Unfussy: Sloppy Joes

A recent Sloppy Joes recipe from Jamie Oliver made me realize that I haven't made these for the kids in many, many years. Like they were toddlers the last time we had them. So, I used his recipe as a loose framework and whipped up dinner. I may or may not have been chuckling in the grocery while buying ingredients and wondering which kid would hate this dish more. 

Hilariously, the "unpicky kid" experiment is proving that while Mads is a glorious veggie eater, she is actually more picky than Erik when it comes to new things... interesting. 

Here's my version of sloppy joes, although next time I would add shredded or finely diced carrot and maybe reduce the brown sugar by a tablespoon. 

Sloppy Joes

1 pound lean ground pork 

1 small shallot, peeled and diced

1 can organic tomato sauce

2 Tbs. malt vinegar

2 Tbs. dark brown sugar

1 Tbs. honey

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. chili powder

1 can organic kidney beans, drained and rinsed

salt, garlic powder and freshly ground pepper, to taste

slice baguette to serve

Brown and drain pork with diced shallot. Then add next six ingredients and bring to simmer until sauce thickens a bit. Add beans, season to taste, and cook until sauce is reduced to your liking. Serve on slice baguette along with a side of veg. 

Wordless Wednesday: Rainbow Salad

Well Chuffed...

Both the kids have really gotten into being my sous chefs for any meal prep, and Madeline is well chuffed with her improving knife skills (and the fact that she even gets to use a knife). Last night we made "miso block" (AKA tofu) stir fry, and the kids loved pressing the tofu too.

We threw in, one whole block of extra firm tofu, about 1/2 pound crimini mushrooms, 1/2 a red bell pepper, some brocolli, three small zucchini, and two small baby bok choy. Sesame oil, soy sauce, agave nectar, ginger. Yum. Easy peasy as Jamie Oliver would say.

I think that he'd approve of our "naked" meal served up with brown rice.

Speaking of which, the kids love his new Food Revolution show (ABC 8-9pm and 9-10? it was both this week, Fridays). They already knew of him from my cookbooks (I use his recipes often), but they are hooked now. And why not? He is a charming sweetheart.

Oh, and did Erik actually eat this? Well, of course he did. It was dinner. He ate the rice, miso blocks (tofu), mushrooms, and brocolli. He left the peppers, zuke and bok choy on the plate, and that is fine by me.