Kid Cook Saturdays: Week #3

We had a couple of things come up the past 3 Saturdays, so there were no new recipes for Kid Cook Saturdays. And technically, this is Kid Cook Sundays. We had every intention of making this meal on Saturday, but we went out to lunch with my parents and were so full, we ended up skipping dinner altogether.

But we're back on track now!

February 13 - 18th my son was off from school between the weather, the weekend, President's day, and the weather once again. And during that time my son saw a Pillsbury commercial to make "unsloppy joes." I knew we had this week's selection for Kid Cook Saturdays.

We followed the recipe exactly. It calls for a can of sloppy joe sauce, which is not how I usually make sloppy joes. I typically follow The Pioneer Woman's recipe. Using the can of sauce certainly made the preparation easier, especially for my son. But it left a lot to be desired in the flavor department.

As for making the pockets themselves, my son did this with a little help from me. He had so much fun, and was so proud of his work! It was easy enough for him to do that he could feel accomplishment instead of frustration.

We had a little mixture left over, maybe 2/3 cup. I was serving fries with this, so I went ahead and served the leftover sloppy joe over the fries with shredded cheddar and spicy brown mustard. Yum!

The Verdict: We will definitely making this again, and they are worth trying. If you have kids, they are fun to eat and I'm sure they'll be devoured. If you have a budding chef like I do, you have a few options. The rolling out, filling, and folding of the biscuits is the perfect job for younger chefs. For older chefs, they can make the sloppy joes as well. How you make them is all up to you, based on time available and taste preferences. If a young chef is making them, you might want to stick with the can of sauce. Or if that's how you normally make sloppy joes and what your family enjoys, well, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

But as for my family table, I'll be sticking with The Pioneer Woman's recipe. If you want to go this route as well, you have two options: Make the full recipe. You can make the pockets one day with one half, and the sandwiches one day with the other half. You can make the pockets with one half, and freeze the other half for a later date. You could have the recipe altogether. Or you could make the full recipe and just double the amount of pockets if you're feeding a crowd, or ravenous teenagers.

Unsloppy Joe Pockets

Recipe from Pillsbury
Makes 8 pockets

Ingredients:

• Your favorite sloppy joe recipe, made with 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 (16.3 oz) can Pillsbury Grands biscuits
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Make your favorite sloppy joe recipe with 1 lb. ground beef
2. Preheat oven to 375.
3. Lightly coat baking sheet with cooking spray.
4. Roll each biscuit into 6-inch round. Spoon 1/3 cup meat mixture and about 1 tablespoon cheese onto center of each round. Fold dough in half over filling; press to seal.
5. Bake for 9 - 14 minutes, until golden brown.