. Drain excess grease, and stir in the vinegar, brown sugar, mustard, ketchup, salt and pepper. Simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Serve on buns.

London Broil

THIS IS THE BEST!

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
6 Tbs soy sauce
3 Tbs ketchup
2 Tbs oil
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
3-4 lb london broil

Combine everything and refrigerate overnight. Remove the meat from the marinade & set it aside. Grill the meat over low heat until it's as done as you want it. (Sorry I'm not more helpful there. I haven't refined my grilling skills yet. Most directions say no more than 7 minutes per side, but I ended up grilling ours for over an hour and it was perfectly light pink in the middle!) Meanwhile, bring the reserved marinade to a boil and simmer for a few minutes. Slice the grilled meat into thin slices and drizzle with the simmered marinade. Serves 6.

The untweaked version of this recipe originally came from allrecipes.

Crusty Joes

The kids & I made bread sticks this morning & ended up with some extra dough. (Sigh...if only it was the $ kind...) I thought I'd use the extra for pizza crust & then remembered that I didn't have a pizza pan or another big baking sheet (or mozzarella, for that matter). So, I came up with this idea: Crusty Joes.

Sloppy joes in a deep pizza crust. I love the sweetness of the beef combined with the sharpness of the cheddar and yeasty-ness of the dough. Mmmm...

Ingredients:

1 batch bread/pizza dough (I suppose you could use the canned kind)

1 1/2 to 2 lbs ground beef

1 onion, finely chopped

3 Tbs white vinegar

3 Tbs brown sugar

1 1/2 cups ketchup

dash salt & pepper

1 1/2 cups cheddar (sharp is best!)

Squish your crust onto the bottom and up the sides (as much as possible) of a lightly greased 9 x 13" pan. Prick the bottom of it here and there with a fork so it doesn't bubble up. Bake it at 350F until lightly golden.

Brown the beef & onions in a pan. Drain the grease & stir in the remaining ingredients (except cheese). Top with cheese. Bake uncovered at 350F for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

Serves 8.