Not-So-Meatless Monday

When I cook several nights in a week, as I am hoping to do this week, I typically try to throw in a Meatless Monday. First, I like the challenge of finding a meatless recipe that the boys will eat, and two, there are a ton of studies out there proclaiming the health benefits of going meatless for a day. I totally subscribe to that theory, and think the whole Meatless Monday movement is a good thing.

However, tonight was not one of those meatless nights. When I was meal planning, I basically picked the first several recipes that jumped out at me, mostly because we had just gotten home from vacation and I didn't have the patience to find something meatless that would appeal to the boys. Plus, this particular recipe has been calling my name for a while, but I never got around to cooking it until tonight. And it has loads of mushrooms!

Beef and Mushroom Sloppy Joes
Source: Cooking Light, June 2011

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 12-oz ground sirloin
• 2 (8-oz) packages pre-sliced crimini or button mushrooms
• 1 c. pre-chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 c. no-salt added tomato paste
• 1 tbsp minced fresh oregano (didn't use fresh)
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp molasses
• 1/4 tsp salt (skip)
• 3/4 tsp pepper (skip)
• 1/2 tsp hot sauce
• Buns

Directions:

• Heat a large nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Add oil, swirl to coat. Add beef, cook for 4 mins or until browned, stirring to crumble.
• While beef cooks, finely chop 'shrooms in a food processor. Add mushrooms, onion and garlic to pan; cook for 3 mins or until onion is tender. Add tomato paste and next 5 ingredients (through salt) to pan; cook 5 mins or until mushrooms are tender and liquid evaporates. Stir in pepper and hot sauce.

Yield: 4 servings (1 c. beef mix/1 bun)
Per serving: 439 cals; 14.7g fat (4.6g sat; 6.8g mono; 1.9g poly); 27.3g protein; 49.7g carb; 4g fiber; 55mg chol; 618mg sodium

Reviews:
The kid devoured his sammy and asked for seconds. Methinks he did not notice the mushrooms, because he is not typically a fan of the fungi. I, on the other hand, pretty much love all things mushroom, so the taste was kind of lost on me. The hubs grunted his approval as he shoveled in the food. Overall, this was a good dish, but I didn't find it to be that different from other sloppy joe/jane dishes we've had in the past. One note: Cooking Light did include this in its 20-minute "Super Fast" section, and it took exactly that amount of time - and I even chopped my own onion!

Ranking:
Three Forks