Beef and Venison Sloppy Joes with Yellow Squash and Peppers

aka Butch and Bambi Bought the Farm-Fresh Vegetables

Ground beef and ground venison sloppy joes, combined with yellow squash and purple peppers from the farm share, with a kick from Korean hot red pepper paste.

I've bumped the recipe that was scheduled to appear today at the request of my spouse. He told his coworkers I'd have the recipe from last week's sloppy joes luncheon up on the blog, and who am I to refuse him? [Don't answer that one.] It was ugly food, though, and I'm always happy to bump ugly food to a later date in hopes I can remake it and get better photos.

The clever subtitle is also courtesy of my spouse [wish he also edited the photos--it's hard]. Since half of the meat in this recipe came from a cow named Butch and the other half from a deer skillfully obtained by his colleague . . . . the spouse's colleague not the cow's . . . it seemed an appropriate title. Adding some of the fresh vegetables from our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share is just bonus. Flavorful bonus.

The basis for my recipe today is Pioneer Woman's Sloppy Joe Recipe. As in my Very Veggie Sloppy Joes for a Crowd I jumped right off in a "use ALL the vegetables" direction. Since I added ground venison, however, I didn't want to get too wild with the seasonings--ketchup and mustard is pretty tame I think. However, instead of all the chili powder and hot sauce I used some gochujang (Korean hot red pepper paste). Once opened, it keeps for a while in the fridge--I've included a photo of it so you know what to look for in the Asian section of the grocery store or an Asian market or here [Amazon Affiliate link].

I tend to throw leftovers at the family for weekend lunches because I usually fix a big breakfast, and my brain is percolating something good for dinner. Such a pain when they want to be fed again in the middle of the day, you know? Before taking the Joes to work for the luncheon, though, my spouse saved out just enough for the 4 of us. I was delighted to realize we could have one of my childhood comfort foods: sloppy joes on a bun with a slice of cheese and mustard, potato chips, apple slices, and milk. Perfection for a Saturday afternoon lunch.

If you're lucky enough to get some venison, please try this recipe. I'll even share my gochujang, since I don't foresee sticking it into waffles or anything . . . though a pizza is in the creative ideas stage, and it's been delicious in grilled recipes and with bok choy.

Want other recipes for ground beef? Here's a round up of 106 of them. Want other recipes using yellow squash? Look here.  Need other ideas for bell peppers--any color? Try this collection.

Colorful Roasted Butternut Squash with Potato, Pepper and Leeks

Cubes of butternut squash and potato roasted with pieces of pepper and seasoned with leeks. A colorful side dish for a holiday meal or for a simple family supper.

The other day I talked about my Appetizer recipes, tooting my own horn about my ever-growing list of vegetable (and now meat and fruit) appetizers. Today I'm focused on side dishes. I can could make meals out of side dishes. Back when we lived near a Boston Market restaurant I was happy to skip the chicken or meatloaf and instead feast on greens, squash, stuffing, potatoes, corn, beans . . . whatever looked good and could be plentiful on my plate.

The suck part of desiring a variety of colorful side dishes is having to make them all. For this recipe I decided to combine a few veggies--the most colorful ones on hand--and roast them together. One cooking session that would result in a plentiful pile of color on my plate. It not only looked good--it tasted terrific, especially alongside a roasted chicken.

Over the past few weeks I've been gathering all the ingredients for a repeat of this side dish (first made--and photos shot last winter). Fall crops from our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share generally keep well over a long period. In a cool dark place you can store winter squash, potatoes, and onions for months. Peppers and leeks hang out in the crisper for a few weeks--and can be frozen to use in soups and stews as well. So even if you're getting the fresh local produce in October [and you celebrate Thanksgiving in the US in November--I won't rant this time] with proper storage your produce will be ready when you're ready to cook.

I've revamped my Visual Recipe Index! For more ideas on what to do with your butternut squash, click here.

Sausage Cheese Apple Balls

A blend of Italian and breakfast sausages with cheese and apple in a bite-size appetizer.

With Fall comes an increase in my kids' busy schedules. Marching band, sled hockey and sewing all happen in the evenings and that means sometimes dinner is actually Substantial Afternoon Snack. A snack like this, with some apple slices, veggies and hummus, and a glass of milk or cider is enough for my kids to fuel up and power through the rest of a long day.

When I set a goal of increasing my vegetable appetizer recipes on the blog at the beginning of this year, I deliberately concentrated on appetizers that don't use meat. Participating in #AppetizerWeek added a bunch to get the ball rolling [goodness, pun was not initially intended but I'm going with it] and I've added some each month. I'm going to broaden this list to include some meat-containing appetizers, starting with these Sausage Cheese Apple Balls.

I made these first while preparing to host a bunch of fellow military spouses, and I was ridiculously distracted in the preparation.  I'm so grateful that Joyce arrived, said 'can I do anything to help?' and took over the baking that night. Because the recipe makes a ton, I froze half of the dough. My son baked them later for a snack and I took some photos. Well, those photos fell into the swamp didn't turn out, so I made up another batch and tweaked it a bit. I now prefer a blend of breakfast and Italian sausage for our snacks.

Just like reading the same words over and over can improve fluency, preparing the same recipes over and over can help with cooking skills. My son is learning to cook by mastering one recipe at a time. Since he loves the classic Bisquik Sausage Cheese Balls it was easy to get him interested in making them again, with a twist. As Lydia commented on my Cheddar Apple Soaked Multigrain Muffins, apple pie and cheddar cheese go very well together, so I figured adding grated apple would work in these appetizers.

This recipe is so simple to throw together, even a teen can make it!

For more recipes using apples, please see my Apple Recipes Collection, part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient. For more appetizer ideas, please see my Pinterest boards. Want to know how to use this blog? Click here.