Sloppy Joes and Sauteed Greens

My husband has been asking me to make Sloppy Joes for weeks! This past Sunday was one of those days that just screamed for comfort food. My husband worked all weekend and it rained for two straight days (kids and I were stir-crazy!) so by the time dinner rolled around at the end of a very long weekend, I needed something quick, easy, and satisfying. This definitely did the trick.

For Sloppy Joes, you can use any type of ground meat you like – or even a combination. I like to use grass fed beef from Proffitt Family Farms (located in Kings Mountain, NC) or the grass fed beef from the Hickory Nut Gap Farm (located in Asheville, NC). If I miss the farmers market and have run out of meat in my freezer, I am able to buy the beef from Hickory Nut Gap Farm because it is sold at Earth Fare – my fabulous healthy grocery store right down the street. This weekend, I decided to use a pound of grass fed beef and a 1/2 pound of ground white turkey. (I knew that this amount of meat would be too much for our dinner but I was hoping there would be leftovers so I could make a Sloppy Joe inspired baked ziti later in the week.)

My husband would argue that since there are tomatoes in the Sloppy Joes that counts as a vegetable. I obviously disagree. A really easy side dish to accompany the Sloppy Joes is sauteed greens. I recently found some delicious Savannah Mustard Greens at the Atherton Farmers Market and they tasted amazing. They had a slightly peppery taste to it – not bitter at all – and it looked like it would be very easy to prepare.

I grabbed one red onion and decided to use that in both the Sloppy Joes and the sauteed greens. I used half of a large onion and sliced it thinly for the greens and then chopped about 1/4 of the onion to put in the dutch oven while I was browning the beef and turkey. If you are uninterrupted by dogs needing to be fed, children needing milk, etc. this meal really should only take you about 15 minutes to prepare. However, even with the distractions of familial chaos, I had everything on the table in about 20 to 25 minutes – success!

Ingredients for the Sloppy Joes: 

1 pound (or so) ground grass fed beef
1/4 onion, chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup ketchup
1/2 can diced tomatoes and green chiles

Brown the ground meat with the onions – using a spoon or spatula to crumble the meat into small pieces. Add remaining ingredients. Stir well until combined. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes. My husband likes to serve his Sloppy Joes on a bun. For my daughter, we serve hers plain or over gluten free cornbread.Yum!

Ingredients for Sauteed Savannah Mustard Greens:

A bunch of greens – washed
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
A generous drizzle of Olive oil and a few shakes of Kosher Salt

I like to grab my bunch of greens and cut them into rough strips about an inch thick – I think this makes it easier for kids to eat them. Toss the greens and onion into the olive oil that has already started to heat up. Bring the heat to medium, stir the greens in the oil and they will start to wilt. Turn the heat off and cover the greens until you are ready to serve them. You want your greens to remain bright green! If they start to turn dark, you know that they are losing nutrients – don’t overcook them. Enjoy!