Sloppy Joes - An Armstrong Staple

One of my 2014 goals is to create a Meal Plan for my family and STICK TO IT (hence my 2014 word being endurance)!  A meal plan can help with our health goals, eliminating those fast food runs and large restaurant portions, as well as our financial goals, by really limiting the amount of money we are spending monthly on food.

I've got a pretty good start for our Meal Plan, and I do plan on posting how we'll be using that plan once it's complete (and I have time to get the post written up...after all, life is about to change a bit).  But as a teaser, it includes 2 separate 4-week plans (so we'll have 2 complete months planned out at a time), 4 Pinterest boards (1 for each 2-week period, based on our shopping schedule - I look up and cook all recipes from my Pinterest boards, even if I have them in a cookbook), and a set of index cards (this is what will take the longest - each card will have the ingredients and some basic information to use for our bi-weekly grocery shopping trips). 

On that note, I wanted to share one of my very favorite (and EASIEST) recipes that I grew up eating with my family, and now eat with my sweet hubby.  It's definitely one of his favorites too!  I think I could eat it once (or twice) a week and not tire of it!

Ingredients:
1 pound ground meat
1 cup catsup
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

You'll want to start by browning your pound of ground meat and then drain the grease.  You can rinse out the pot you are using and return in to the stove.  At this time, you'll want to turn the heat down to a low heat setting.

 

Once you have drained the grease, you can pour the meat back in to the pot and add the mixture of the remaining ingredients.  I usually add all of the ingredients (catsup, water, sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce) to one measuring cup, stir it up, and then add the mixture to your browned meat.

 

 

Once you have stirred your mixture in with the meat, you'll reduce the heat to simmer and cover for about 15 minutes.

We always eat our Sloppy Joes on large buns, but ever since I was a little girl, my brother and I both eaten a few spoonfuls by itself as well.  (Like I've said...we LOVE Sloppy Joes!)  I will add that my brother and sister-in-law also add a slice of cheese to their sandwiches.

On the Side:

There are lots of options for side dishes with this meal, but we ALWAYS eat ours with Broccoli Cheese and Rice.  There have also been times we've had it with chips and cheese dip or baked beans as well.