MY FAVORITE SLOPPY JOES

MY FAVORITE SLOPPY JOES
1 pound ground chuck
1 small onion, chopped (2 1/2 ounces)
1 clove garlic, minced
8 ounce can tomato sauce
1/4 cup granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda
1/2 teaspoon blackstrap molasses, optional
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum, optional

Brown the ground chuck along with the onion and garlic; drain the fat. Add the remaining ingredients, except the xanthan gum. Cover and simmer 30 minutes. If the sauce is too thin, thicken it with a little xanthan gum. Serve on low carb buns or over chopped lettuce (not included in counts).

Makes about 6 servings
Can be frozen

TIP: An easy way to add the xanthan gum is to stir it into the ground beef after you've drained the grease and before you add the remaining ingredients.

With granular Splenda:
Per Serving: 151 Calories; 8g Fat; 13g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 4g Net Carbs

With liquid Splenda:
Per Serving: 147 Calories; 8g Fat; 13g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 3g Net Carbs

This is my old high carb recipe, but with Splenda and a touch of molasses instead of the brown sugar in the original. The flavor is exactly the same. You could leave out the molasses and the flavor wouldn't change much, but it doesn't affect the carb count per serving anyway. The thickener is optional and the original recipe wasn't thickened, but I'd sometimes add a little cornstarch if it came out too runny. Xanthan gum does the trick perfectly in this low carb version. This is so much better than that Manwich stuff that comes in cans. I served this on Carbquik Cheddar Buns. They weren't quite like a real hamburger bun, but not far off. The sauce from the sloppy joes did seep through the bottom bun a little, but they are "sloppy" joes, after all. With a little coleslaw, this was a very filling and satisfying dinner for around 10 net carbs.

I got a nifty idea from my friend, Nancy. She serves her chili and sloppy joes over chopped lettuce just like you would do with a taco salad. It's actually very good that way, especially if you don't want to use buns.

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