When I Bought a Can of Manwich

I was so excited for my kids to try Sloppy Joes for the first time. This is an American staple! Every kid knows Sloppy Joes and loved getting them for lunch in the cafeteria. Hell, even Adam Sandler sang about them in his "Lunch Lady Land" song. I was sure my kids would be the next generation to love them as much as I did. Boy was I wrong!

I have to remember that my kids are not 100 % American. They are not your typical Jack and Jill next door. When they both looked at me in disgust after taking their first bite of their Sloppy Joe my heart dropped. What do I do with all these leftovers, I thought. Hmmmmm, revamp, Japanese American revamp! So here is what I did to make my Sloppy Joes more palatable for my Japanese American house:

Ingredients

Manwich Sloppy Joes Mix 1 can

Ground Beef 1/2 lb

Soy Sauce 2 tbs

Mirin 2 tbs

Cooking Sake 1 tbs

Egg 1 per plate

Sloppy Joes are already sweet and so I was thinking I could teriyakify the dish by adding my old stand bys-soy sauce, mirin and cooking sake. After making the Sloppy Joes according to the can's recipe I added in my soy, sake and mirin. After it was cooked I plated it on top of rice and fished which a sunny side up egg. The smiles, oohs and ahs and empty plates were enough to show that my revamp was a success. Don't ever think that dinner is ruined because of one grumble. Dishes can be fixed with an easy addition of a favorite condiment or flavor. This can't be done in baking, only cooking, which is why I do not bake! Happy improvising and exploring!

#sloppyjoes #ifixedit #ouchigohan #japanesehomecooking #japaneseamerican #fusionfood