Sloppy Joe Day

We're waiting for a phone call from the lawyer. The inspection on the aunt's house was Friday and the real estate agent said things"went well," whatever that means when dealing with a hundred year old house that badly needs upgrading. Supposedly both lawyers got the inspection results within an hour of the inspection, as did the buyer, and "papers" are ready to be signed agreeing on a final price. I'll make a run to the laundromat early this morning, and the rest of the week's activities depends on when this impending phone call comes through.


After I get back from the laundromat I'll start making tonight's dinner and just reheat it when the time comes, whether it's for our regular 4:30pm dinner time or much later if we're at the lawyer's today.


One of our favorite pre-McDougall meals was Sloppy Joes. In the olden days I used ground beef, then turkey, and in later years switched to tvp. But now Dr. McDougall dislikes those processed isolated soy protein products so for the most time I use lentils, but once in a while I do use veggie crumbles (various brands). Today will be lentils, unless that phone call comes when I'm at the laundromat.


I also no longer use canned Manwich sauce, preferring to make a much healthier sloppy joe sauce from scratch. The first recipe I ever used was Isa's Snobby Joe's from the PPK web site, later included in her book Veganomicon. So great!


Another recipe I use a lot is from Robin Robertson's Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker called Sloppy Lentils. Again, a great recipe but it has to be planned for ahead of time because it takes 8 hours to cook.


Of course, for both those recipes, all sautéing is done with water, not oil, to make them McDougall-legal.


 This one was originally posted to Bryanna Clark Grogan's Veg Beginners board over on VegSource years ago but the link I saved no longer works. The recipe here is typed up exactly as I copied it at the time. She does list "cooked lentils" as an ingredient but later writes "red lentils" in the directions. I always use plain old brown lentils from Goya brand when I make these. I double the ingredients and use "Simply Heinz" Ketchup    (made with sugar, not corn syrup) instead of the organic she used.
                     
* Exported from MasterCook *


                              Sloppy Lenny's


Recipe By     :thegirlwonder
Serving Size  : 4     Preparation Time :0:00
Categories    : Main Dishes                     MWLP
                   Sandwiches                Vegan


  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
  1                cup  cooked lentils
  1                     onion -- diced
  1              clove  garlic
  1           teaspoon  yellow mustard
  1                cup  tomato sauce -- Trader Joe or other organic
     1/2           cup  ketchup -- Muir Glen organic ketchup


1. Saute onion and garlic in water.


2.  When translucent, add tomato sauce, ketchup and mustard. Heat thoroughly.


3. Add red lentils. Heat thoroughly.


4. Serve on whole grain hamburger buns, bread or brown rice. (You can throw some veggies like bell peppers and carrots in there if you want to pump up the vitamins.)


Source:
  "http://www.vegsource.com/talk/beginner/messages/132353.html"
Copyright:
  "February 6, 2003 at 4:07 pm PST"
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Per Serving: 120 Calories; trace Fat (3.4% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 25g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 744mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 0 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.




Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0






But the recipe I use most of all is this one from the McDougall Quick and Easy Cookbook. So quick, tasty, and simple! I use frozen sliced peppers and just chop them up a bit smaller. Carrots are easy enough to grate up. The tomato sauce is a matter of opening 2 cans of the no-salt added variety, and I usually skip the soy sauce, too, to reduce the sodium content. And as I mentioned many times in the past, I skip the bay leaf. What I usually ADD to this recipe is a dollop of plain old Gulden's mustard to give it that Manwich-type zing.










Disorderly Lentils (aka Sloppy Lennies)


2 cups red lentils
4 cups water
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup grated carrot
2 cups tomato sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons parsley flakes
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh garlic
1/2 teaspoon basil


Combine all ingredients in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve over toast, fat-free crumpets, fat-free English muffins, or whole wheat rolls. Serves 6.






Today I plan on serving them over smashed Yukon Gold potatoes. Of course, if we do have to run tot he lawyer's this afternoon I may just nuke those taters and serve the sauce over that. If it's really late, Bob's Red Mill instant mashed potatoes will have to do.

The trip itself takes a few hours - first my husband will have to come home from work as soon as we get the call (90 minutes/2 trains), then we the drive to the lawyer (45 - 60 depending on traffic), time in the lawyer's office (minimum 30 minutes, probably more because he loves to talk), then the drive home in rush hour traffic (at least 60).


I'll be SO glad when that house is finally sold and no longer our responsibility! We are so happy being apartment dwellers!