Traditionally, a sloppy joe is a sandwich consisting of ground beef or pork, onions, tomato sauce (or ketchup) and other seasonings served on a hamburger bun. Heinz’s consumer test kitchen has stated that the sloppy joe was invented in the 1930’s & was named “loose meat sandwich” in Sioux City, Iowa. This sloppy joe’s stuffed tomatoes recipe is very easy to make and a lighter version as you skip the bun. My husband Dave was skeptical about a bun less sloppy joe, but said after he ate it, that “this is the best I have ever had”.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Add 1 tablespoon oil to a sauté pan and fry the ground meat. Salt and pepper to taste. Place the cooked ground meat into a bowl and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the pan and sauté the onion and peppers until soft. Add the meat back to the pan and the sloppy joe sauce. Cook until warmed up and turn off the heat. Stuff the 4 hollowed out tomatoes with the meat mixture. Bake uncovered on a lightly greased pan for 20 minutes. I like to serve this with cheddar biscuits! Serves 4.
*An easy way to core a tomato is to place your tomato on a cutting board stem side up. Then roll the tomato to the side with stem on the right. Slice the tomato about ¼ inch from the stem side all the way through. Hollow out the tomato with a paring knife as best you can to not damage the outside of the tomato. If you need to near the end, use a serrated spoon (like a grapefruit spoon) to remove the rest of the core.
**You can also make your sauce from scratch and it’s very easy. Sauté 2 minced cloves of garlic. Add 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 15 ounce can of tomato sauce, 1 teaspoon mustard and 1 tablespoon sugar. Add salt, paprika and cayenne pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside until ready to use.