Healthy vegetable-packed lunch or dinner favorite!
Garden Sloppy Joes

Ingredients
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped or shredded
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 pound lean ground meat (15% fat turkey, chicken or beef)
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 can (15 ounces) whole tomatoes, crushed
1 can (8 ounces) mushrooms or ½ pound chopped fresh mushrooms
¼ cup barbecue sauce
6 whole wheat buns, split in half to make 12
Directions
- Wash hands with soap and water.
- Rinse or scrub fresh vegetables under running water before preparing.
- Sauté onions, carrots, green bell pepper and ground meat in a 2 to 3 quart saucepan over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.
- Add tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, mushrooms and barbecue sauce.
- Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until thick, stirring occasionally.
- Toast buns if desired. Spoon sauce over bun halves. Serve open-faced.
- Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.
Notes
- Add your favorite fresh, canned or frozen chopped vegetables.
- Try whole wheat English muffins instead of buns.
You might also like...
Tasty Hamburger Skillet

Tasty Hamburger Skillet
Kid-approved, hearty recipe with beans, rice and topped with cheese.
Prepare:
10 minutes
Cook:
30 minutes
Makes:
9 cups
Cucumber, Pineapple and Serrano Chile Salad

Cucumber, Pineapple and Serrano Chile Salad
This refreshing salad will cool you down on a hot day. Perfect for a summer picnic or bbq.
Prepare:
30 minutes
Makes:
8 cups
Cranberry Oatmeal Balls

Cranberry Oatmeal Balls
A make-ahead snack with only 5 ingredients! A fun and delicious recipe to make with kids!
Prepare:
15 minutes
Makes:
16 balls
Baked Tomatoes with Cheese

Baked Tomatoes with Cheese
A great summer recipe for your garden tomatoes! Easy-to-make appetizer or snack!
Prepare:
5 minutes
Cook:
10 minutes
Makes:
8 slices
Prepare:
15 minutes
Makes:
6 cups
Brown Rice with Corn and Beans

Brown Rice with Corn and Beans
This kid-approved recipe filled with whole grains, veggies and beans is flavorful, filling and perfect for any meal.
Prepare:
10 minutes
Cook:
15 minutes
Makes:
3 cups
Comments
Delicious and vegetable packed sloppy joe recipe! I made this with half ground beef and half soy curls/fines. This recipe yield A LOT which makes it perfect for family dinners. I ate it with whole grain English muffins and it paired very nicely.
I made these the other night with soy fines/curls and I thought they were great! I did not have mushrooms and ran out of carrots so I used red and orange bell peppers and a spinach and arugula mix. I also used frozen onions so I cooked them separately a for a little longer. I seasoned the soy curls/fines with paprika and seasoned pepper and cooked them like I would the meat in the pan. Overall super easy and delicious!
This is really tasty and so easy to make! A great way to get kids to eat some veggies in something that usually is just meat and sauce.
This a great recipe and an excellent way to sneak vegetables for our kids to eat! I made this recipe as it called for with my summer students. I did however, first brown my meat, drained the fat and than added the vegetables to saute, I waited to add the mushrooms till the last 10 minutes of cooking time since mushrooms cook fast. I modified the recipe by adding 1 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/2 teaspoon paprika to enhance more flavor. I topped it off with low fat chedder cheese on a whole wheat English muffin. It was delicious! I plan to make this recipe for my family on a regular basis!