Food & Recipes

Baked-in-Buns Sloppy Joes

The classic Sloppy Joe isn't very healthy. This baked version loses the fat, but not the flavor!

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1 1/2 tablespoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 (16-ounce) cans Manwich Sloppy Joe sauce
• 8 low-calorie hamburger buns, cut in half

Directions:

1. Spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; add ground beef, bell pepper, onion powder and garlic powder and cook, stirring, over medium heat until beef is cooked through.
2. Add sauce; cook, stirring frequently, until meat mixture is heated through.
3. Scoop out centers of tops and bottoms of hamburger buns. Divide sloppy Joe mixture among bun bottoms; replace tops.
4. Wrap individual sandwiches in heavy-duty foil.
5. Preheat oven to 350F. Bake sandwiches 15 to 20 minutes.
6. Sandwiches can be wrapped and stored in freezer bags before baking; bake directly from freezer at 350F for 30 to 40 minutes.

Tips: Complete your Baked-in-Buns Sloppy Joe meal with frozen corn on the cob (microwaved in minutes) and chunky-style applesauce.

Excerpted from Cook Once, Eat for a Week by Jyl Steinback. Copyright © 2003 by Family Fit Lifestyle, an Arizona Corporation.

To order this book go to www.penguin.com. Get a 15% discount with the coupon code FENPARENT.