Day 75.

I am not fond of Sloppy Joes. I’ve tried the meat kind and, of course, didn’t like those. I tried to make the Betty Crocker version with faux meat. I poo-pooed that, too. But, this one sounds like it could be good. More veggies and more sauce. Yum, right? We’ll see.

Vegan Sloppy Joes
Adapted from Veged Out Sloppy Joes.
Ingredients
About 1 pound equivalent Ground Beef Substitute (1/4 recipe)
1 large Vidalia onion, diced
About 3 C diced vegetables (I used carrots, green chiles and sweet potatoes–the original calls for celery, zucchini and green peppers)
1/2 bag baby spinach, chopped
1 15.5 oz. can equivalent “Manwich” (recipe follows)
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 6 oz. can tomato paste

Directions
Put everything in a stockpot, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook until carrots (or whatever the hardest veggie you used is) are tender, about 45 minutes. Serve on buns, or toasted bread (we went with homemade sourdough).

Manwich Substitute
1/2 cup catsup
1/2 cup steak sauce
1/3 cup barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons hot mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
6 hamburger buns

Brown the meat in a non-stick pan or with a little oil in a regular pan.

Add remaining ingredients, except the buns. Cook for about 15 minutes, to blend flavors and to reduce the liquids.

Serve over the buns, for open face barbecue, or spread a little on one half, sprinkle with pickle relish, and eat like an ordinary sandwich.

The Results
It’s official. I don’t like Sloppy Joe’s…veged out or otherwise. The husband and toddler liked them fine. I figured I’d like this because it wasn’t so “meaty” (I’ve tried veggie sloppy joes before and not liked them). But alas, it’s the sauce. Something about the tomatoey worcestershire sauce is just not my thing. Oh well! More for the rest of the fam to eat! If you like sloppy joes, this is apparently a pretty good version. If you don’t, don’t try to make yourself like them because everyone else does.

Is there a recipe you keep trying in spite of not caring for it in the past?

This post is shared with Real Food Wednesday, Recipes I Can’t Wait to Try, What’s Cooking Wednesday, What’s on Your Plate?, What’s on the Menu Wednesday, Let’s Do Brunch, Works for me Wednesday, Gold Star Wednesday, No Whine Wednesday, and What’s for Lunch Wednesday.