Sloppy Joe Bake (or Pizza as Christopher calls it)

One of Christopher's favorite dishes is sloppy joes. I on the other hand do not really prefer it. But happy husband, happy...I guess it doesn't really work like that, but I wanted to make him happy! So I thought I would combine his favorite - the sloppy joe and mine - gobs of cheese and created this. It turned out pretty well, so I thought I would share the recipe.

Sloppy Joe Bake or Pizza
1 ball of dough (store bought or handmade - I handmade mine because I LOVE a homemade dough)
1 lb of ground beef or turkey (I used turkey, but beef is more traditional)
1 can of sloppy joe sauce (I slacked here)
8 oz mixture of shredded cheddar and mozzarella

If you are making the dough, make your dough and let it rise. If you went the store bought option, take the dough out and let is rise for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Oil a 10 or 12 inch cast iron or oven proof skillet and set aside.

Start the sloppy part - brown the ground meat until it is cooked through. Make sure to break up the meat as finely as you can. Drain the meat. Add the can of the sloppy joe sauce or put together your own and add it to the drained, cooked ground meat, stirring it into the meat. Cook for about 10-12 minutes on low, until the sauce is well combined and has thickened a bit.

While the sauced meat is cooking, roll out the dough to the size of your skillet or pan. I made a thicker crust using the whole dough, but if you prefer a thinner crust, cut the dough in half. Form the dough in the skillet and bake in the oven for about 5-7 minutes. After the 5-7 minutes, turn off the oven and turn the oven to broil.

Spread the sloppy joe mixture on top of the pre-cooked dough then cover with the cheese mixture. Place the skillet back in the oven under the broiler until the cheese is golden and bubbly. Remove and let sit for 5 minutes for easier cutting and serve up!

Easy Basic Dough Recipe (this is what I used above)
1 package active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 cup very warm water
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tbsp olive oil

In a stand mixer bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water. Let stand until the mixture starts to froth, about 10-12 minutes. Slowly add the salt and flour on a slow to medium speed with the dough hook attachment of your stand mixer. Kneed using the mixer, until a dough ball has formed. Drizzle the olive oil over the dough, turning the dough so the oil coats the entire dough. Let rise in a warm place for at least 30 minutes. Use as a pizza dough, garlic bread dough - the possibilities are endless.