Sunday Special: Sloppy Joes and Baked Yukon Gold Potato Fries

.  It was my birthday weekend (yay!), so you can bet a lot of baked goodies were made, which means that I have quite a number of posts to catch up on!  But for today, we're back to Sunday Specials, posts detailing the [rare] occurrences when I venture into the kitchen not armed with sugar, but with things like chicken, pepper, and onions.

So we're going to reminisce about last weekends' dinner when I felt like something a little more hearty.  I decided to go with a classic, a dish that [I would assume if you're normal] many of you grew up on.  Specifically, a sandwich that you couldn't get in trouble for because it was all over your hands and face.  I mean really, sloppy is in the name!  However, I would also assume that many of you were used to the good ol' Manwich Sloppy Joe's.  And those are very good, don't get me wrong (they wouldn't still be around if they weren't)! But I felt like something with a little more homemade touch, so I chose a from-scratch recipe in my Taste of Home Cookbook.  And of course, you HAVE to have a side to go with those joe's, and I honestly couldn't think of anything better than golden-delicious fries.  Searching through my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, I decided on Baked Sweet Potato Fries.  Hmm, can we say yum?!  (One note, our [lame] grocery store didn't have sweet potatoes, so I opted for Yukon Gold Potatoes.  The recipe was still outstanding, but if you're looking for something a little different, go with the sweet potatoes!)

This whole dish turned out so incredibly well and it was exactly what I had been looking for.  Satisfying, filled with flavor, yet I didn't feel like I had a grease pot in the pit of my stomach.  Always a good thing in my book ☺  The Sloppy Joe's themselves are filled with herbs, onions, and green peppers, which offers up an abundance of flavor.  And the fries?  Don't even get me started.  So how good were they, you're wondering?  Well let me just say there wasn't ONE left at the end of the meal.  And they were SO ridiculously easy that I'm still kind of astounded.

And so here's a complete meal for you: Sloppy Joe's and Baked Yukon Gold Potato Fries  .

Sloppy Joe's

Ingredients:

1-1/2 lbs. lean ground beef

1 medium green pepper, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

2 tsp. sugar

1-1/2 tsp. all purpose flour

1-1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce

1-1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

8 hamburger buns, split

Directions:

1. In large skillet, cook beef, green pepper and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
2. Stir in sugar, flour, Italian seasoning, chili powder, salt, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, tomato sauce, and Worcestershire sauce.  Cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Spoon 1/2 cup onto each bun.

Yield: 8 Sloppy Joe's

Nutrition Facts (1 sandwich): 268 calories; 8g fat (3g saturated fat); 42 mg cholesterol; 478mg sodium; 26g carbohydrates; 2g fiber; 21g protein

*My Notes: 

• I used 1-1/2 lbs. of ground turkey in replacement of the ground beef.  We personally prefer the ground turkey but this is only our own preference.  You could also try using 3/4 lb. each of ground turkey and ground beef, which will still cut down on the calories and fat content.
• For the buns, I bought two different kinds: bakery buns for my boyfriend and light hamburger buns (80 calories each) for myself.  Even though I really like the light buns, I can't  force ALL of my reduced-fat-calorie-no-taste (this is what my dad would describe them as) items on my boyfriend, he needs the calories anyway ☺  But, do keep in mind that picking lighter versions of bread is an easy way to cut calories.

Baked Yukon Gold Potato Fries

Ingredients:

2 lbs. yukon gold potatoes, peeled if desired

1/4 c. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400°F.  If desired, line two baking sheets with foil.  Lightly coat foil with nonstick spray; set aside.
2. Cut potatoes lengthwise into 1/2-inch thick strips.  Place potatoes in large bowl. In small bowl, combine oil, salt and pepper.  Drizzle oil mixture over potatoes, tossing to coat.  Arrange potatoes in single layer on baking sheets.
3. Bake 15 minutes.  Turn potatoes over.  Bake 10 to 15 minutes more or until golden brown.

Yield: 6 servings

Nutrition Facts: 178 calories; 9g total fat (1g saturated fat, 0g trans fat); 0mg cholesterol, 450 mg sodium; 23g carbohydrates; 3g fiber; 2g protein

*My Notes:

• The fries that we had were a little softer than some might prefer.  I'm assuming this is because of the potatoes I used, so they didn't crisp up as the sweet potatoes would have.  However, we both obviously still loved them since there wasn't one left...whoops!