This Is What's Wrong In This Country

Yesterday amongst my ordinary e-mail I received an ad from
a well-recognized baking ingredient company (is that subtle or just obtuse?)
whose subtitle read:

Seven-Minute Frosting Made in Five Minutes!

Says it all, doesn't it?

Pretty Is As Pretty Does, Part II

Sloppy Buffalo Joes

First of all, I am not sure where I got this recipe. Sorry.

Secondly, I didn't bother taking pictures because, frankly, sloppy
joes are not the most photogenic of meat dishes and besides, we all know
what they look like. They're usually dog-poop brown globs on a bun.
Not that I'm trying to dissuade you from trying this recipe; heaven knows,
it's not that. The seasoning for this ground beef dish is divine.
I'm not a big one for overuse of exclamation points-that's only tiresome, like
listening to some whacked cheerleader describing the football game: "And then
the quarterback guy? He ran past the big guys on the other team? And then, like, he scored
down at the end by that pitchfork thingy! Yea! Go, Team! The game's over now! I'm going
to the post-game party now! Rah!"
Sorry 'bout that. (shakes head til it rattles) Usually the drugs work better
than that. I mean, I haven't had a flashback like that since...nevermind.
If I were the kind of person to use my !'s indiscriminantly I would give this
recipe about !!!! of them.

And I'll be back after my you-know-whats kick in sufficiently.
Ta!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 lbs ground chicken (I used lean ground chuck)
1 carrot, peeled and chopped or grated
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 to 1/3 cup hot sauce, such as Frank's Red Hot
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock
8 good quality hamburger buns, split and toasted
1 cup blue cheese crumbles or chunk that is crumbled

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meat and cook until browned. Add in carrots, celery, onions and garlic; season withh salt and pepper. Cook 7-8 minutes more.
In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire, hot sauce, tomato sauce and chicken stock. Pour into the pan and stir to combine all the ingredients. Simmer for a few minutes until the mixture thickens up.

Pile filling on the prepared buns and top with blue cheese.*


*We used Kraft blue cheese dressing (it's nice and thick) instead of crumbles.