The Smorgasbord

So after doing some reading, I recently made the decision to go vegetarian. To be honest, this hasn't been a major move for me. I've never been a big fan of preparing meat to cook, and if you know my family, we ate a LOT of beans growing up. Neither are the main reason behind my move in this direction, but they definitely help.

That being said, I've been having an interesting time incorporating tofu and Boca products into my meals. Their Chick'n patties and flame grilled "burgers" are great to go to in a pinch. But slowly I've been branching out and attempting to make some real "meals." Today's adventure was a homemade sloppy joe recipe where I substituted Boca crumbles for the ground beef. Going in I wasn't very optimistic with how the results would turn out, but, I'm actually loving it. Rex just weighed in and gave it a thumbs up as well.

I've heard them called Sloppy No-Joe's before, but Rex decided to call them Sloppy To-Joe's. That might be the funniest by-product of this move to going veggie, the names Rex has come up with for the food. For instance, he calls my "fake" chicken strips to-fickin, I'm sure there will be plenty more to come. So without further ado, I present the recipe for our Sloppy To-Joe's. (Recipe adapted from one on the Food Network, courtesy of Rachel Ray)

1 package Boca crumbles
1 T olive oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
2t-1T steak seasoning, I used McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak
about a 1/2 cup diced of each- onion, green bell pepper, red bell pepper
1 T red wine vinegar
1 T Worcestershire sauce (This did contain anchovy paste)
2 cups tomato sauce
2 T tomato paste
dash of louisiana hot sauce
dash of garlic salt
squirt of mustard
another dash or two of Worcestershire sauce
sprinkle of salt
sprinkle of Lawry's seasoning salt

*In a large skillet "brown" the crumbles with the olive oil. I did this until they looked like they'd heated up. Toss in the brown sugar and steak seasoning. Cook it some more.

*Toss in the onions, g. pepper, r. pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and red wine vinegar. Cook until veggies start to soften.

*Add the tomato goodness (the paste and sauce)and mix well. Toss in the rest of the seasonings, adding as you please. Let it simmer for a bit, maybe 5-15 minutes? I can't remember how long. Dance around the kitchen to some tunes while you wait, toss the mixture on some yummy whole wheat buns and enjoy!