Easy Sloppy Joes - Low Carb & "From Scratch"

Happy Halloween! This morning began as a sunny day but quickly clouded over early in the afternoon. We are expecting rain tomorrow...lots of rain; up to 4 inches. We are ready for trick-or-treaters and they have already begun arriving since it's dark out now. While Halloween is my least favorite "holiday", I never get tired of seeing the little ones and school aged kids. We are blessed to live in a neighborhood full of really good kids.

We sort of took it easy today and decided to run our errands tomorrow instead. I was in the mood for Sloppy Joe's for dinner this evening. I just happened to have a package of Maverick Ranch grass-fed ground beef in the fridge and the only item I needed to send hubby out to pick up at the store was a Poblano pepper. I had all the ingredients needed otherwise. While he ran to the store, I made a batch of my Sesame Seed Sandwich Buns and popped them into the oven. I love them because it takes 5 to 10 minutes to mix them together and about 20 minutes to bake them, so in 30 minutes you have fresh low carb, grain free sandwich buns that actually taste like REAL BREAD!

The Sloppy Joe's turned out great. In the past, I've used chicken stock instead of water to simmer the meat in, but tonight I used water for my liquid. If you've never made Sloppy Joe's from scratch before, you will be surprised at how easy they are to make. Kick the "can" of "Manwich" to the curb and instead make a "REALwich" where you can control the seasoning and avoid the added junk and high fructose corn syrup, etc. I like to give mine a little kick with a couple dashes of cayenne pepper. I snapped a few photos and included the easy peasy recipe below. Enjoy!

GGC Sloppy Joes

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound ground beef (I used 91% grass-fed beef)
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup finely diced red bell pepper
1/3 cup finely diced Poblano pepper (or green bell pepper)
1/3 cup finely diced onion
3 ounces tomato paste (half of a small 6-oz can)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Few dashes Cayenne pepper, optional
1 cup water (or chicken broth)
1 tablespoon Swerve sweetener (or sweetener equivalent to 1 tablespoon sugar)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a 2-quart saucepan or 10-inch skillet. Brown ground beef, breaking it into small pieces as it cooks. While the beef is browning, add the peppers and onions and continue cooking until beef is cooked and peppers and onions are softened.

Stir in tomato paste, chili powder, salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne, and water or broth. Add sweetener and vinegar and bring to a light boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered on low heat for approximately 30 minutes or until most of the liquid has reduced and the sauce is thickened. Once the sauce is reduced to desired thickness, taste and adjust for seasoning. Serves 3 to 4.

*Note: Be careful not to over season or salt your meat mixture until after it has reduced as the flavors become more intense and concentrated as it reduces and thickens.