Corn and Black Bean Sloppy Joes

We had a nice stretch of warm weather last weekend and Monday and Tuesday here in Chicago.  Oftentimes, we don’t get to enjoy the weather when its pleasant.  Mr B. and I’s work schedules are far from normal – he works a 3-11p shift, and I work a mix of afternoon and night shifts with Mondays and Wednesdays off.  Mondays are the only day we get to spend the entire time together and it tends to be filled with errand running.  This week, after our errands, we enjoyed some alfresco dining in our yard since it was so nice outside, and then watched the Blackhawks game at home.

I didn’t want to slave over the stove too long or heat up our apartment so this easy sloppy joe recipe was exactly what I needed.  I can’t sleep if its too warm in our place and didn’t want to put the air conditioning on unless it was absolutely necessary.  The stove only had to be on for about 25 minutes, which made me happy since our bedroom is off of the kitchen.

Corn and Black Bean Sloppy Joes

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup chopped white onion
• 1 pound ground beef (we used 90% ground sirloin)
• 1/2 cup frozen corn
• 1/4 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• wheat buns

1. Warm the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the onion and saute.

2. When the onions are transparent in color, add the ground beef and brown it.

3. Reduce the heat and add the corn and black beans.  Stir well.

4. Add the salsa, tomato sauce and tomato paste.  Stir to combine and cook until the mixture is heated through.

5. Serve generous portions on the wheat buns.

I love a good 5 step recipe – less cooking time, more eating time.  And this recipe could easily be doubled, say for a BBQ or for after a little league game.  Even someone who doesn’t cook well can probably make this without screwing it up.  Keep that in mind, non-cooking friends who read my blog. :)~

xoxo,

JennyB