Sloppy Moussakaas

I am somewhat of a sandwich addict.  They are just so easy, and usually so delicious, that I have a hard time not putting several sandwiches on my menu plan every week.  I get Rachel Ray's magazine and usually her sandwiches and burgers sound so delicious that I save the magazines until I try them all.  When I saw this recipe for a spin-off on Sloppy joes, I knew I had to make it.

Sloppy Moussakaas
slightly adapted from Everyday with Rachel Ray
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound ground lamb or beef

Salt and pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 small jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons tomato sauce

1 - 1 1/2 cups chicken or beef stock

2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 tablespoons flour

1 cup milk

Freshly grated nutmeg

A small handful feta cheese

4 ciabatta or other rolls, split and toasted

 

Directions

1) In a large skillet, heat the olive oil, over medium-high heat. Add the lamb (or beef) and cook, crumbling the meat, until well browned, about 5 minutes.
2) Season with salt, pepper and the cinnamon. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, jalapeno and oregano and cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the tomato sauce and cook for a minute. Stir in the stock and simmer over low heat until thickened slightly, about 15 minutes.

3)   In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk and cook until thickened slightly; season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remove the sauce from the heat and whisk in the cheese.

4) To serve, spoon the meat mixture onto the rolls. Top with the sauce.

I thought these were great.  The sauce was a little grainy, but the flavor was still good.  Jacob loved the saltiness of the feta on the sandwiches while I loved the cinnamon flavor in the meat.  I think these were a great spin-off on regular sloppy joes.  Even though they aren't really Greek, they were really great and came together really fast.  For some reason these make me want to curl up with My Big Fat Greek Wedding and a bag of popcorn.