Vegan Sloppy Joes

OK, so my kids are HUGE fans of my sloppy joes. A Rachel Ray recipe from Cooking with Kids. Anyway, it is a definite on my monthly meal menus. Since adopting a vegan or no meat/dairy diet I struggled at first with these kinds of family favorites. Well here is my No Meat Sloppy Joes. My kids tore it up, just have to finely dice up those onions and peppers in my house.

1/2 lb firm tofu diced (for J until she adjusted tofu was called "diced chicken")
1/4 c diced mushroom

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon steak seasoning blend (McCormick Montreal Seasoning)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tbls (2 cloves) diced garlic
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon vegan worcestershire sauce (Martha Stuart has a homemade recipe)
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil then add onion, garlic, and red peppers (or whatever color you have on hand) to the skillet. When soft add tofu, mushrooms and the sugar and spice mixture to the skillet and combine to the pan. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste to pan. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to simmer and cook Sloppy Joe mixture 5 minutes longer. Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, pile sloppy meat onto toasted, buttered bun bottoms and cover with bun tops. Avoiding bread add it to a grilled beefstake tomato thickly sliced or large sliced zucchini. Serve with your favorite sides.