Tomato Free Sloppy Joes and Homemade Buns

I was pretty sad when I realized Charlie was reacting to tomatoes via my breastmilk. Eh, I got over it, but I miss a lot of my easy go-to meals like spaghetti, chili and sloppy joes, not to mention, fresh homegrown organic maters this summer. We have tons of our homegrown maters that I canned just dying to be made into one of these dishes. Alas, they still remain untouched. Lately, I have been craving these dishes, so I began my quest for tomato free versions. The last on the list to be conquered was sloppy joes. 

These, my friends, were the biggest success! SO yummy! The tomato base was not even missed.

Oh, yeah!

Tomato Free Sloppy Joes

1 red bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

1 yellow onion

3-4 garlic cloves

2 carrots

1 cup (or so) winter squash puree ( I used butternut squash)

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon dry mustard

2 tablespoons worchestire (or Bragg's Liquid Amino works just as well)

Pinch of chili powder

water

s&p to taste

I rough chopped all the veggies and sauteed them in EVOO. After a nice sautee and they are soft, toss them into the food processor with a little water to puree them. It doesnt have to be a smooth puree but enough so that this can become the "sauce". While this is going on, I browned some organic ground beef (lentils or ground turkey would work as well). Take the veggie puree and pour it over the cooked ground beef in the pan and begin adding the squash puree. *Hint: an easy trick is to buy the tetra-pak soup purees and just pour it into the sauce pan as needed. A lot less work and mess involved.* Add in remaining spices and allow to simmer. Check the sauce while cooking and add water or more squash puree as needed to thin out or thicken up the sauce. Salt and pepper to taste. 

You know it's going to taste good with all those beautiful colors!

To serve, place a generous scoop on top of a bun. And by all means, make your own!

Another friend of mine passed this recipe on when I was frustrated by failing to find a fantastic bun recipe. I enjoy baking our breads and once I made these buns, we were hooked! And, shhh, don't tell, but they're EASY. You won't buy a better bun at the grocery store.

Moomie's Beautiful Burger Buns

 There's a reason they're called beautiful buns.

He's just a plain goose who just wants a plain bun. 

They are that good, folks.