Hi Friends!
It’s finally summertime!

Summer: the flip-flop, slow moving, sparkling, lazy days! How we love summer!

It calls for vacations, cold, cold drinks, light clothing, bare feet and long days of sunshine.

I really love summer!

Our cooking changes in the summer as well as our footwear and clothing. No one wants to have the oven on -- or at least only for very short periods of time. No one wants a crockpot full of hot soup. No one wants heavy, warm meals.

The best summer meals consist of cool, fresh fruits and salads, grilled food and lots of cold beverages.

I love to serve hamburgers or sloppy joes, salad and lots of cold watermelon.

Today I am sharing my favorite sloppy joe slider recipe.

It isn’t grilled but it is a quick heat in the oven. It feeds a family for a minimum amount of effort.

Serve this with some cold watermelon or fruit salad and some salty chips or crunchy veggies and your meal is complete.

HAPPY SUMMER!!!

SLOPPY JOE SLIDERS

Servings: 12 sliders

Ingredients:

• 1 12-count package of Hawaiian rolls
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup water

For Glaze:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Parmesan cheese (powdered)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Without separating the rolls, cut the entire loaf in half horizontally and place the bottom half on a 9X13” baking sheet. Sprinkle with half the cheddar cheese. Set aside.
3. To make the meat mixture, cook the ground beef, garlic and diced onion until the ground beef is cooked through and the onions are softened. Drain off the excess fat.
4. While the ground beef is cooking, stir together the ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, salt and pepper and water.
5. Once you have drained the fat from the cooked ground beef, lower the heat and stir in the ketchup mixture. Let the meat mixture cook until thickened to a sloppy joe consistency, about 5 minutes.
6. Spoon the meat mixture over the bottom halves of the rolls. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
7. To make the glaze, in a microwave-safe bowl melt the butter. Stir in the brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Brush over the sliders making sure each slider gets coated. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
8. Bake uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes or until the sliders are golden brown.

Delish Thursday is a KDXU weekly feature written by local St. George culinary expert Laura Squires. Laura doesn't have a restaurant or bakery, but if you've ever tasted her food, you know that she is one of the best food artists in the world! Laura has been a resident of Southern Utah for  more than 30 years.