Leftover Saturday-Sloppy Joe Ring

Saturday is our "Leftover" day. It's a time to use up what has accumulated in the fridge all week. Normally that's our plan for lunch on Saturday. Unless we're out all day, and then that's the plan for dinner. Anyway, we go through the leftovers in the fridge on Saturday. LOL





I recently posted my Sloppy Joe recipe on the blog. (No pics of that one, I'll have to get them next time.) That particular recipe makes a TON of Sloppy Joe filling. We always have leftovers. Here's what I did with them this time.

Sloppy Joe Ring

1-2 cups leftover Sloppy Joe filling

2 containers crescent rolls

Preheat your oven to 375. Get out a large pizza pan. Open the crescent rolls and place wide side to the center of the pan, over lapping the edges to form a circle. This was kinda tricky for me and I had to re-arrange them a couple of times. Spoon the Sloppy Joe filling along the inside of the ring, on the wide edges. Don't put it right on the edge. You need a little bit of space to tuck the pointy bits under. After you get the filling in, fold the points into the center and slightly tuck them under the inside edge of the circle. Put in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until filling is hot and crescent rolls are slightly brown. Easy Peasy.

This was a hit with most of the family. They Hubby loved it. The Large boy enjoyed it.The Medium boy ate seconds, which he doesn't often do. The Small boy didn't like the crescent roll part. ( I seriously do not know where this kid came from. No pizza, not a fan of cheese, and now crescent rolls....LOL) I thought it was yummy and supper easy. I will be making it again for sure.

Simple Pasta Sauce

We have pretty simple taste as far as food (and life) goes. As much as I enjoy the entire cooking process, I do occassionally want simple & quick. This sauce fits that. It's easy to put together. It's made of stuff you probably have on hand (or stuff you should have on hand). It is just a bit more complicated than opening a jar of sauce, but it is so worth the little extra work. And really, it is just a little extra work. Honest.

Simple Pasta Sauce

This is an easy pasta sauce that when tossed with your favorite pasta, makes a quick and wonderful weeknight dinner.

Here's what you'll need:

1lb ground beef (More if you like your sauce super meaty. I live in a house full of boys. We prefer meaty sauce. I use more, closer to 2lbs)

1- 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes

1-14.5 oz can of petite diced tomates (You can use regular diced tomatoes. At least one of my boys has an aversion to "chunks". I can usually get the petite diced past them without much fuss.)

1 small onion, diced (You pick the size of the chunks. I dice mine pretty small due to the chunk aversion boy mentioned above.)

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced, depending on how much your people like garlic.

1 tbsp dried italian seasoning

Place onion, ground beef, and garlic in a medium sauce pan. Cook over medium high heat until beef is cooked through and onion is soft. Drain if needed, and return beef mixture to sauce pan.

Add crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and italian seasoning to pan. Stir until well mixed. Heat to boiling, stirring often. Reduce heat to a low simmer. Simmer covered for 20-30 minutes, stirring occassionally. Serve over your favorite pasta.

You don't have to let it simmer this long, but I think it helps the flavors blend better. If you start your pasta water boiling when you set the sauce to simmer, both the sauce and the pasta will be ready at the same time. :)

This makes a fairly chunky sauce. If you prefer a more saucy sauce, add an 8oz can of tomato sauce(or two) and increase the italian seasoning to taste.