Bland in a Bun with Penzeys Roasted Garlic and Adobo Seasoning

We got the latest catalog from Penzeys and one of the recipes stood out as exceptionally interesting, as Marie reports…

First of all, I would like to state that this recipe is neither bland nor in a bun. It’s actually very much like a Sloppy Joe, but with beans instead of tomato sauce. It’s only a little more work than Sloppy Joes, too; very appropriate for a weekday meal.

As you may have heard from us before, Penzeys has a lovely catalog full of products that we don’t have enough room in our cabinets to purchase without losing storage space for pots and plates, and they sprinkle recipes throughout the pages. We have had pretty uniformly positive results from these, and this one is no exception. The story behind this is that it is a family recipe with an uncertain naming origin. I personally suspect that it evolved over time, possibly starting out as plain hamburger mixed with beans on a standard hamburger bun, and then as it was improved and refined, the original name just traveled along despite its growing and ironic uselessness.

As usual, I did make some minor changes to the recipe, noted below in parentheses as usual.

1 lb. ground beef
1-2 tsp Adobo or Arizona Dreaming (I used Adobo, as I prefer it, but will likely try with the other next time just to see what happens)
2 cloves minced fresh garlic or 1/2 tsp dried minced garlic
1 small onion, chopped (I only used a bit over half, in deference to kids)
1/2 green bell pepper, diced (I used orange – it really doesn’t matter what color as long as the pepper is sweet)
1 16-oz can of refried beans
1/4 to 1/3 cup taco sauce or 2 tb taco seasoning mixed with 1/3 cup tomato sauce
6 pita pockets
1/2 alfalfa sprouts, optional (didn’t use those)
1/2 cup sour cream, optional (definitely – also added shredded cheese)

Preheat the oven to 450. In a large frying pan, brown the ground beef (the recipe says to add the spices, onions and peppers along with it, but since some of the fat will have to be drained off, carrying away flavor, I prefer to brown the meat first, drain off the majority of the fat, and then briefly cook the onions and peppers in the pan before returning the meat to the pan and adding the other ingredients). Add the beans and taco sauce. Stir to combine. Fill the six pita pockets (I used only five halves instead of six, and they were overfull) Place on baking sheet, and warm in the oven for 5 minutes (I don’t recommend skipping this step even if you are in a hurry – pita is so much nicer warm and just barely crisp on the edges)

Considering that the majority of the ingredients are standard pantry/fridge items, it’s a good one for the “I don’t know what to make tonight” list.

I still wish it had a better name.

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