This post is a part of  the mega Blogging Marathon and A-Z challenge. I have chosen popular American dishes’ as my theme.

When the month started, I was pretty confident about seeing the A-Z journey through pretty easily. But what I didn’t count was the visits we were making and the visits we were receiving. So out of the window goes the “smooth sailing” plan and now, I am just struggling to keep up the pace. Its a case I have lost already, but you just have to keep trying harder and harder, right?! Kind of like the candy factory scene from I Love Lucy.

There are recipes that I have cooked and clicked for this month, but not transferred to the computer and edited. More worrisome are the recipes that are yet to be clicked, or in other words, to be cooked. Luckily, they are few in number, but that doesn’t help. Because I am dragging my feet through the ones that are all ready. The ones that just needs to go out into the world with an introduction and the recipe details. Boy! I do hate that part :-((.

When it comes to blogging, the planning of dishes and researching recipes interest me, cooking and clicking excite me, editing is something I manage without whining, but its the pen that kills me at the end! I hate the part where I have to sit and write the recipe (least favorite) and the introduction (don’t like it if there is no personal touch to it – which is what happens when I am in a hurry to send it out. Not enough love for the post, get what I mean?! ).

Its all sloppy at the moment now. Just like these sandwiches. Sloppy Joes! Its a popular meat based sandwich, the vegetarian version is made either with lentils or beans of your choice. The dish was there in almost all cookbooks about American cuisine and in the internet as well. Sloppy though it is, it is quite popular. So here it is for the alphabet ‘S’.

Pictorial:

Cook 3/4 cup dry green lentils (whole masoor dal) or beans of your choice with enough water. Drain and set aside. Heat one teaspoon olive oil in a pan. Saute one medium chopped red onion and one small yellow bell pepper.

Once the onion and bell pepper is cooked, add 1 teaspoon yellow mustard, 2 teaspoons tomato ketchup, 1 teaspoon paprika/chilli powder, 1 teaspoon vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix well. Now add one can of crushed tomatoes or 4 medium juicy tomatoes chopped into fine small pieces.

Add the cooked lentils. Mix well and bring it to a simmer. Taste test and adjust the seasoning per taste. Serve as a filling for burger buns.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup green lentils (or lentils/beans of your choice)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• one medium red onion, chopped
• one small bell pepper, chopped
• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
• 2 teaspoons tomato ketchup
• 1 teaspoon paprika/chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 can crushed tomatoes or 4 medium tomatoes, chopped fine
• burger buns for assembling

Method:

1. Cook 3/4 cup green lentils (whole masoor dal) or beans of your choice. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat one teaspoon oil in a pan. Saute one medium chopped red onion and one small yellow bell pepper.Once the onion and bell pepper is cooked, add 1 teaspoon yellow mustard, 2 teaspoons tomato ketchup, 1 teaspoon paprika/chilli powder, 1 teaspoon vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix well.
3. Now add one can of crushed tomatoes or 5 medium tomatoes chopped into fine small pieces. Add the cooked lentils. Mix well and bring it to a simmer. Taste test and adjust the seasoning per taste. Serve as a filling for burger buns.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63