There is just something about stuffed green peppers that practically brings me to my knees. First of all, I am a veggie lover. Have been my entire life. My parents often told the story that as a toddler I preferred green onions to ice cream. I’m not sure I believe them, but I stole veggies out of the garden as a child, (especially peas and tomatoes) so, my parents may have been telling the truth. (They usually did!) Anyway, I have loved stuffed green peppers from my earliest recollection. What I didn’t have as a child, however, were sloppy Joes. And there’s a good reason for that.
Some attribute the original Sloppy Joe to a cafe in Sioux City, Iowa, where, in 1930 a cook named Joe added tomato sauce to his “loose meat” sandwiches. Voila: a new between-the-bread offering, and the sandwich’s official name.
Well, I didn’t grow up anywhere near Iowa, and Manwich, a portmanteau of man and sandwich, was the brand name for a canned sloppy joe sauce produced by ConAgra Foods and Hunt’s, introduced in 1969. And that was long after I had gone away to college.
Apparently, this canned product contained seasoned tomato sauce that was to be added to ground beef. It was marketed as a quick and easy one-pan meal for the whole family. Which, BTW, you can still buy at your local grocery store. But please don’t!
Sloppy Joes are just so much better made from scratch and don’t contain ingredients that no one can pronounce and require a PhD in food chemistry to analyze. So, if you are so inclined to make a real sloppy Joe some evening for dinner, you will find my recipe under the captivating title – Sloppy Joes. But back to these stuffed green peppers.
Since I already had several recipes for stuffed peppers on this site but am always up for changing things up a bit, I thought using meaty sloppy Joe sauce as the filling for stuffed peppers would make a nice change of pace. And boy howdy, were these babies tasty. And just the right amount of filling for 3 halved peppers. (And how often does that happen? In my case, never!) Anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed our dinner last night. Along with half a baked sweet potato each, we feasted in style.
And tonight, for dinner, I am going to serve the leftover peppers with Cheesy Grits (see recipe below) and Fried Zucchini (also find recipe below). So, another opportunity to eat like kings.
And isn’t that the way it should be. Good homemade food with just a minimum of processed ingredients. Of course, a true food snob would look askance at store-bought ketchup and bottled Worcestershire sauce. But you know, there is being reasonable and then there’s being crazy. And to the best of my knowledge, I haven’t reached the “crazy” classification yet. (I don’t make homemade mayonnaise either.) (But I do make homemade hollandaise, but then that’s entirely different!)
Anyway, for every person there is what works for them in the kitchen. And a lot of it depends on time, monetary, and physical constraints. For me, I can still make most things from scratch. But that doesn’t mean that in 5 years (or less), I won’t be eating the words I wrote above about serving only homemade this and that. We can only do what we can do.
So, if taking shortcuts here and there gets delicious and nutritious food on your table, then go for it. We are after all, only human.
Peace and love to all.
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 med. white or yellow onion, diced
2 lg. clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried marjoram
½ tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
¾ c. water
3 T. tomato paste
2 tsp. beef base (I use Better Than Bouillon Beef Base)
¼ c. ketchup
2 T. packed brown sugar
3 T. Worcestershire sauce
2 T. red wine vinegar
1 T. yellow mustard (don’t even think about using a fancy mustard)
3 green bell peppers, cut lengthwise (or red, yellow, or orange bell peppers)
1/3 c. beef broth (or water and beef base)
1 c. grated Mozzarella cheese
paprika
In a large, covered pan, heat the oil over medium-low heat; add ground beef and sauté until browned. Add onion and garlic and continue cooking until onion translucent. Add marjoram, chili powder, salt, pepper, water, tomato paste, beef base, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, and mustard.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and let simmer until filling is thick, about 20 minutes.
Place the cut pepper halves in a large baking dish. Divide the beef mixture evenly between the 6 halves. Pour the beef broth into baking dish (to help peppers steam) and cover with foil.
Bake in a pre-heated 400-degree oven until peppers are tender, about 60 minutes. Uncover, and top with the mozzarella cheese. Bake another few minutes until the cheese is melted.
Remove from oven and lightly sprinkle with paprika. Serve immediately.
CHEESY GRITS
1½ c. whole milk
1 c. water
¾ tsp. kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp. granulated garlic
½ c. + 2 T. stone ground corn grits – not instant or quick-cooking grits
3 T. unsalted butter
1 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese (or half cheddar, half pepper Jack)
Mix the milk, water, salt, black pepper, and granulated garlic in a covered sauce pot. Set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, gradually whisk in the grits, until there are no clumps. Lower the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 12-20 minutes, (depending on the package instructions), stirring occasionally.
Once the grits seem soft and thick, stir in the butter and grated cheese. Taste, then adjust seasonings as needed.
If the grits are thicker than desired, stir in ¼ – ¾ cup hot water. The grits will continue to thicken as they cool.
FRIED ZUCCHINI
1 egg, or more as needed
½ c. cornmeal, or more if required
butter
zucchini, cut into 1/3 inch thick slices
seasoned salt
freshly ground black pepper
Beat the egg in a shallow container. (I use an 8-inch round cake pan.) Pour cornmeal in another shallow container. (You got it, I use another cake pan.)
Melt as much butter as it takes to cover the bottom of a griddle or fry pan.
Dip the cut zucchini in the egg (both sides), then the corn meal (both sides), and place on the griddle.
Sprinkle on seasoned salt (don’t be shy) and a nice sprinkling of pepper. Using a paring knife, cut off small amounts of butter and tuck them in between each of the pieces of zucchini on the griddle. (This dish requires a bit more butter than is usually associated with a fried veggie dish. Thank you, grandma!)
Fry the zucchini until it is crispy brown on the bottom side. Carefully flip the pieces and fry the second side until crispy brown. Serve hot off the griddle.