Messy Giuseppes

Messy Giuseppes... also known as "Italian Sloppy Joes"

courtesy of Rachel Ray's Express Lane Meals

Rachel Ray is so clever!! The name of this recipe cracks me up! Plus, she has some TASTY recipes!!

I was really excited about this recipe when I added it to my May menu. Life's circumstances changed our plans, however, and we ended up in California the week I had planned to make this. No fear, I rescheduled it for June 1st and I am so glad I did!

You will need:

-Enough extra virgin olive oil to just coat the bottom of a skillet

-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

-1 pound lean ground sirloin

-1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped (I had a few small orange and yellow ones, so I used those instead)

-1 small onion, chopped

-5 large garlic cloves, chopped (I used pre-minced in a jar; I LOVE that it prevents "garlic fingers")

-1/4 tsp nutmeg (eyeball it)

-salt and pepper

-1 medium portobello mushroom cap, finely chopped

-1/2 cup red wine, a couple of glugs (I used a merlot)

-3/4 cup beef stock

-14-ounces of crushed tomatoes

-about 4 tablespoons of super-soft butter

-1 cup (about 10 leaves) of fresh, chopped basil

-Individual ciabatta or hoagie rolls (I used whole wheat hoagies)

-1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano

-1 ball of fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 8 slices

1. Preheat the broiler to high

2. To make the meat sauce, heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, red pepper flakes, and ground sirloin, breaking up the meat as it browns. Add the bell pepper, onions, 3/4 of the garlic, nutmeg, and a little salt and pepper. Continue to break the meat into smaller bits as everything cooks together. Add the mushrooms and cook about 5 minutes more.

Add the wine and cook for another minute, then add the beef stock and tomatoes. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Gently simmer for 10 minutes.

3. While the meat is simmering, combine the remaining garlic with the soft butter, chopped basil, and a little salt and pepper. Split the rolls in half lengthwise without separating the halves. Press open the rolls, flattening them out a bit. Slather the insides with the garlic butter and toast under the broiler until golden brown.

4. Top one side of the garlicky, toasted rolls with a heap of meat, sprinkle each pile of meat sauce with the grated cheese, and top that with 2 slices of the fresh mozzarella.
 

Put them other the broiler to melt the cheese. Remove them from the broiler and prepare to get sloppy with the Messy Giuseppe!

Guys, this was delicious. The basil garlic butter absolutely MAKES these sandwiches! RR's recipe actually called for 6 Tablespoons of butter, but I just couldn't bring myself to use that much. I probably used less than 4, but you really just need enough to bring the basil, garlic, salt and pepper together. 

Also, she claims the recipe feeds 4 people, but I think there is enough filling to easily make 6 sandwiches. 

The fresh mozzarella melted under the broiler makes everything so creamy and, well, YUMM-O! ;) 

The sandwich is a meal all on it's own, but you could also bake off some sweet potato fries to go along with it!

Don't be fooled by the burnt edges of my first sandwich! The broiler can be a tricky little sucker if you don't keep a close eye on it! Luckily, it was just the edges of the bun and it didn't change the yumminess a bit. :)