Happy First Fall Friday, folks! Not that it’s feeling especially autumnal, with temps in the 70s and 80s this week and a bit of a swampy humidity. Mornings have been nice, though. Crisp, cool, and just the first hints of foliage.
The other day, as we were contemplating food options, Mrs. CWD said “let’s make Sloppy Joe’s.” Welp, okay. Here’s the basics, with help from NYT Cooking:
In a dutch oven or large cast-iron pan, sauté an onion and a bunch of garlic in olive oil until it smells delightful. Add in about two pounds of ground beef and brown well. You can add some chili seasoning, salt and pepper, and/or BBQ seasoning at this point if you’d like.
Once the meat is browned and cooked mostly through, add to the pan a tube or can of tomato paste, a bunch of diced tomatoes (canned or fresh, maybe 2 cups worth), a few dashes of hot sauce, and some more seasoning (maybe some canned chipotle in adobe, as NYT recommends). Let this simmer for 20-30 minutes until it’s thick enough to scoop into toasted hamburger buns.
So there you go. Lovely little weeknight meal. Since that was so simple, here’s the thoughts of a recipe I want to try, that I came up with while staring at a box of oatmeal, eating Sloppy Joe’s… I may have a problem: Risotto-style breakfast oats.
Render some bacon in a pot. Add in some oats (I bet steel cut would be good here), season with salt and pepper, and then let those sop up some of the bacon fat. Pour in, slowly, chicken broth, as the oats cook, just a little at a time, like it’s a risotto. As they’re close to done, toss in some cheddar cheese and then top with a raw eggs.
No idea how that will turn out, but seems like it might be fun?
Read something and get outside.