Feed Me!

You have a great kid, and great kids deserve great food. But, so do great parents. If you have eaten the requisite 120 boxes of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (1 box per month x 12 months x 10 years), but your pre-teen's taste buds have not matured yet, there is a great recipe for Sophisto Joes in this month's issue (October, 2007) of Gourmet Magazine. It's nothing new, but the upgraded Sloppy Joe does satisfy the taste buds of both parents and teens.

Here is the basic premise, if you have never tried to upgrade your Manwich Sloppy Joe sauce:

1 can petit diced tomatoes, drained
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium carrot, diced
1 celery rib, chopped
1 1/2 lbs. ground sirloin
1 tabelspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 cup dry red wine
(or 1/4 cup catsup, 4 tablespoons A-1)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
1 1/2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
Hearty wheat or kaiser rolls
Cook onion and garlic in butter in a 12 inch skillet over medium heat until onion is tranparent. Add carrots, celery and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook about 4 minutes until vegetables are tender. Add beef and brown, chopping into smaller pieces, about 5 minutes, until beef is cooked through. Add tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper to taste and cook about 2 minutes, then add wine (or catsup sauce mix), Worcestershire and brown sugar; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until sauce has thickened and reduced, about 6 minutes.

Serve with Terra chips for the adults/the standard favorite for your teen, and ranch dip with sliced red pepper, baby carrots, and celery, and - voila - an easy, but tasty meal the whole family can enjoy!

Back to this month's Gourmet - if you are feeling really tricky, you might try the sloppy joes with the sweet potato hash with bacon on p. 183, accompanied by the pumpkin bread pudding on p. 184, which looks really scrumptious (I am definitely going to make that) and the peanut butter brownies on p. 42. Yum!!

If you have a great recipe for feeding teens and don't mind sharing, leave it as a comment in the reply section and we will post it. Happy eating to you and yours!