Sloppy Joe Bake

 

This is a recipe born of need. A fast recipe, a family pleaser, and easy, easy, easy. We had spent the day at the Pink Pig (a Christmas tradition around here at our local Rich's/Macy's store), and everyone was a bit worked up. Tired, cold, and hungry. Sloppy joes sounded good, but we didn't have quite enough ground beef, and we didn't have any hamburger buns. What's a mama to do??

Sloppy joe bake, my friends. Sloppy joe bake.

Never have I been so happy to find a random can of crescent rolls in the fridge. ~smile~ I just made sloppy joes as usual, adding in lentils for half the meat. When that was done, roll over the crescent rolls, bake until brown, and voila! A new family favorite. Seriously. This meal took 15 minutes, and everyone ate seconds. Gotta love it.

Sloppy Joe Bake

3/4 lb ground beef
1/2 cup green lentils
1 onion, chopped fine
1 bell pepper, chopped fine
3 cloves garlic, pressed
2 T tomato paste
8 oz tomato sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
2 T mustard
1 T worchestershire sauce
1 T brown sugar
1 can crescent rolls

Brown ground beef with onions and peppers, adding garlic at the end. Meanwhile, boil lentils in salted water until done, about 15-20 minutes. Add sauce ingredients (tomato paste through sugar) to the browned ground beef. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes as lentils cook. When lentils are tender, drain and add to the sloppy joes. Top with crescent roll dough and bake in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes, until top is golden brown.

This recipe is very versatile. It would be a good one to add more veggies to (grated zuchinni during the height of squash season would work well, as would carrots and/or celery). I tend to add this and that from my condiment shelf--this time, I added a couple of tablespoons of red wine jelly, as well as a couple of tablespoons of homemade chili sauce.

Enjoy!