Not your average Joe.

An all American twist:
Sloppy Joe's with Sweet Potato Fries. A word of warning: I don't put up with any of this "Sweet Potato" nonsense that has swept across the country. If it's Orange inside, it's a YAM. Very Delicious, not a Sweet Potato.

Ok, here is the 1 pan recipe:

Sloppy Joes: (Serves 4)
1/4 Lb Bacon (usually 1 piece per serving)
1/2 Onion (red or white)
1 LB Ground Beef
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Ketchup
1/2 Cup Favorite BBQ Sauce
1/2 Cup Port (or a Dry Red Wine)
1/2 Cup Italian Bread Crumbs




None of these really need to be perfect measurements. This dish is nearly impossible to mess up, so have fun and explore new ways to make it! 


Chop bacon into small pieces and put in a pan over medium high heat. When it is at a full sizzle add finely chopped onion and saute. for 2-3 minutes. Add ground beef and brown. Add brown sugar, ketchup, BBQ sauce and port. Cover, lower heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Growing up, we always used hamburger buns for this, which makes sense and is good; but, I like to do it a bit more 'Homestyle.' So I butter one side of a slice of bread and throw it onto a hot griddle (the broil setting on your oven works too). Just remember to only brown one side of your bread, otherwise you'll have a messy cracker and not a sloppy joe. Add the bread crumbs about 2 minutes before you are ready to serve (they thicken the whole thing up and give Joe a bit more substance.)




Sweet Potato Fries:
4-5 Large Sweet Potatoes
2-3 Tbs. melted Butter
Cinnamon
Sugar
Salt
Cayenne

Preheat Oven to 350. Cut Sweet potatoes in half. Lay each half, cut side down, then slice into long fries. lay each fry down on its side and cut in half again. Line baking sheet with wire racks. Put fries on racks and bake for 1 hour. ( you can use the broil function and reduce time to 15 min, but watch them carefully). Remove from oven, let cool on racks for 5 min. Put in bowl, coat with butter, cinnamon, and sugar. Add a tiny dash of cayenne for a full bodied flavor. Enjoy!


And a bit from my wife's favorite Yo-Gabba-Gabba song: A bite, bite, bite? No, no, no! A chomp, chomp, chomp? Yes, Yes, Yes!