ArcaMax

Editor's Note: Enjoy this previously published column and recipe. Merry Christmas!

When I was a little girl, our Christmas was a bit different than what most families experience.

My mother would save having the big dinner for the weekend after Christmas. She was a generous woman; and when I tell you the story it will all make perfect sense.

I came from a big family with seven kids. There were the older ones and then me, and my brothers were at least five years younger than the rest.

So, when it came to Christmas dinner the older kids would have had to face the dilemma of where to eat if it were not for the creativity and generosity of my mom.

The boyfriends and girlfriends wanted my family members to come to THEIR house for the big meal. If my mom had insisted on hosting Christmas dinner ON Christmas, they would have had to choose. That can cause great consternation in some families. Not ours. My mom solved that by moving her dinner date. That way the older kids could eat the big meal over at the other house and when we gathered, they could all come to our place. That way all the older kids got to celebrate and feast twice and never both meals on the same day.

Us little kids just wanted to play with our new toys, so we hardly noticed the big kids were not around.

But that leaves the dilemma of what to feed us little kids. My mom solved that too, in grand fashion.

She made up a big batch of Sloppy Joes...

Read the full column at PlanZDiet.com: planzdiet.com/sloppy-christmas

Sloppy Joes

This recipe is a Zolafied version of Crockett’s Public House Sloppy Joe recipe. Dieter Ian saw this on the TV show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and brought it to my attention. You could call this the “adult version” of Sloppy Joes. It does have some ZIP to it. You could leave out the jalapeno and the cayenne if you want it to taste more like the Manwich in the can. Don’t be intimidated by the length of the ingredients list. The recipe is worth it. And you probably have most of these ingredients in your pantry.

Of course, on the Plan Z Diet, you would eat this with salad greens instead of with a bun. Who knew diet food could taste this good?

Serves: Serves 3 – 5 depending on how hungry you are.

Ingredients:

olive oil spray
1 cup of diced red onion
1 cup of diced red bell pepper
¼ tsp of minced jalapeno pepper. Or to taste. (I use a grater to do this)
16 ounces ground sirloin
1 Tbl minced garlic (jar garlic will work)
1 cup tomato sauce
3 ounces tomato paste (that’s half of the small can. Save the rest for another dish)
2 Tbl red wine vinegar
2 Tbl Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp of granulated Truvia
1-1/2 tsp paprika
1-1/2 tsp grated sea salt salt
1-1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dry mustard

Instructions:

Spray your medium-large saucepan with olive oil. Over medium heat sauté the red onions, bell peppers, and jalapenos in the olive oil. Cook until softened (about three to five minutes). Add the ground sirloin. Cook through, breaking the meat into small chunks as it browns. Add the garlic and cook for two minutes. Make sure meat has no pink left.

Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, vinegar, Worcestershire, Truvia, paprika, salt, black pepper, cayenne, cumin, and mustard. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens about 15 minutes.

Serve with your favorite salad.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola