Sloppy Joe “Mini Loaves”; Perfect For Freezer Cooking!

I have been trying to get better at making meals ahead of time so that when the baby (or I!) are having a huge meltdown, or the house is a mess, or hubby and I worked late, we aren’t resorting to fast food. Here is a quick and easy one that you can make ahead of time and freeze for later, or just ear immediately. If you are freezing, I would recommend freezing on a cookie sheet until frozen, and then placing in a freezer bag. Reheat in the microwave for about 2 minutes from frozen. Also, I used a can of sloppy joe sauce that we have been trying to use up for a LONG time, and I used double the meat. If you want to use sloppy joe sauce, I would recommend doubling the meat and freezing for the next batch. Here’s how you can make Sloppy Joe “mini-loaves” (although you could make this in a muffin tin with some modifications, I like the mini loaves since you can get more into each one!).

Sloppy Joe Mini Loaves

1 lb ground beef

1 diced onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

8oz can tomato sauce (a 15oz can of Sloppy Joe sauce would be GREAT here, but double the rest of the recipe so that your beef mixture won’t be too…well…sloppy for the tins)

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

salt & pepper to taste

1 can of refrigerated biscuits (I LOVE the new corn muffin variety!)

Shredded cheddar cheese for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 375. Cook the ground beef in a skillet and drain. Add onions and garlic, and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes.
2. Add tomato sauce (or Sloppy Joe sauce) and Worcestershire sauce, and season with salt & pepper. Let simmer for a couple of minutes to blend and thicken. If it is to saucy, let it bubble for a couple more minutes to help evaporate off some of the liquid.
3. Spray your mini-loaf pan to ensure nothing sticks. Flatten each biscuit so it is only about 1/4″ thick, and mold into the bottom of the loaf pan. It will stick up a bit on the sides. Add about 1/3 cup beef mixture. It should all fit, but when it cooks it will puff up due to the biscuit, so be as even as possible in your distribution.
4. Bake for 18 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden brown. Top with shredded cheese, and let sit or pop back in for another minute to melt. If you are eating now, these are ready to serve. If you are freezing, place these on a cookie sheet and freeze. After frozen, transfer to a freezer bag. They will last a couple of months, and are easy to reheat in the microwave!

You can grab one of these mini loaf pans on Amazon right now for about $10 HERE.