Sloppy Joe's

From The Kitchn.

Adapted from Favorite Recipes from First United Methodist Church of Still Water, Minnesota

Makes 6 to 8 servings

1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped small
2 celery stalks, chopped small
1 carrot, peeled and chopped small
8- to 10-ounce package mushrooms (button or baby bella), sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, minced
8-ounce can tomato sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1-2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tablespoon sugar (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
8 hamburger buns

In a large skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat, brown the beef. Break it up into small bits as you cook. Once browned, transfer the beef and any juices to a clean bowl and set aside.

In the same pan over medium-high heat, warm a teaspoon of olive oil. Add the onions, celery, and carrots, and cook until the onions are translucent and the carrots look softened, about five minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are soft and tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about thirty seconds.

Return the ground beef to the pan. Stir in the tomato sauce, ketchup, 1 tablespoon cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, sugar (if using), salt, and black pepper. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Taste the sauce, adding more vinegar, salt, or sugar if desired. If the sauce is too thin for your taste, simmer uncovered for another 5 to 10 minutes until the desired thickness is reached.

Serve on hamburger buns. Don't forget a napkin.

The sloppy joe sauce will keep refrigerated for up to a week or frozen for up to 3 months.

Pakistani Kima (Beef Curry)

Ingredients

2 – 3 Tbsp oil (I recommend coconut oil.)
1 cup chopped onion (I use 1/4 cup minced)
1 clove garlic, minced (see The Easiest Way to Peel Garlic)

1 lb ground beef (or other meat or even chicken.  See below for vegan option.)
1 1/2 Tbsp curry powder (See Sweet Curry Powder Recipe- Do It Yourself)
2 1/4 tsp salt (I recommend Real Salt)
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp turmeric

2 1/2 – 3 cups tomatoes (about 1 1/2 14 oz cans)
3 potatoes
2 1/2 – 3 cups peas

Method

1.  Melt oil or butter in a large pan.

2.  Add onion and garlic (if using minced, add a bit of water to reconstitute).

3.  Cook until onion softens and garlic begins to brown (watch it carefully – garlic burns easily!)

4.  Add meat and cook thoroughly.

5.  Add curry, salt and spices.  Stir well.

6.  Dice potatoes.

7.  Add potatoes, tomatoes and peas to the pan.

8.  Bring to a simmering boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes, or until potatoes are done.

Notes:

• Dice the potatoes small.  It’s pretty disappointing to wait the whole 25 minutes and still have crunchy taters!
• Add the peas later in the cooking time to keep their color more vibrant.
• Substitute ingredients and add more or less to your taste.  However, if you add more potatoes, onions, or peas, you will need to increase the seasonings.
• For a really low carb option, sub green beans for the peas and cauliflower for the potatoes.
• For a vegan option substitute beans or a soy product (like TVP) for the meat.  I don’t personally recommend soy, but it does work and tastes great.
• Curry note:  I use a mild sweet curry (my youngest doesn’t like spicy anything!) – In case you missed it, here is my Sweet Curry Recipe  .

Korean Ground Beef

From Lizzy Writes

1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 - 1/2 cup brown sugar (I like it sweet so I usually do closer to 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup soy sauce (I use low-sodium)
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced (see note)
1/2 - 1 teaspoon crushed red peppers (to desired spiciness)
salt and pepper
1 bunch green onions, diced (don't skip this!)

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and brown hamburger with garlic in the sesame oil. Drain most of the fat and add brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, salt and pepper and red peppers. Simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors. Serve over steamed rice and top with green onions.