Silly Sloppy Sliders

Now, I know that quick sloppy joes aren't the healthiest meal out there (I'm looking at you, absurd amount of ketchup and sugar), but they're good. They're also easy, so let's just add a bunch of vegetables and call it a day.

I goofed on my grocery trip and didn't have a critical ingredient for the planned meal. I was not hauling two under napped kids to the store and then frantically speed cooking. I needed an alternative and the pound of ground beef was looking like a contender. I had rolls, so sloppy joes made sense. I did some googling and found a recipe labeled "healthy". It had two measly carrots in addition to the traditional ingredients. Ha! I'll see you those two carrots and empty my fridge of plant life.

H can be wary of any sandwich without peanut butter, so I talked these guys up as 'silly' because they could get messy. It worked I guess, or the sugar content did. Either way, kids ate them and the included vegetables up. I'm calling it a win.

I tallied the nutritional content on the final result, and it's not horrible - except the sugar. Under 400 calories for 2 sliders. Also, I literally just grabbed random vegetables from my fridge. Do the same if needed. You don't have to have the exact things as long as they make sense together.

Silly Sloppy Sliders:

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1-1/2 cups (ouch) ketchup

2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp fish sauce (optional)*

2 carrots, peeled and grated

1/2 cup onion, diced fine

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup green bell pepper, diced small

1/3 cup red bell pepper, diced small

1 cup packed fresh spinach, diced fine

2 stalks celery, diced fine

4 crimini mushrooms, diced fine

1 pound lean ground beef

S&P to taste

Slider buns

Provolone cheese slices

Combine first four ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Set aside.

Combine all vegetables in a large bowl. Set aside.

Brown beef in a large skillet, coated in cooking spray, over medium high heat. When just a bit of pink is left, add vegetables and cook until slightly softened. Stir in ketchup concoction and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes or until sauce thickens. Season to taste.

Broil cut side up slider buns in oven until lightly toasted. Remove from oven. Add broken provolone cheese slices (half a slice per sandwich) to each exposed side and return to oven to melt.

Top one side of cheesed roll with beef mixture and create a sandwich with the other side.

Eat.

*Fish sauce is awesome and adds that umami taste you've heard about somewhere. It's good stuff.