September 24, 2012

A Tale of Leftovers - Sloppy Joes

I recently made a rather large batch of Sloppy Joes for a group for lunch.  I knew I would have "planned: leftovers.  I have come to think of Sloppy Joe mixture as one of those versatile meals.  Here is my recipe for Sloppy Joes that I posted a while back.  This recipe makes a nice batch of Sloppy Joes that end up thickening as they simmer and are seasoned nicely.  When I make these, someone usually asks for the recipe.

After I have served these on the traditional buns, I freeze the leftovers for later use.  When I make homemade pizza, I dollop leftover Sloppy Joe mixture on top of the pizza sauce and then I top with colby jack cheese or a combination of mozzarella and cheddar.  For something a little more gourmet I add some diced onion on top and when the pizza comes out of the oven, top it with some sweet pickle slices.

Another leftover idea is to spread the meat mixture in a small pan and top with biscuit dough or another one of my favorites is to make meat tarts.  When I bake a pie crust I take the leftover crust dough and put it in a ziploc bag in the freezer.  I take some of the leftover pie crust and roll it out into small circles, put some of the Sloppy Joe mixture on one side of the pie crust circle and flip over the other half of the crust.  Brush a little water around the edges of the crust and seal with a fork.  Prick the top with a fork and then bake until the crust is brown and the meat mixture bubbles through the top.

You can sprinkle some cheese on the Sloppy Joe mixture before you encase it in the crust or sprinkle a little bit of cheddar cheese on the top crust before you put it in the oven.

Think of leftovers as an opportunity to be creative.

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