I haven’t had sloppy joes in I don’t know how long. It was never something my mom made, so I think I only ever really had them at school. I did recall though, that I liked the taste of them back in the day, so when I saw this recipe in my go-to cookbook, I decided to give it a go.

These were good. But you know what I had forgotten about sloppy joes that instantly came back to me as we started to eat? They’re messy. Yeah, despite them actually having the word “sloppy” in their name, I forgot that.

Note about me: I have a SERIOUS issue with getting food on my hands – especially any kind of sauce (It’s a personal weirdness, I know). So how someone with a hang-up like that could somehow be responsible for planning a meal like sloppy joes is beyond me.

Anyway, if you are not weird like me, you will probably find these delightful – as will your children. Just do me a favor and never talk about how many napkins you went through. It gives me the willies just thinking about it!

Vegan Sloppy Joes
Recipe courtesy of Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup dried lentils, rinsed
1 tbs safflower oil (or any flavorless oil)
1/3 cup minced onion
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 cup seitan, finely chopped
1 6oz. can tomato paste
1 tbs dijon mustard
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 tbs tamari
1/4 cup ketchup
6 whole wheat burger buns
pickles, sliced for garnish

Directions

• Heat water over high heat in a medium saucepan. Once water is boiling, add lentils. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until tender, about 30 min.
• In a separate sauce pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat and saute the onion, bell pepper and carrot until tender, about 10 min. Add in seitan
• In a medium bowl, mix together the tomato paste, mustard, vinegar, tamari and ketchup
• Add mixture to the pan of vegetables and seitan. Combine thoroughly
• Drain the lentils (reserving the cooking liquid in case needed) and add to the pan of vegetables, stirring carefully to combine. If the mixture seems too dry, add some of the cooking liquid. Simmer 5 min.
• Toast the burger buns and serve mixture on the toasted buns with sliced pickles

Yield: Serves 6