elrhiarhodan (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
elrhiarhodan) wrote2016-12-08 10:45 am
elrhiarhodan) wrote2016-12-08 10:45 am
Entry tags:
The Joys of Comfort Food
Being a diabetic means that a lot of my favorite comfort foods are off limits - things like noodles and cottage cheese (think, deconstructed noodle pudding), tea and lemon and honey, orange juice, a fresh bagel slathered in butter - are pretty much off limits (well, the tea with lemon and honey is acceptable during illness).
But there are times when you just crave the flavors of childhood, and it's a season where I find I need that more than ever. So, the other day, I was chatting with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
theatregirl7299 about dinner, and she'd said that "chili and a salad sounds good" and I'd replied, "yes, except for the chili."
I'm not a fan of chili, with or without beans. Chili as a spice tastes bad to me - a legacy of head and neck radiation from 20 years ago that makes certain things taste metallic. It's also not great for my GERD, which is otherwise controlled.
But that got me thinking, Sloppy Joes, a favorite Sunday night dinner in my household in the 1970s. Never the Manwich stuff (I think my mother tried it once and we all universally hated it) but the stuff that came in a package (Knorr's, McCormick???) and a can of tomato paste and of course, ground beef.
I had to think, making Sloppy Joes from scratch couldn't be THAT hard, and the Internet was made for recipes (and cat GIFs), so I hunted around and found a few, and none of them fit the bill because they all required some form of sugar, whether brown sugar, molasses, or even honey (!), plus some kind of prepared condiment (ketchup, bbq sauce).
Now, there are plenty of things that are sweet that don't add a lot of carbs, like balsamic vinegar and tomato paste (which was part of my mom's "recipe"), so I thought, why not? Worst that could happen is that it wouldn't taste like my memories.
BUT IT DID!!!!!!!!! OMG, it was soooo freaking awesome, I could have eaten the whole pan and scraped it for bits. It was not fancy or glamorous or anything special, but it was good.
So, without further adieu, I give you, Elr's Sloppy Joes:
1 lb lean ground beef (95%)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup Worchestershire Sauce
1/2 cup Balsamic vinegar
1 small can tomato paste
1 cup chicken or beef stock (more may be required)
1/2 teaspoon ground garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground celery seed
In a heavy pan (either a heavy skillet or a dutch oven), brown meat (you can also use pork and/or veal, I don't think either ground turkey or chicken have enough flavor).
About halfway through the browning, add chopped garlic and onions. Let fully brown until the meat is crumbly.
In a separate bowl, combine Balsamic vinegar, tomato paste and Worchestershire sauce and when the meat is fully browned (with a nice crust), add to meat, stirring until the sauce is fully incorporated.
Add dry spices, keep stirring.
At this point, the mixture will be getting dry, but keep stirring and don't let it burn, until all of the wet ingredients (except for the chicken stock) are incorporated.
Add chicken stock, one cup at a time and cover, reducing heat.
Check every few minutes to ensure that it's not burning or that all of the liquid hasn't evaporated. Add another cup of stock if it seems too dry.
Let simmer for 10 minutes. The mixture shouldn't be as loose as chili, but not tight, either. Serve with our without toasted hamburger buns or cornbread.
Note, there's no added salt because the Worchestershire sauce is on the salty side, and if you aren't using a low/no added sodium stock, it might make the dish too salty. But of course, if at the end, the dish is blank, salt if desired.
ENJOY!!!!!!!!
But there are times when you just crave the flavors of childhood, and it's a season where I find I need that more than ever. So, the other day, I was chatting with
theatregirl7299 about dinner, and she'd said that "chili and a salad sounds good" and I'd replied, "yes, except for the chili."I'm not a fan of chili, with or without beans. Chili as a spice tastes bad to me - a legacy of head and neck radiation from 20 years ago that makes certain things taste metallic. It's also not great for my GERD, which is otherwise controlled.
But that got me thinking, Sloppy Joes, a favorite Sunday night dinner in my household in the 1970s. Never the Manwich stuff (I think my mother tried it once and we all universally hated it) but the stuff that came in a package (Knorr's, McCormick???) and a can of tomato paste and of course, ground beef.
I had to think, making Sloppy Joes from scratch couldn't be THAT hard, and the Internet was made for recipes (and cat GIFs), so I hunted around and found a few, and none of them fit the bill because they all required some form of sugar, whether brown sugar, molasses, or even honey (!), plus some kind of prepared condiment (ketchup, bbq sauce).
Now, there are plenty of things that are sweet that don't add a lot of carbs, like balsamic vinegar and tomato paste (which was part of my mom's "recipe"), so I thought, why not? Worst that could happen is that it wouldn't taste like my memories.
BUT IT DID!!!!!!!!! OMG, it was soooo freaking awesome, I could have eaten the whole pan and scraped it for bits. It was not fancy or glamorous or anything special, but it was good.
So, without further adieu, I give you, Elr's Sloppy Joes:
1 lb lean ground beef (95%)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup Worchestershire Sauce
1/2 cup Balsamic vinegar
1 small can tomato paste
1 cup chicken or beef stock (more may be required)
1/2 teaspoon ground garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground celery seed
In a heavy pan (either a heavy skillet or a dutch oven), brown meat (you can also use pork and/or veal, I don't think either ground turkey or chicken have enough flavor).
About halfway through the browning, add chopped garlic and onions. Let fully brown until the meat is crumbly.
In a separate bowl, combine Balsamic vinegar, tomato paste and Worchestershire sauce and when the meat is fully browned (with a nice crust), add to meat, stirring until the sauce is fully incorporated.
Add dry spices, keep stirring.
At this point, the mixture will be getting dry, but keep stirring and don't let it burn, until all of the wet ingredients (except for the chicken stock) are incorporated.
Add chicken stock, one cup at a time and cover, reducing heat.
Check every few minutes to ensure that it's not burning or that all of the liquid hasn't evaporated. Add another cup of stock if it seems too dry.
Let simmer for 10 minutes. The mixture shouldn't be as loose as chili, but not tight, either. Serve with our without toasted hamburger buns or cornbread.
Note, there's no added salt because the Worchestershire sauce is on the salty side, and if you aren't using a low/no added sodium stock, it might make the dish too salty. But of course, if at the end, the dish is blank, salt if desired.
ENJOY!!!!!!!!
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I haven't made my own in ages. It's one of the things my grocery store's "we do the cooking for you" usually has; they make a very tasty version.
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It's cold here today -- first seriously cold spell of the season -- and I'm thinking I may be making soup a bit later. That sounds very appropriate at this point!
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Local family restaurant when little made eggplant parmesan. None of the Italian restaurants ever made it like my memories. But recently discovered two family restaurants and amazingly Giant (on certain days) do make it like my memories. Victory!!
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{{{HUGS}}}
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So now I have the recipe, but that means I gotta make it. Can you come make it Elr? I'm too tired.
Made my mom's meatballs with noodles and brown gravy on her birthday (Monday). It was comfort all the way.
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(And if you visit, I will make for you).
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(and don't mind me responding to old posts...I'm a loser and log onto lj like a once every few months)
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So glad you enjoyed it! It is delicious.