Move over Manwich

Manwich has always been a family favorite when it comes to sloppy joes. But not today! I'm shaking it up... throw out the old school sloppy joes, bring on the new school. Is there such thing as new school?... well there is now and it's gooood.

I always thought making sloppy joes from scratch would be time consuming but it's really not. It's not only easy but so worth it to choose the ingredients you want in your joes.

I started off by browning the meat... see the same old school way, not getting too crazy yet. I cut up half an onion and threw that in there... still nothing too crazy. And then when the Manwich should be going in and the joe making should be done... well that's when the fun begins, that's when it gets cra-zy.

The mix-in's are tomato paste, water, garlic, paprika, brown sugar, oregano, salt and pepper and a little barbecue sauce. If there's not enough tomato paste to my liking I'll put a few squirts of ketchup in. And voila! Now that wasn't too scary, was it? 

And, sorry Manwich, but the taste is oh-so-much-better. Flavorful, fresh, and good-for-ya. Can't get better than that. That's probably my favorite part of cooking; I know what I'm eating. I get to choose what can go in and what should stay out. And that my friends makes my belly smile. Weird mental picture just took place in my head... Anyway...

How did my sloppy joes minus the Manwich do for me later on... great!

The french fries... how could I forget. They're Alexia brand which is all natural and sooo tasty. Who knew french fries could be good to eat and good for you!

Oh what a great feeling to know I'm feeling good and have more than enough room for my sweet treat of a friend... ice cream, of course.

I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com but, like always, I changed it up a bit and made it my own.