Sloppy Joe recipe that doubles as a juicy Taco Salad Recipe (no extra sauce required)

My husband really likes Sloppy Joe's and we had some leftover hamburger buns, so I used a recipe I found on Pinterest, and tweaked it just a bit (recipe included below).  I am not a fan of Sloppy Joe's and surprisingly neither are my two girls.  So, here I had a dilemma.  2 lbs of Sloppy Joe meat mix and not enough mouths to eat it!  Of course I would never throw away perfectly good food, but I was not looking forward to eating it either.  I don't know why, but I just don't like Sloppy Joe's!  It's not the flavor, just the sloppy meat in a hamburger bun part.

Well, I had all the fixings to make taco salad, so I tried it and it was delicious!  A lot of taco salads I've had before are dry or not seasoned enough, or you have to put an extra sauce on the top,but this recipe doesn't need any extra sauce and even includes melty cheese!  Yum!

So, here you have two recipes: One for Sloppy Joe Mix, and one for the leftovers - Taco Salad! Or one recipe that can make everyone happy, especially if you have one Sloppy Joe lover and the rest Taco Salad lovers. 

Again I apologize for not having the exact measurements since I just eyeball it.  Please use your own discretion and always taste, taste, taste your food.  It should tell you what you need more of.

Sloppy Joe's Recipe
2 lbs ground beef (Salt n Pepper to Taste)
1/2 onion chopped
1 bell pepper chopped
1 1/2 cup ketchup
1 and 1/2 Tbsp or so of worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp or so of sugar
 Shredded Cheese, mixed cheddar and mozzarella or cheddar alone or mozzarella alone

1.  Brown ground beef in oil, season with salt and pepper to taste, add chopped onions. (Drain some, keep some juices for the sauce, depending on how much liquid in pan)
2.  Add bellpepper, ketchup, worcestershire sauce and sugar and stir til well combined.
3.  Let simmer for 10 minutes or so
4. Layer meat mix onto hamburger buns
5.  Top with cheese, put top bun on, serve with crunchy carrots or celery.
*Add hot sauce or (haven't tried this yet), but ranch dressing??? Lemme know how it is.


Taco Salad (Layer in order for best results)
Tortilla Chips
Chopped Lettuce
Meat mix with melty cheese on top (can heat up meat, topped with cheese in microwave for leftovers)
Chopped Tomatoes

So simple, but oh so yum!  I like to mix mine all together and chow down. 

Baked Salmon in a Herb-Butter Sauce

I was tired of cooking salmon the same old ways I always did, so I decided to go out on a limb and try something that I'd never done or even tasted before and really lucked out!   I
chopped up a bunch of herbs I have in my garden, sprinkled the salmon with some sea salt (Hawaiian Salt), melted some butter and poured it over top the salmon.  It was delish!!!  I actually crave it and it's my new favorite way to eat salmon. Stab salmon with a fork to enhance flavors.   Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 min.  (Check salmon to see if it flakes nicely) I usually lay some foil down inside the pan and cup it around the salmon so that the salmon is submerged in the butter sauce. *I'm sure you could cook it on the grill in the foil also, or foil pan or both for added protection from getting your hands all buttery. 

Finely Chopped Herbs:
1 small sprig of thyme
1 4 inch sprig of oregano
1 sprig of rosemary
Some parsley (to taste)
2 leaves of sage
2-3 cloves of garlic (or more according to your taste)

Other Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter
Hawaiian Sea Salt 

 *I used sea salt because I was using unsalted butter and I actually preferred it to using regular butter, so that is how I will be cooking it from now on.  I really think the sea salt is key to the awesome flavor without actually tasting the salt.  *Just a sprinkle top and bottom of the fish so it's not too salty

Boneless/Skinless Salmon (I buy the pre-packaged ones from Costco)
*I used 4 fillets for this amount of herbs, they are about 4 oz each