Cheesy BBQ Sloppy Joes

Before my blogging days, we usually made the same chicken and pork meals every other night... with mushrooms and onions. Nothing creative. And not a variety of meats. Once I started blogging, I vowed that I would try out different kinds of meat to liven up our meal variety. Sloppy Joes haven't been anything exciting to me in the past, but Heidi's take on sloppy joes sure did appeal to me! She used Texas toast instead of buns, and the barbeque concoction on top just looked like something we had to try. Boy am I glad we did! Both the fiancee and I enjoyed this dish thoroughly!

These are all of the ingredients needed to make this: Texas Toast - I used Pepperidge Farm, shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese, ketchup - I used Hunt's, a can of diced tomatoes (again, Hunt's), worcestershire sauce (French's brand), jalapenos, bbq sauce (Sweet Baby Rays Honey BBQ is my fave!), and of course the star of the show.... lean ground beef (Laura's lean ground beef).

First I started out with about 1 1/2 lb of Laura's lean ground beef and crumbled it up. Then I browned it in a large skillet on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. I cooked it for about 10 minutes (until the beef was no longer pink). Then I drained all of that grease out and put it back in the skillet.

Then I added the canned tomatoes and stirred them in. After that, I added the ketchup, bbq sauce, worcestershire sauce, diced jalapeno peppers, and juice from the jar of peppers. Such pretty vibrant colors! At this point, as I saw it coming together, I knew it was going to be something delicious.

Next, I stirred this beautiful concoction together. Then I covered it with a lid and let it cook for 10 minutes, to let the flavors all mingle together.

While the beef and tomato mixture was simmering away, I cooked the Texas Toast according to the package directions, which was to place it on a pan and cook for about 4 minutes on each side. I am not sure of the exact time to cook the toast, because I don't have the box in front of me. But flip the toast midway through cooking so that it gets evenly brown on both sides.

Once the beef mixture had marinated together, and the toast was nice and golden brown, I poured the beef mixture over the Texas Toast and sprinkled some cheese on top. The heat from the beef makes it melt almost instantly.

.... and then you eat it! Look how yummy those look!

Cheesy BBQ Sloppy Joes
adapted from Tried-and-True Cooking with Heidi

Printable recipe

• 1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup ketcup
• 1/2 cup barbeque sauce
• 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons diced (jarred) jalapeno peppers
• 1 tablespoon liquid from jalapeno peppers
• 1 package frozen garlic Texas Toast
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese 

Brown ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, for about 10 minutes or until no longer pink. Drain well. Return beef to the skillet. Stir in tomatoes, ketchup, bbq sauce, worcestershire sauce, jalapenos and liquid. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare Texas toast according to package directions. Serve beef over Texas toast. Sprinkle with cheese.

This seriously was one of the easiest new recipes I have made in awhile, and one of the best! It doesn't take a long time to cook, doesn't take a lot of prep work, and isn't too pricey of a meal. PJ has been asking for me to make these again, but I haven't had a chance to yet, as I have been too focused on making new meals! But I will definitely go back to this meal again and again, especially on lazy week nights when we need a quick fix.

I am linking this recipe to Foodie Friday. 


.... and to This Week's Craving: The theme for this week is HAMBURGER MEAT!



Cheesy Bbq Sloppy Joes