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.

No venison in this photo--I used my package for the joes, and never intended to blog about it. No water in it either. In the commissary, Gochujang is written in English, and the brand name and tub size are identical.

Beef and Venison Sloppy Joes with Yellow Squash and Peppers

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground venison
1 cup chopped onion (1 medium onion)
1 cup chopped bell pepper (1 large pepper)
1½ cups shredded yellow squash (1 medium)
1½ cups ketchup
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup water
½ Tablespoon Gochujang (Korean hot red pepper paste--see headnotes above)
½ Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
½ teaspoon salt (I use kosher), plus more to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste

To serve: more mustard, sliced cheddar cheese, buns or rice.

Brown ground beef and venison in a large skillet over medium high heat. Drain. Add vegetables and sauté for 5 minutes until softened. Dump the rest of the ingredients on top of the meat and vegetables, stir to combine, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove cover and taste--do you need to add more salt or pepper? Serve on a bun with cheese and mustard (my favorite way), or over rice, or however you like.  This reheats really well in the slow cooker, stove top, microwave or oven.


This post is shared with What's Cookin' Wednesday, Fresh Foods Wednesday, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Tasty Tuesdays

Behind the scenes--shoving my girl's homework out of the way to grab a pic of lunch. Jane Eyre doesn't mind.