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...
Cheesy Beef Pasta

Cheesy Beef Pasta
This kid-approved recipe combines tomato sauce, fresh zucchini and Italian herbs for the perfect weeknight meal in under an hour!
Prepare:
20 minutes
Cook:
30 minutes
Makes:
8 Cups
Agua Fresca (Fruit Water)

Agua Fresca (Fruit Water)
Enjoy a refreshing and delicious blended drink made with your favorite fruit. Thanks to the Latin Heritage workgroup for this recipe.
Prepare:
10 minutes
Makes:
about 4 cups
Prepare:
20 minutes
Cook:
15 minutes
Makes:
4 cups
Potato Turnip Gratin

Potato Turnip Gratin
Rich and creamy root vegetables, flavored with tangy parmesan cheese and topped with crunchy breadcrumbs.
Prepare:
30 minutes
Cook:
60 minutes
Makes:
4 Cups
Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Cucumber and Tomato Salad
Simple salad option with fresh dill, a creamy dressing, and ready in 10 minutes!
Prepare:
10 minutes
Makes:
4 Cups
Grape and Cucumber Salad

Grape and Cucumber Salad
A unique and delicious combination of grapes and cucumber, with a homemade vinegar dressing.
Prepare:
15 minutes
Makes:
6 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!