Cornbread

I’m working on a couple of recipes using Krusteaz Gluten-Free breakfast mixes for Hot Breakfast Month (February) – I’ll post them really soon.  In the meantime, I  wanted to tell you about a dinner idea using their wonderful Gluten-Free Honey Cornbread Mix.

Krusteaz Gluten-Free flour and gluten-free mixes are some of my favorite things in the world. I’m THRILLED to see them popping up in grocery stores everywhere. The cornbread mix makes perfect, perfect, perfect cornbread and corn muffins each and every single time. I’ve added jalapenos to the mix many times and it’s always phenomenal.

One day last week, I made Sloppy Joes for supper. If I don’t happen to have gluten free rolls or bread on hand, I’ll often put the Sloppy Joe Sauce in a gluten-free flour tortilla, corn tortilla, or simply place it on a bed of lettuce and top the whole shebang with onions and pickles. We actually had some Sloppy Joe Sauce left the next night and since it’s so darn delicious, I didn’t want to waste it.

Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without!

I didn’t want to do the same-o same-o, though, so I decided to try something different.  While I slowly warmed the sauce up, I made the Krusteaz Gluten-Free Honey Cornbread  mix according to the directions on the box  – throwing in a tablespoon of freshly diced jalapeno for fun. Normally I cook the cornbread in a smaller pan, but I wanted it a little less thick for what I had in mind – so I placed it in my large iron skillet and cooked it for the specified amount of time.

Special Note About the Sloppy Joe Sauce

At the bottom, I’ll give you my favorite Sloppy Joe Sauce Recipe but you could, of course use any Sloppy Joe Sauce you wanted to use. Heck, if time was of the essence, you could even use Manwich or Sloppy Joe Sauce out of a can. I won’t tell a soul.

If you’re a vegetarian like one of my daughters, Brittany, you could use Boca Crumbles instead of ground beef. Still delicious!

While the cornbread cooked and the Sloppy Joe Sauce re-heated, I placed the following into my food processor and gave it a whirr:

• Roasted Red Pepper
• Diced Onion
• Pickle Slices
• You could also add garlic, tomatoes, mushrooms – whatever combo your heart desires. However, I wanted the prominent flavors to be the cornbread and Sloppy Joes, so I proceeded with a modest attitude.

After I took the cornbread out of the oven (it smelled amazing!), I buttered it a little bit with grass-fed butter. Why? Because butter, that’s why. Then I covered it with the Sloppy Joe Sauce (leaving a little bit of an edge for effect), the processed vegetables, grated sharp cheddar cheese, and freshly minced parsley.

Words can’t tell you how delicious this gluten-free Sloppy Joes Cornbread Pizza was!  Krusteaz Gluten-Free Honey Cornbread Mix is available in most grocery stores and on Amazon.

Perfect 10 Gluten-Free Sloppy Joe Sauce Recipe

2 pounds grass-fed beef or Laura’s Lean Beef
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, diced
1 small red pepper, diced
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1-1/2 cups Heinz Ketchup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2-1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1-1/2 tablespoon gluten-free soy sauce
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

1. Place the butter in a hot skillet (on medium heat), followed by the 2 pounds of ground beef, the onion, and the peppers. After the beef has browned, drain and return to the skillet.
2. Move the heat to medium low and add the garlic powder, ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, vinegar, tomato paste, soy sauce, and salt and pepper.
3. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Don’t let it boil – be sure it just simmers.
4. Taste what you’ve created and (if needed) add a little more salt, pepper, tomato paste… whatever you think it may need more of! At this point, I don’t believe I have ever added anything to the sauce, but you do you.