Lunch Lady Sloppy Joes are a fun twist on sloppy joes and an easy dinner for any night of the week. Hotdog buns, stuffed with a mozzarella cheese stick and topped with hot sloppy joe sauce for a string-cheesy and delicious dinner.
Let’s talk dinnertime, shall we?
More often than not I find myself in a bit of a struggle when it comes to what to make for dinner. Sometimes I just want to eat popcorn and Hershey kisses and be done with it. But I have these responsibilities. You know, kids.
Well, tonight was one of those nights. And no, we didn’t eat popcorn and Hershey kisses. After working a couple of twelve-hour shifts, I was only in the mood to cook something that didn’t take a whole lot of thought or time. So as I started flipping through my ever growing stack of recipes, I was suddenly struck by a memory of a childhood favorite.
First before we move on, let me say that before today this recipe was nameless.
My Mom didn’t have a name for these, because it was one of those things she made for us kids to use up the leftover sloppy Joe sauce (she’s clever like that). So there I sat tapping my fingers on my desk wondering what to call this recipe?! Then I was reminded of an old SNL skit, the one of Chris Farley as the lunch lady in Lunch Lady Land? She would bust out in son, singing “Sloppy joe… slop, sloppy Joe” with that giant mole on her (his?) face. The. Best. I hope the song is now stuck in your head as it is mine.
And that, my friends, is how I got the name Lunch Lady Sloppy Joes.
To Make The Lunch Lady Sloppy Joes You Will Need:
- olive oil or bacon fat
- yellow onion
- garlic
- ground round or beef
- chili powder
- yellow mustard, or to taste
- sugar
- tomato sauce
- water
- worcestershire sauce
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- mozzarella string cheese sticks, at temperature
- hotdog buns
- sliced green onions, for serving
- pickled jalapenos, for serving (optional)
Let’s get started on the ‘sloppy’ sauce.
Throw 2 teaspoons bacon fat or olive oil into a deep sided skillet.
Dice an onion very fine, you’ll need 1 cup give or take.
Add the onion to the skillet and cook until soft and translucent, not browned.
Next squeeze 1 clove of garlic through a garlic press (or finely mince) into the pan. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
Then add in 1-1/4 pounds ground beef. Use a potato masher or wooden spatula to smash the meat into small crumbles.
Next measure and add in 1-1/2 teaspoons of chili powder.
Then add in about 1 to 2 teaspoons of yellow mustard. I go by taste. I’m so one of those people.
Lastly, add the (15 ounce) can of tomato sauce and 1/2 teaspoon sugar.
Then pour in 1/4 cup of water and a few dashes Worcestershire sauce to taste.
Then season with 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
Stir the sloppy joe sauce and over medium-heat, bring it to a simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
Meanwhile slice up some green onions.
This is the toughest part of the recipe. Ready? Okay. Now carefully remove the mozzarella cheese from the wrappers.
And then place each one inside of their own hot dog buns.
Doesn’t this look freaking weird? like white hot dogs? HA. No. Seriously it’s delicious, I promise.
Next you’ll wan to top them with the Sloppy Joe sauce and sprinkle with the green onions. Because the sauce is piping hot it should soften the string cheese, therefore creating the most amazing cheese pull.
I like to serve them with some Bettermade chips and a Rock & Rye Faygo pop to make the childhood memory complete!
My girls ate these up and requested them again the next day! For another fun version check out my recipe for Saucy Mozzarella Dogs! Because there’s no such thing as too many kid-friendly recipes where cheese is the star. 😉
So fun and totally delicious. The proof is in the string!
Enjoy! And if you give this Lunch Lady Sloppy Joe recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!
Lunch Lady Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil or bacon fat
- 1 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1¼ pounds ground beef
- 1½ teaspoons chili powder, regular or ancho
- 2 teaspoons yellow mustard, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 dashes worcestershire sauce, to taste
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 8 mozzarella string cheese sticks, at room temperature
- 8 hotdog buns, toasted if you're in the mood
- sliced green onions, for serving
- pickled jalapenos, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, over medium-low heat, sauté the onions in olive oil (or bacon fat). Once soft and translucent add in the garlic, cook for one minute. Next add in the ground beef and use a spatula (or potato masher) to break it up into small pieces and cook thoroughly.
