Easy Kid Friendly Meal: Sloppy Joes, Mac and Cheese, Fudgey Cookie Bars

Why not give the kids a treat and make a kid-friendly meal for them? They are sure to love these Kid Friendly Sloppy Joes which are quick and easy to make. Serve with Baked Macaroni and Cheese, always a hit with the kiddos. Set out a dish of raw carrot sticks or baby carrots. For dessert, serve ice cream or our Coco Fudgies.

KID'S FAVORITE SLOPPY JOES

1 lb lean ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 can (8-oz) tomato sauce

1/4 cup catsup

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Sandwich buns (preferably whole-wheat)

In a large skillet, cook ground beef, onion, and bell pepper over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until beef is completely browned. Drain in a colander and rinse with hot water to remove any excess grease. Return to the pan. Stir in tomato sauce, catsup, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, pepper, and garlic powder. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often. Spoon onto hamburger buns.

MACARONI AND CHEESE

2 cups whole wheat macaroni

1 small onion, chopped

2 tbsp butter or margarine and 1 tbsp margarine

1 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp dry mustard

1/8 tsp pepper

2 cups low-fat milk

1/2 lb shredded low-fat processed cheese (such as Velveeta)

3/4 cup fresh whole-grain bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare macaroni as directed on package. Melt margarine in a small skillet and saute onion in margarine until tender. Stir in flour, salt, mustard and pepper; cook 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk, cooking while stirring until smooth. Add approximately 3/4 of the cheese and stir until melted. When macaroni is tender, drain well. Put macaroni into a greased 1 1/2-qt casserole dish. Pour cheese sauce over macaroni, tossing with a fork to coat well. Top with the remaining cheese. In a small saucepan, over low heat, melt 1 tbsp margarine. Stir in bread crumbs and sprinkle over cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

COCO FUDGIES

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup butter or oleo*
2/3 cup evaporated milk
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsps vanilla
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup nuts,chopped
1 lb vanilla wafers or graham crackers, crushed

FROSTING:

2 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsps cocoa
4 tbsps oleo*
1 tsp vanilla
4 to 5 tbsps evaporated milk

In a large saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa, butter and evaporated milk. Cook the mixture over low heat until the butter melts. Increase heat to medium and bring to a boil while stirring. Boil for 2 minutes and remove from the heat and stir in the beaten eggs. Return to heat and stir in the vanilla, coconut, nuts and vanilla wafers or graham crackers. Pour mixture into a well buttered 9x13-inch baking pan. Make frosting by combining all of the frosting ingredients together. Frost immediately. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

*margarine

Yield: 3 lbs.

Enjoy!