I can’t even think about this yummy sandwich without that Adam Sandler song popping into my head. I’ve literally been walking around with “Schloppy joes… schlop, schloppy joes” stuck in there since last weekend when I first put these ingredients on my shopping list! But that’s okay- nothing can get me down this week because my foot is getting better! That’s right, I’m out of my walking boot and almost read to do this:

Even standing still I look totally badass on that thing, right? It’s not all me though, the fact that the board and bindings (and boots and gloves and goggles) have pink on them helps. (10 pts to anyone who can guess my favorite color!)

I hadn’t made these in a while, but Bianca over at Vegan Crunk blogged about some last month and it reminded me. I don’t have the recipe she used so I stuck with mine, but she mentioned pickles and that intrigued me, so I added some of those little babies in- and they were awesome! They add a little crunch and a little zing which is just what my sandwich needed. I took a jar of regular dill chips and poured out a whole bunch of the juice (about 1/4), and filled it back up with Sriracha and then just let them sit in the fridge until I needed them. Then I chopped a few up and sprinkled on my sammy. Perfection! The idea came from a jar of Rick’s Picks that I had ordered for Jason last summer, which turned out to be not-at-all vegan, unfortunately. (Side note: WhyTF do pickles need anchovy guts in them??)  I served them up with  side of Alexia fries because I’m totally addicted, and then proceeded to stuff my face!

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Vegan Sloppy Joes (4-5  Sloppy Sandwiches)

ETA: I went with just one T of chili powder, and mixed extra into my husband’s portion… A lot of people like the heat, but I’d recommend starting with 1 T, tasting, then add more

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, chopped fairly small (but not diced)
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped about the same as the onion
• 1 medium tomato, chopped WITH all the juice
• 1 15oz can of refried beans
• About 1/2 a can of kidney beans
• 2 T Bragg’s liquid aminos
• 1/3 cup quick oats
• 1/4 cup water (plus a few more tablespoons)
• 2 T spicy brown mustard
• 1-2 T chili powder, depending on taste
• 1 t paprika
• 10-12 pickles (see above for my spicy idea), diced

Directions:

1. Saute onions and peppers in water until soft, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low.
2. Add everything else into the same pan, and cover, stirring occasionally until heated through. You may want to add a few more tablespoons of water to get the right consistency. Using a rubber spatula, make sure and scrape the sides of the pan every time you stir, or else the edges will get dried out.
3. Serve on buns and top with some spicy pickles, and maybe a dab more spicy mustard!

Enjoy!