Reminds me of being a kid again

When I was a kid, about 2nd grade or so, I think I had my first sloppy joe.  It was at school during lunch and I really had no idea what it was at the time.  I just knew it wasn't bologna.  I don't know what it was about it but I loved it.  Every time it was a lunch option, it's what I'd order.  As I got older, the sloppy joes in my life decreased.  For a good while, I'm pretty sure I forgot about them completely.   Well, for some reason, the past week or so I've been craving one and didn't know if Eric actually liked them b/c they're not for everybody.  Once I found out he did, I decided it was time to fulfill that craving.

Most people decide to just buy a can of Manwich but that stuff is soooo bad for you and I was pretty sure that I could make it better anyway so I did.  To make homemade sloppy joes you need:

ground beef

onions

peppers

brown sugar

ketchup

garlic powder

salt

pepper

mustard

This is possibly one of the easiest things to make b/c you can also put it in a crockpot if you want.  All you do is brown the beef with onions and peppers until mostly cooked through.  There can still be a little pink b/c you will continue to cook.  Once that's done, add the rest of the ingredients and give it a mix.  Taste it for flavor then put a lid on it and let it cook for about 30 minutes on low. 

While this was cooking, I worked on a side.  We had a TON of German coleslaw leftover from the weekend BBQ so I decided to do something with it.  

I "braised" it with some spinach, balsamic vinegar, chopped garlic, and dijon mustard.  I added salt and pepper accordingly.  I decided to leave out the bacon just for caloric intake.  I then topped it with some feta instead of parmesan and didn't use the lemon.  I let this cook for about 20 minutes on low, just allowing everything to wilt and come together. 

Whole dinner probably took about 45 minutes to make with prep and cooking time.  I put the joes on a bun with some shredded cheese (I used pepper jack, monterey jack, and mild cheddar). 

Incredibly easy, fast meal and it was delicious! I think I can say these were definitely better than Manwich sauce and a lot less calories.

This past saturday Eric and I both woke up with hangovers and decided that bloody mary's would be delicious.  In this process, we also decided to make our own bloody mary mix.  I just thought I'd share a picture with y'all of all the ingredients we felt were necessary for this "secrete ingredient mix"

They tasted great but REALLY filling.  It was like drinking soup.  We could hardly finish one...actually I don't think we did.  We made 2 big batches and the 2nd one was definitely better than the first.  It was a fun day of experimenting.