As a young bride, I was a pretty crummy cook.

My repertoire:

Grilled cheese sandwiches

Scrambled eggs

Toast

Salad with bottled dressing and store bought croutons

Kraft Mac and Cheese

Hamburger Helper (with supervision)

I can honestly say that Ralph must really love me, because another man would have assumed that I was trying to poison him and had me jailed. I couldn’t even make boxed spaghetti without huge clumps of pasta stuck together like Rapunzel’s golden braid. It’s pretty bad when a steak knife is required for Italian food.

Things changed one afternoon in the 1980’s when I tuned into “Tammy Faye’s House Party.” The wife of former PTL evangelist Jim Bakker had an hour long broadcast that featured music, homey interviews and a cooking segment.

It was Tammy Faye’s show that finally convinced me that I might be able to cook a real meal or two without someone visiting the ER.

The first thing I made was a roasted whole chicken, which was astonishingly simple.  Stick veggies into the small cavity. Whatever you have on hand. Onions, peppers, carrots. They will flavor the meat from inside. Shake some salt and pepper on the outside, and bake it at 350F for about 1.5 hours or so. Of course it was too soon to trust me with baked potatoes, so we ate instant spuds. But it was a step up toward real cuisine in our home. 

However, the most enduring and inspiring of her recipes was “Tammy Faye Bakker Sloppy Joes.” (That wasn’t really the name, but that’s what I call them.) I make it often because it’s fast and easy. AND my family loves it.

So today is your lucky day, as I shall share the recipe with you. I must warn you that my first thought as Tammy Faye assembled this meal was that she had gone over the edge. But I assure you that it’s delicious.

Here it is:

1 lb ground round or sirloin (ground turkey works well too)

1 small onion

1-2 cans of Campbell’s Chicken Gumbo Soup (no this isn’t a mis-print)

Catsup

Mustard

Hamburger Buns

Extra napkins (trust me, you’ll need them)

Brown meat and onions. Drain off excess fat.

Add one can of Chicken Gumbo soup. If you have more than one lb of meat, add a bit more soup. You don’t have to add the entire 2^nd can. If you have less than 1 lb of meat, one can of soup should be enough. However I like to add a little more soup in either case.

This next step will give gourmet cooks the heebie jeebies, but it’s the only way to explain it.

Mustard and Catsup: Squirt some in. Then taste the meat. If it’s too much mustard, add more catsup until you think it tastes yummy.

Simmer the mixture covered for about 20 minutes to allow the ingredients to mingle.

Serve on buns.

Prepare to be heralded as the world’s best cook.