10/28/08

Kid-Pleasing Sloppy Joes (and more Swapping!)


My husband always helps with the barbequing, and sometimes he helps in the kitchen on the weekends, but he’s rarely available to help at any time during soccer season. But last night I asked him to whip up my quick and easy Sloppy Joes, and he did a fine job!

My friend Anne shared this fast, simple recipe with me awhile back, and it’s a kid-pleasing meal for sure!


Fast & Easy Sloppy Joes
Brown your beef or ground sirloin and drain off fat. Season the meat with salt and pepper. (We like to add Costco’s Steak Seasoning.)

Then add 1:1 – ketchup and barbeque sauce. (Meaning if you add 1 cup of ketchup, then you’d add 1 cup of BBQ sauce.)

That’s it! Anne's right, the flavor it delicious and you don't have to go through all the trouble of cooking onions, green peppers, and simmering all day.

Serve on yummy buns – and you’ve got a great meal!

And speaking of yummy, tasty meals, this last week I did some more SWAPPING!


I swapped a meal with my friend **Vicky. I made a “beef” potpie (one for her, and one for me to bake the next night).


And she made our family her specialty “Thai” food – which she has become widely-known for in our Rogue Valley! Were we a lucky family, or what?


I swapped my apple butter with the Lakin family (Lakin twins devouring Coughlin apple butter).


For a jar of their homemade blackberry jam (Lakin jam, no longer in existence in the Coughlin home).


And another surprise last week was a visit from my friend Vinnie, who passed through our town with her husband on their way to California.


Vinnie was one of my mom’s childhood friends. And I can see why. What a lovely person, and so fun to catch up and hear more stories about my mom in her younger days.


Vinnie’s visit, more food swapping, and our amazing fall weather last week were enough to remind me of what’s really important in life:


To be thankful for God’s blessings, which often come through food and friends!

Don't forget about the idea of swapping a meal with another family! Don't overcomplicate it - it could be as easy as cooking this Sloppy Joe meat and taking a package of fresh, healthy, whole-wheat buns! A family with kids will love you!

** Btw, my food swap with Vicky happened very quickly, as we decided late afternoon to make the swap! I love spontaneity!


(You can catch me over at Crosswalk.com and read Living Under Law or Love? here)

26 comments:

Christian - Modobject@Home said...

How fun and special to spend time with a dear friend of your mother's. A blessing indeed.

Kirstin said...

sounds like a great recipe.

Betts said...

Ooooo, I wish I had a friend that cooked great Thai food. I would trade with her all the time.

It's great when we have moments or whole weeks to put things in perspective again and ground us.

Natalie Que said...

I can NOT imagine asking hubby to make even a 'quick and easy' meal! Be grateful!

It's actually my own fault, I'm too picky and don't trust his cooking abilities so he learned early on to stay out of MY kitchen.

Such a great post, very uplifting!

Anonymous said...

would your 1:1 mixture be put together with one pound of ground beef??? Sounds so easy. Thanks.
Jan

Lucy..♥ said...

If I drew pictures w/a diagram my DH wouldn't get it... water is the best he can do... Boil it!! In his defense he does know how to clean up after me ;-)

Lucky you!! Great meal ;-)

Shell in your Pocket said...

Sounds like a great recipe...can I just tell you..I love your blog...I just love it!!!
-sandy toes

Tammy said...

I think the idea of meal swapping is such a great idea, but one I've never really considered before!
And how nice that your mom's dear childhood friend could stop for a visit.

Come over if you can and see our first Home School Open House! :)

Ms. Tee said...

So wonderful to get to spend time with your mom's friend - so sweet. :)
And I'd love to have some of the jelly and the Thai food - the swapping thing is such a great idea!

Robin Beck said...

Hi Sandy,
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment~I am putting you in my favorites.
I too live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest (South of Seattle) My 91 year old Grandmother lives in Central point~♥
Blessings,
Robin~♥

Our Green Nest said...

Ok, I've now saved you and am following your blog officially! :) Meal swapping - I love that - what a great idea! Tu for visiting my blog - come back soon!

Buzzings of a Queen Bee! said...

Such a great idea to try the food swapping. I might ask my neighbor if she wants to try it sometime! :)
Carrie

grace said...

technically, i'm not a kid (although i would fight hard to prove otherwise), but this would please me mightily. :)

Anonymous said...

Just found your blog from tjhirst.com You have some great ideas! I'm excited to keep checking!

Unknown said...

Hi Sandy, so glad you found my blog cuz now I found yours! I love the sloppy joe recipe, so easy! I'll be back!

Donnetta said...

I have a feeling we'll be eating more sloppy joe's at our house. With an easy recipe like this one... how could I refuse?!

I am also going to be trying out a few of your apple recipes listed here as well!!

I'm sure you know I always so enjoy stopping and resting here, but just in case you forgot!... :-)

Anonymous said...

Your blog is so interesting. I am a reluctant entertainer.......but I love to entertain, problem is I have 6 kids and just keeping the house in shape to have people over is more than a challenge for me.

I am having a bday party for my 10 year old and a seperate one for my 8 year old next month.....both parties at home. For the eight year old, I want to do a fancy little girly thing........any ideas??

Also, what do you do on Halloween as far as dinner goes? Do you have a tradition each year? I usually make a huge pot of chili and feed whoever wants/need to be fed..........usually we have a ton of kids here! I was just curious what you do.

Thanks for the ideas....keep em coming....Donna
http://casarue2658.blogspot.com/

50s Housewife said...

Sloppy Joes are a stand by around here. The kids love them. What a great idea to swap a meal!

Pam said...

I love making sloppy joes - the kids love them.

I like the idea of food swapping. I've never done it before.

Prudy said...

What a beautiful family! Thanks for the great idea about the swap too.

Anonymous said...

This post is especially meaningful to me right now. That swapping that we builds a friendship reserve for each other when times are tough. I swapped kids with my children over the last month. I watched her kids when she took another one to the ER with a broken arm. She took mine home form church to play and eat this Sunday while I visited my husband in the hospital. Beautiful reminder of connections that bind us togther.

Elizabeth said...

I love it! What great ideas and it sounds like so much fun. I think I will tag a friend and see what we can come up with for each other.

Thank you for your wonderful example, your kind and uplifting words.

God bless,
Elizabeth

Jen said...

You are so right....sometimes we just need to sit back and look at what we should focus on..rather than what we do.

Mrs. Darling said...

A food swap sounds like fun! Really theres nothing thats quite as good as the simple recipes from way back like sloppy joes.

Anonymous said...

You Americans celebrate the seasons so much better than we do in Australia. I am enjoing reading your autumn posts.

Kate

"Maggie & Kevin" said...

I haven't been here for a while. It looks as though I have missed many yummy meals and goodness. Thank you for sharing and I will be back!

Blessings!