Sloppy Joes

Growing up, sloppy joes always meant browning some ground meat and opening up a can of sauce. Easy, fast meal.

And while I liked the meal just fine, I never quite saw what the big deal was.

And then I decided to try to make the same meal, minus the can.

Oh. My. Gosh. 

So worth the big deal. Same browned meat, same quick and easy, so much more flavor. So much more yum. 

I usually just wing it, as far as the "recipe" is concerned, but I (loosely) based the version I made today on this version from Ree over at The Pioneer Woman. Because that's always a good place to start!

The longest part of the process was chopping the veggies, but as it was just onion, pepper and garlic, that didn't even take that long.

Once the meat was browned and the chopped veggies added, it's time to create the sauce. Ketchup and spices. That's it.

Okay, add some water, too, to thin it out, and some Worcestershire sauce, too, to kick the flavor up a notch.

Then simmer until it's time to eat.

Serve on buns (baked fresh this afternoon!) and you are done!

The best part? Both kids ate it right up - score!

Sloppy Joes

(based on The Pioneer Woman)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound ground meat

2 small onions, diced

1 bell pepper (I used yellow, you could use green or whatever you like), diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

3/4 cup ketchup

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon chili powder (more or less to taste)

Worcestershire sauce (to taste - I used a few shakes of the bottle...)

Add olive to a large skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef and cook until brown. Drain as much of the fat as you can.

Add onions, pepper, and garlic. Cook for a few minutes, until vegetables begin to soften.

Add the ketchup, brown sugar, chili pepper, dry mustard, water and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for at least 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Serve on kaiser rolls.

Enjoy!