7 Days/7 Recipes - Day one - sloppy Jane Casserole

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Recipe Source: Hungry Girl Magazine - Fall 2020
NoTE: I do NOT RECEIVE ANY COMPENSATION FROM LINKS PROVIDED IN THESE REVIEWS. THEY ARE SIMPLY HERE AS A WAY TO CITE THE ORIGINAL SOURCE AND PROVIDE THE READER WITH NECESSARY RESOURCES TO MAKE THE DISH.

I picked up a copy of Hungry Girl magazine the other day because it boasted "65+ Healthy Recipes" and the cover said "World's Easiest Weeknight Dinners." 

Yeah, they had me hook, line, and sinker.

​Turns out, there's a lot of recipes I want to give a shot. But, for my first meal of the 7 Days/7 Recipes Challenge, I chose her Sloppy Jane Casserole. 

What the heck is a Sloppy Jane??

Why Sloppy Jane? If you're more familiar with Sloppy Joes, you're not alone. I had to do some digging to find out the difference between the two. After browsing Google for a little while, the consensus seems to be that Sloppy Jane's are leaner versions of the classic Sloppy Joe. This recipe uses lean ground beef (I used 90% lean beef). Other versions of the dish use ground turkey. It's really just a matter of preference.

This is a homemade sloppy joe recipe (no Manwich here) topped with shredded hash browns. Yep, it's really that basic.
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WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS RECIPE

I love recipes with a few, simple ingredients and this one fit the bill nicely. All you need is a pound of ground beef/turkey, crushed tomatoes, onion, Worcestershire sauce, some brown sugar, thawed shredded hash browns, garlic powder, salt, paprika, and some chili powder. I won't post the full recipe, because, you know copyrights and stuff. I respect that! Hungry Girl does have another version of the Sloppy Jane mix on her website. Check it out here. 

It only takes a few minutes to whip up the Sloppy Jane mix on the stove top. Then, since I didn't have an 8X8 casserole dish, I used that round pan you see above. Add the thawed potatoes on top and cook in a 375 degree oven until bubbly on the sides. You should put the broiler on for the last few minutes to let the potatoes brown.

I also loved that this recipe took just a little over 30 minutes from start to finish!

The Sloppy Jane flavor was tasty! I might add a little more spice next time, but my husband and I both enjoyed it very much. He even asked for seconds!

Another plus: one serving of this casserole is only 250 calories! The casserole serves 4 people and what you see in the photo above is one quarter of the entire pan, which is one serving!

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE ABOUT THIS RECIPE

​I'm not sure if the rack in my oven was too low or I didn't let the casserole cook long enough. The potatoes were bland and were pretty dry without having that classic browned flavor. It took away from the overall enjoyment of the dish for me. 

Next time, I think I'd make the mix on it's own and serve it either on bun the old-fashioned way or perhaps stuffed in a baked sweet potato or russet. Hmm...

It's also not a very attractive dish when served on a plate, but most casseroles aren't. So, I won't hold it against the recipe :)

WILL I ADD THIS RECIPE TO OUR ROTATION?

​With the modifications I mentioned, I'd add this to our rotation. It might not be a weekly dish, but once a month or so for a quick on-the-table meal, why not?