My Favorite Sloppy Joes

I'm bringing back the Sloppy Joe!

My mom always made Sloppy Joes from scratch, but I also remember the Manwich version from TV commercials. With a recipe this easy, there is NO reason to buy the canned, overly-processed version of this American classic.  I tried a few recipes before I settled on this one. It's just slightly adapted from Rachael Ray's Super Sloppy Joe recipe (btw, the link even includes a 4-minute instructional video!)

It's a big hit in our house, with a side of homemade mac & cheese, or roasted potatoes, and a green bean salad. This comfort food is great for cold winter evenings, or in the summer with a cold potato salad. You could also double or triple the recipe, throw it in a crock-pot, and serve it at a party.

Sloppy Joes

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 1/4 pounds ground sirloin

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp. to 1 Tbsp. steak seasoning, such as McCormick brand Montreal Seasoning

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped

1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 15 oz. can tomato sauce

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

Hamburger buns

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add meat to the pan and break it up with a wooden spoon (Rachael Ray uses a potato masher). Combine brown sugar and steak seasoning in a small bowl. Add mixture to the skillet and combine. When the meat has browned, add the onion and red pepper.

Reduce heat to medium and add red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Cook for 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste to pan, and stir to combine. Reduce heat to simmer and cook mixture 5 minutes longer. 

Notes:

• You could add a little hot sauce for additional kick. 
• Either green or red pepper will work. 
• If you want to eliminate the processed sugar, you could probably use molasses (since that is what makes the brown sugar brown anyway)
• If you want gluten-free, you could go-bunless and put it in a lettuce wrap.
• There is so much flavor in the sauce, switching to ground turkey would be an easy way to reduce fat/calories. 
• I'm not sure how to make this vegetarian...... If you can do it, please let me know!