Something from nothing is what I should have called this post. I worked late last night, busy on a new project. I am excited about how many things we have in work (I’d love to retire at an very early age). My wife and I usually eat dinner around 7:00 in the evening, since that’s about when she usually gets home. She has a long workday, 7am to 7pm with a 2-hour lunch each weekday. She’s lucky that she, at least, has time to go work out at lunch every day. Okay, back to my story. . . . So, I was leaving work late when my wife, as always, called to let me know she was on her way home. I asked her to pick up something for dinner, whatever she wanted, or, we could go out and she could choose. Then, the typical husband-and-wife conversation ensued. I asked what she wanted, her response, “Food.” What kind of response is that? Of course she wants food, hence the going out to eat. But this is our typical dilemma when we consider going out to eat. I have even tried to get her to pick a cuisine type, and then I would pick the restaurant. Nope, that doesn’t work either. We eventually decided that she would pick up some Tex-Mex from a favorite little restaurant of ours.  After I had my wife pointed in the direction of Mexican food, my business partner and I realized we had done just about all we cared to do for the day. So, we packed up our stuff and headed to the door. Well, now I had to call my wife and tell her I was heading home and I would go ahead and fix something for dinner. She laughed and asked if I was sure, and we agreed we could save a few dollars by just cooking at home. My first thought was hamburgers, but then we had talked Mexican and then a plan in my head had already started to form. Can I make Taco-Style Sloppy Joes? You know how it goes from there, a little of this, a little of that, and, Voila! You have a meal!

Taco-Style Sloppy Joes

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 Pound Ground Beef

1 Small Onion

1 Tomato, chopped

2 Cups Shredded Lettuce (we used Romaine)

1 Cup Shredded Cheese

½ Cup Water

4 Hamburger Buns

Sour Cream

Salsa

The Manly Housewife Taco Seasoning (Enough for 1 pound ground beef)

2  Tablespoons Chili Powder

5 Teaspoons Paprika

2 1/2 Tablespoons Ground Cumin

3  Teaspoons Onion Powder

3 Teaspoons Salt

2 1/2 Tablespoons Garlic Powder

1/8 Teaspoons Cayenne Pepper

Directions

1. Cut the onion in half. With one half the onion dice and cook with beef. The other half cut into thin slices to top your sloppy joes.
2. Cook beef and chopped onion over medium-high heat for 10 minutes until brown and cooked through.
3. Drain and add taco seasoning and water (to make taco seasoning combine all ingredients in a bowl).
4. Cook for 5 minutes on simmer (the water will help make your sloppy joe sauce the right consistency).
5. Add 1 scoop about ¼ cup of taco meat mixture to each bun half.
6. Top with sliced onions, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, sour cream and salsa.
7. There going to be messy but what are sloppy joes if not messy?
8. Enjoy!