This is a semi-homemade style Sloppy Joe recipe I whipped up for small party I was having today. I wasn't in the mood to do a complete from scratch but I can't possibly serve a meal without veggies (it's just not in my blood 😉 so this was a quick compromise.
To my surprise... it was a complete hit! Everyone like it and I got tons of compliments. I guess people could have just been being polite but I think these pictures say it all...
Before party...
After Party...
They devoured it!
I love when this happens. It makes me feel good to feed good healthy food to people. Sure I could have bought fatty ground beef and simply mixed it according to the manwich package but that's no fun. Why not veg it out? It stretches the meat, adds vitamins and volume while making it lighter and more flavorful. It's a win-win in my book!
Ingredients
- About 1.25 lbs (20oz) lean ground beef (at least 90%)
- About 1.25 lbs (20oz) lean ground turkey (at least 90%)
- 1 large Vidalia Onion diced
- 3 stalks of celery diced
- 1 medium zucchini diced
- 2 green peppers diced
- ½ bag baby spinach chopped
- 1 15.5 can Manwich
- 1 15oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 6oz can tomato paste
Instructions
Brown the meats with the onion and all the veggies. I started with the meats and onion in a large stock pot and then cut the veggies in order adding them and stirring them in the pot.
Transfer the browned meat and veggies to my slow cooker, add the manwich, tomatoes, and paste. Cook on High for at least an hour and then lower to low for the party.
You could add the manwich, tomatoes and paste directly in the stock pot and heat through. Then just keep it on simmer until ready to serve.
I served with a variety of rolls. Some people were even eating it straight up!
I'm not going to do Nutritional Info because honestly I have no idea how many servings it is. I fed about 13 people but everyone took varying amounts. For my fellow Weight Watcher friends I'd count a half of cup as 2 points but that's just based on "Roni Math" it's not scientific at all.
📖 Recipe
Veg-ed Out Manwich (Sloppy Joes)
Ingredients
- About 1.25 lbs 20oz lean ground beef (at least 90%)
- About 1.25 lbs 20oz lean ground turkey (at least 90%)
- 1 large Vidalia Onion diced
- 3 stalks of celery diced
- 1 medium zucchini diced
- 2 green peppers diced
- ½ bag baby spinach chopped
- 1 15.5 can Manwich
- 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 6 oz can tomato paste
Instructions
- Brown the meats with the onion and all the veggies. I started with the meats and onion in a large stock pot and then cut the veggies in order adding them and stirring them in the pot.About 1.25 lbs, About 1.25 lbs, 1 large Vidalia Onion diced, 3 stalks of celery diced, 1 medium zucchini diced, 2 green peppers diced, ½ bag baby spinach chopped
- Transfer the browned meat and veggies to my slow cooker, add the manwich, tomatoes, and paste. Cook on High for at least an hour and then lower to low for the party.
- You could add the manwich, tomatoes and paste directly in the stock pot and heat through. Then just keep it on simmer until ready to serve.1 15.5 can Manwich, 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes, 1 6 oz can tomato paste
- I served with a variety of rolls. Some people were even eating it straight up!
Lisa
I'd love to write the Nurtitional Info sections for your recipes! I use SparkPeople to track and I trust their system since most of the info is entered by members. Let me know...I'm on Twitter!
karen
this was sooo good- I threw whatever veggie we had leftover from christmas, we all loved it.
Dana
It's cooling off a bit here in the evenings. I think this sounds like the perfect recipe to make in the next couple of days. LOVE the crockpot!
Katie
I am planning on making these tonight. Since it's just me and my husband, I'm planning on making this and freezing half of it. I put the recipe into WW recipe builder, and when I made it for 12 servings, it came to 5 points each. That is probably more than enough for a sandwich.
Sara
This would probably be great in stuffed peppers...may have to try it for dinner tomorrow night! Thanks!
Tricia
Just made them for dinner. I added a dash of cayenne pepper, 2 dashes of chili powder and a dash of crushed red chili peppers. Yummm! Just like my Gram's dynamites!
Jessica
I love adding veggies to ground protein. We just had taco night (my FAV). I added 1 onion and 1 zucchini to a pound of ground chicken. YUM! No complaints from the husband.
Shana
Made this last night with a few changes. I left out the celery (not a fav of mine) and didn't have any spinach. I used orange bell pepper and made a homemade sauce. The family liked it! Adding veggies was a great way to stretch and health up an already family fav! Thanks, Roni!
roni
Wait.. I'm Roni.. Who's the 4th.. I NEED to know! 😉
Only kidding.. Thank you so much for the wonderful comment. And I too am a HUGE Deb fan! :~D
carrie
I posted this post this morning to Ashley’s Edible Perspective giveaway aand thought I would forward to each of you. I’ve declared it blogger appreciation day at my house in Cambridge, MA!
as a perpetual yo-yo dieter, i found food blogs through searching out inspiration to help me get HEALTHY! I now work in schools as a counselor, and unfortunately everyday I talk about body image, and, fortunately eating healthy. Its just so important to me. I want to be an inspiration and motivation to my students and there is nothing more I want to impart to my kids than: its NOT about being thin- its about being the right, healthy size for you and eating good whole foods.
As an oatmeal connoisseur (you know I love my steel cut!) I stumbled on lady Kath’s “tribute” to the good stuff, and felt like I struck gold. I went through dozens of blogs before I found an army of favorites that I check religiously. Every day, I look to four women that inspire me and use cooking philosophies that I am proud to call my own as well. I now visit Kath, Caitlin, Roni and you every day as inspiration and my motivation to continue healthy eating every single day (and of course, my fifth, Deb over at Smitten Kitchen, because everyone needs some SEE RI OUS indulgence… that woman is a goddess). Anyways, thanks for doing what you do.
jamie
This was great! I didn't have the tomatoes or celery but added mushrooms. Tossed last night's leftover brown rice into the crock pot and ate it straight up!
Janice
This looks great! I love bulking up my sloppy joes with veggies. Thanks for sharing!
roni
Kiley - I don't think that's an amateur question! I did fully cook it I've tried to add raw chop-meat to the crock pot and I don't like the texture of how it comes out. I find in a dish like this with all the "saucey" stuff it stays nice and moist.
Hope that helps!
Kiley
very amateur cook question.. but did you fully cook your meat before crock potting it? Would that not dry it out?? Thanks!
roni
I like some of her idea and she totally inspires me but yes.. you're right.. the whole concept of “tablescapes” annoys me!
Patty
Looks Great! I like to add things to premade/mixes too. Like Semi-Homemade on food network (only her color coordinated kitchen, "tablescapes" and always a cocktail at the end drive me crazy!).
roni
Carrie - I did a variety of buns (making sure I had 1 pointers for me. 😉 A veggie tray, baked dorritos with salsa, pretzels, and some cookies as we have a tradition of always having something sweet at our poker events.
Debbi Does Dinner Healthy
I love to pump up the recipes with veggies! I use a lot of canned shortcuts, nothing wrong with that! Thanks!
Carrie
What else did you serve with it for sides? I'm having a party on Saturday and was going to do meatballs, maybe I'll do this instead!
Kim
I can say we definitely weren't just being polite. It was awesome, on a roll or as you say straight up. I tried it both ways! Thanks for the new idea! 🙂
T-Wan
This sounds and looks so good. I think I'll make it for dinner tomorrow. Thanks for sharing.