Name: Easy Sloppy Joes made with specialty sausages
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Glug light olive or vegetable oil; 4 tbs chopped onion - or use ready chopped frozen; 1 bell pepper (deseeded and sliced - or use a handful of frozen); 2 speciality sausages (use veggie sausages for a veggie dish, deskinned and crumbled); 1 tin tomatoes - or a jar of tomato pasta sauce; 2 tbs tomato ketchup; 2 tbs sweetcorn kernels; 2 tbs peas; Salt and pepper to taste; To serve; 1 Ciabatta - I used cook from frozen; 4 slices Cheddar cheese; 6 gherkins - sliced; Salad

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These easy Sloppy Joes are made with specialty sausages, and everyday store cupboard and freezer ingredients

I love my freezer! The majority of meals I cook use two or three ingredients from the freezer, and when I bought my flat one of the non negotiables was a kitchen with space for a decently sized fridge freezer and a dishwasher.

Frozen food has come on in leaps and bounds, in both quality and variety in recent years. Much produce is frozen within an increasingly short time frame of being harvested. Modern rapid, or flash freezing methods lock in flavour, nutrients, as well as preserving the texture of the food. I recently went on a fascinating trip on a cod fishing boat, which freezes the catch at sea within an hour or so of it being caught, keeping its quality and freshness for the consumer.

My freezer contains the usual frozen foods such as peas and corn, fish fingers, and packets of berries for smoothies. I find that frozen fruit and vegetables are both cheaper, fresher and of better quality than that half cauliflower or head of broccoli which has been at the bottom of the salad drawer for the last week. Frozen fruit & veg are ideal for small families, couples and those who live alone. The year before last, when my mother broke her thumb she found it almost impossible to hold a knife, and relied heavily on frozen ready chopped staples such as onions, which you simply pour into the pan and fry from frozen.

Iceland’s #PowerofFrozen campaign, is all about the benefits of frozen foods. When I visited my local store recently, I was surprised at how wide their range was, and just how many frozen ingredients you could buy for a very reasonable price. I was delighted to see large bags of frozen kale, lots of frozen fruit for smoothies, as well as a wide variety of frozen vegetables including specialty rainbow carrots. The Kezie range of exotic meats was really tempting with wild boar sausages (used in this recipe), succulent juicy flavoursome Waygu burgers (I am going back for some more), as well as buffalo, ostrich, kangaroo, rabbit and crocodile.

I’ve made this easy sausage ragu; which I’ve served as a Sloppy Joe, inside a cooked from frozen ciabatta. Only two sausages are needed to for the Sloppy Joes sauce, so the remaining 4 can be fried for children, making this an ideal family meal. Once frozen meats have been defrosted then cooked it is safe to refreeze them. Any leftover sloppy Joes sauce can be popped back into the freezer and used for another meal, as either a baked potato filling or served with pasta.

To speed up defrosting placed sealed packs of frozen food into cold water.

To make this recipe even easier to prepare you can use ready chopped frozen onions and sliced peppers, and substitute the tinned tomatoes with a jar of tomato pasta sauce. Serve in a freshly baked from frozen baguette or ciabatta.

5 from 3 votes

Easy Sloppy Joes made with specialty sausages

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

30 mins

Rich specialty sausages provide the base for this ragu that can be used to fill ciabatta to make easy Sloppy Joes.

Course: Main

Cuisine: American

Servings: 4

Author: Helen Best-Shaw

Ingredients

Glug light olive or vegetable oil
4 tbs chopped onion - or use ready chopped frozen
1 bell pepper deseeded and sliced - or use a handful of frozen
2 speciality sausages use veggie sausages for a veggie dish, deskinned and crumbled
1 tin tomatoes - or a jar of tomato pasta sauce
2 tbs tomato ketchup
2 tbs sweetcorn kernels
2 tbs peas
Salt and pepper to taste
To serve
1 Ciabatta - I used cook from frozen
4 slices Cheddar cheese
6 gherkins - sliced
Salad

Instructions

n a saute pan fry the onions and garlic in the oil until soft, add the sausage meat and peppers and other vegetables (if using) and cook for a few more minutes.
Pour over the tinned tomatoes and stir in the ketchup. Season and then cover and allow to simmer, stirring from time to time until the sauce has thickened. 5 mins before serving stir in the frozen peas and corn.
Serve in a freshly baked ciabatta or crusty bread with sliced gherkins and cheese for the ultimate sausage ragu Sloppy Joe.

Recipe Notes

Make this vegetarian with using a veggie mince in place of the sausage meat

To make this super speedy add some of my fat free slow cooker tomato sauce rather that making the sauce from scratch.