Super Sloppy Joes and Deviled Potato Salad

Tonight, I was trying to find a way to use the buns I got on sale. I was supposed to do "Breakfast for Dinner" tonight, but I just had to use those buns. My family absolutely LOVES my sloppy joe recipe, but I decided I wanted to try something different. I googled "sloppy joe" and found a Rachel Ray recipe for Super Sloppy Joes alongside another recipe for Deviled Potato Salad. The two went hand in hand so I decided to make both. Unfortunate for me, but fortunate for my 12 year old son Cameron, an aspiring chef, the recipe was made by him. He showed up and asked if he could make dinner by himself tonight. Although I love to cook...I let him take it over.

Super Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:

-1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
-1 1/4 pounds ground beef (or sirloin)
-1/4 cup brown sugar
-2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon steak seasoning blend, such as McCormick brand Montreal Seasoning
-1 medium onion, chopped
-1 small red bell pepper, chopped
-1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
-1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
-2 cups tomato sauce
-2 tablespoons tomato paste
-4 crusty rolls, split, toasted and lightly buttered
-Garnish: sliced ripe tomatoes, pickles, Deviled Potato Salad, recipe follows

Directions:

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and meat to the pan. Spread the meat around the pan and begin to break it up. Combine brown sugar and steak seasoning. Add sugar and spice mixture to the skillet and combine. When the meat has browned, add onion and red peppers to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and cook onions, peppers, red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce with meat for 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste to pan. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to simmer and cook Sloppy Joe mixture 5 minutes longer. Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, pile sloppy meat onto toaster, buttered bun bottoms and cover with bun tops. Serve with your favorite sides or sliced tomatoes seasoned with salt and pepper, dill pickles and Deviled Potato Salad. Have plenty of napkins on hand!

Deviled Potato Salad

Ingredients:

-5 all-purpose potatoes, peeled and diced
-Coarse salt
-1/4 onion
-3 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
-1/2 cup mayonnaise, eyeball the amount
-1 teaspoon sweet paprika
-1 teaspoon hot cayenne pepper sauce (recommended: Tabasco or Frank's Red Hot)
-Salt and freshly ground black pepper
-2 scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish

Directions:

Boil potatoes in water seasoned with coarse salt until they are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain cooked potatoes and return to the warm pot to dry them out. Let the potatoes stand 2 minutes, then spread potatoes out on to a cookie sheet to quick-cool them. In the bottom of a medium mixing bowl, grate 1/4 onion using a hand grater. Add mustard and mayonnaise, paprika, and cayenne pepper sauce to the grated onion and stir to combine. Add potatoes to the bowl and stir to evenly distribute dressing. Season potato salad with salt and pepper and taste to adjust your seasonings. Top servings of salad with chopped scallions.