Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes are a long-standing family dinner favorite.

I remember my mother opening that can of pre-made Sloppy Joe stuff and

mixing it with ground beef for a quick dinner.

It tastes much better when you make it from scratch with fresh ingredients.

And, it's actually easy and quick to make.

My kids have an Aunt Jo Jo, so we call this recipe:

Sloppy Jo Jos

2 lbs. ground chuck

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1 lg. (29 oz.) can tomato sauce

1/4 cup catsup

2 TBS. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 TBS. red wine vinegar (apple cider and white will work, too,)

Start by browning the ground beef in a large pan. I use my Dutch oven.

While that's browning, chop the veggies.

When ground beef is browned, drain and rinse it to remove excess fat.

Return the meat to the pan and add the chopped veggies.

Cook until veggies are almost done.

While that's cooking, gather the rest of your ingredients.

When the onions are almost clear, remove the pan from the burner...lower the heat to low and

add the remaining ingredients to the meat mixture.

If you leave the pan on the burner, the tomato sauce will immediately start popping and splattering all over your stove and clothing.

 

Once you have added these ingredients, cover the pan and return to the burner to simmer for about ten minutes or until veggies are soft.

My brother-in-law, who just happens to be named JOE used to eat Sloppy Joes as a kid with

cole slaw on top, so that's how we eat it now.

Great with my easy homemade cole slaw recipe.

My family prefers to eat Sloppy Joes on a plate without the bun like this:

But you can eat it the traditional way on a bun..heaped with cole slaw on top of the meat.

This makes a hearty dinner for fall or winter.

Mix up a double batch ahead of time and reheat in your crock pot for a football party!