Meatless Mondays! Black Bean and Salsa Sloppy Joes

Growing up I remember eating lots of sloppy joes. It's something about the sauce in the can and the beef on the bun. I think messy foods sometimes have more appeal than something that you can neatly eat with a fork and knife. I no longer eat beef and haven't for years but I keep looking for fun sloppy joe style recipes. Most of the recipes call for the "crumbles" that are found in the freezer section but those usually don't appeal to me. I would really rather used chopped up mushrooms in a recipe because they still have the texture to stand up to most recipes.

These are a fun sandwich that everyone will love and it's a great way to sneak in more vegetables. You could chop up mushrooms like I said, grate or chop up some zucchini, or maybe even grate some carrot and toss it in because it will cook down a little and blend together. These are pretty quick to throw together, definitely in under half an hour, which is always a plus since sometimes I feel like making a complicated meal but most of the time I don't. I served this with cauliflower that I sauteed in a pan with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Happy cooking!

Black Bean & Salsa Sloppy Joes
Makes 4

Ingredients:
- ¼ onion, diced
- 3 minced garlic cloves
- 2 ½ cups black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 ½ cups salsa
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook 2-3 minutes until onion is slightly softened. Add minced garlic and saute for 1 minute.
2. Stir in the black beans, salsa, brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, cumin, and salt. Bring the mixture to a simmer, cook for 10 minutes.
3. Spoon the mixture onto whole wheat buns. If desired, top with shredded cheddar cheese. 

Printable recipe

Recipe adapted from Parenting Magazine (April 2012) (sorry there's no link to a recipe, the original recipe is not available online)

This recipe may be linked up to:

· Inside BruCrew Life - Trick or Treat Tuesday's

· Crazy For Crust - Crazy Sweet Tuesday’s

· Mrs. Fox's Sweets - Mrs. Fox's Sweet Party

· A Pinch of Joy - Busy Monday Link Party 
· House of Hepworth's - Hookin up with HoH 
· Cups by Kim - Sweet & Simple Sunday  
· Couponing & Cooking - Mealtime Monday