- Then measure and add in the ancho chili powder, mustard, sugar, tomato sauce, water, Worcestershire, salt and pepper to the meat mixture. Stir and simmer over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes.
- Place the cheese sticks inside the buns and top with sloppy Joe sauce. Sprinkle with green onions, pickled jalapeno slices and/or anything else your heart desires and serve!
Notes
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As if the "Lunch Lady-Sloppy" aspect of these wasn't fabulous enough – the addition of entire string cheeses sends me over the edge!! Must. Make!! ~Megan
Sloppy Joes excite me as an adult. The string cheese is a novel idea. Oh my! I would love to give this a try sometime. Perfect lunch for Itty Bitty and I to share.
Wow…i am drooling over here…I love anything cheesy and gooey.This is totally yumoooo….And the name suits it well…no other suggestion from my side…
BTW I am going to try this tomorrow…I have everything on hand….
Oh my gosh. The string cheese just made this recipe a must make. I applaud your creativity!
What a great treat for the kids! We love string cheese in our family and I can't get my hubby to eat sloppy joes when I love them. I'm going to have to try this one 🙂
I am dying. I am looking at that cheese and I'm dying. I'm looking at that seasoned meat and I've just died.
DIED.
Seriously? WOW! I was sure there was going to be a hot dog under that gorgeous meat sauce, but a mozzarella stick?! I'am drooling!
I love it. What a great idea. We have man-size teenage boys running through our house all the time and this looks like something I good throw down in front of them quickly. And of course, save some for ME!
OH MY! I was shocked when I saw those cheese sticks go into those hotdog buns!! What a creative idea…great for kids! Thank you for sharing it.
Now this is a sloppy joe that I would want to eat!
Your daughter looks like a mini you! How cute is she! Sloppy joes are one of my go to meals, for sure!
WONDERFUL IDEA! I dont have kids but I think my husband would be just as happy if I made him these for dinner! 🙂
YUM!!! Perfect for kids…and the kids in us adults too!!! Totally saving this one!!! Your awesome!
omgoodness! this is soooo clever! must try this!
LOOK AT THE CHEESE STRETCH! I'm hungry now and its your fault… :p
What a great idea. Easy and tasty… love it.
while i was going down and see all the photos, my mouth was getting wating:)) great photos , presantation, delicious food..
What an awesome idea to put the string cheese in the hot dog bun! I will definitely be making this.
Oh I am ready to talk about dinner every morning hahaha Wow lady you did it again! What a FUN idea..I think I have to make it for my kids, they would be so happy! I have almost everything except the buns, will have to run to a store..Awesome!!! Thank you for sharing!!!
The string cheese trick is awesome! I love this 🙂
Just made it for Renee and Joao and Xime, well she can't really eat it, but she liked watching me cook it 🙂
I had some leftover sloppy joe filling and happened upon your site (through Pinterest) today… so, we tried these for dinner. they were delish! thanks again 🙂
This was a hit – even from my son who "hates sloppy joes but these homemade ones rock". I didn't use water at all, let it cook down to a thicker consistency, and I threw some dark molasses in there too. Even Nana gave it a thumbs up, and she is a hard sell!
I borrowed this idea and wrote about it here. I used cheater cheater Manwich, but the cheese stick idea is brilliant. My daughter now LOVES sloppy joes. Thank you!
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Your mom was creative! I can’t wait to try this. I know my husband and kids will love it. And so will I!
These are the best! A new favorite- could not believe how easy these were to make & how yummy they were. My family loved them as all, definitely making these homemade from now on- no more nasty sloppy joe mixes.
This recipe promised leftovers…. well, not in my house! My boys devoured the pan and asked me to make them again. This will definitely be a regular in our house. Simple to make and delicious. The only change I made was instead of Ancho Chili Pepper (I was out), I used a Pub Burger seasoning with a little chili pepper.
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Most clever recipe. Must try to make this!
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