Homemade Sloppy Joes
With the Superbowl coming up this weekend I thought I’d add another recipe for your table. I recently did a recipe for Mozzarella Sticks wrapped in puff pastry and another for Pizza Dip. Now let’s talk a main dish: Sloppy Joes. These are from scratch, but oh SO easy! You will make this recipe over and over again.
The Inspiration
When creating this recipe, I looked for a recipe I could trust and tweaked it. I found one that sounded like what I was looking for on the Pioneer Woman site. So I want to credit her for the inspiration.
Prior Notes:
This recipe had a number of ingredients, but most are staples. Nothing was hard. I have
I choose organic for the health benefits. Organic 100% grass-fed ground beef has a great deal of Omega 3’s in it. It’s the proper ratio of Omega 3’s to Omega 6’s. I’m told too much Omega 6 raises inflammation in your body. Organic ketchup tastes SO good. I recommend either the Aldi or the Full Circle brands. Some of the organic brands use apple cider vinegar. That’s going to change the taste and it just won’t taste like sloppy joes. Trust me.
I recommend carefully reading through a recipe before starting. If I re-write a recipe I always break the ingredients in sections, based on when they are added. In some recipes adding something at the wrong time could be disastrous. I once added 3/4 cup of oil to a batter because it was listed with the batter ingredients and never really said in the recipe that the oil was for frying the product. It said to mix the liquid ingredients into the dry, which I did.
Prep your vegetables first. Even though you’d probably have enough time while the meat browns, onions and garlic should rest 5-10 minutes after cutting to promote their healthy properties*. Then while the meat browns you will have plenty of time to measure out the next set of ingredients.
This is How I made it
I prepped the vegetables and set them aside.
Now start to brown your meat. I used Organic grass-fed ground beef from Aldi’s. Organic, 100% grass-fed beef is high in Omega 3’s, unlike grain-fed beef.
I browned the beef in a little butter. The butter adds flavor. We’ll be removing most the fat, so go ahead and add it now for the flavor.
While that is browning, we have enough time to measure the other ingredients. I notice that I don’t have any ground mustard powder, so I quickly grind some with a mortar and pestle. You could also use a coffee grinder that you have set aside for grinding dried herbs and spices.
I measured the rest of the ingredients. Since I used one of those dial-to-measure cups, I just dialed it down and put the rest of the ingredients on top, like this:
Now the meat is nearly done and I can remove most the fat. Leave about 2 tablespoons to saute the vegetables. Although you can use a spoon, I find that a turkey baster is faster and easier. By the time I finish taking out the fat, all the meat will be just browned.
Now add the vegetables that you chopped earlier.
Continue to sauté the vegetables until the onions are translucent, but not browned. About 5 minutes. They will look like this when done:
Notice that the green peppers are still green, but have lost their brightness. Most the onions have turned translucent. Now add the ketchup and spice mixture. Measure one cup water to rinse your measuring cup and add to the pan.
Stir well.
Bring to a boil, then turn your burner to simmer. Stir occasionally.
Simmer about 15 – 20 minutes, until the water has all evaporated. Don’t rush it by leaving the burner on high. Not only will the sugar burn, but you are infusing the flavor into the beef. It will look like this:
Normally I don’t buy or eat regular hamburger buns from the store. But Sloppy Joes just aren’t the same without them, in my opinion. They are moister and much sweeter than a whole wheat or Kaiser roll. It changes the taste completely. To compensate, I filled the rest of the plate with broccoli.
The verdict: This tastes as good – or
Printable Recipe:
- 2 pounds Ground beef, Organic, 100% grass-fed preferred
- 2 TB Butter
- 1/2 large onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced, ORganic preferred due to pesicides
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-1/4 cups ketchup Organic, preferred
- 2 TB brown sugar
- 2 tsp Chili powder blend
- 1 tsp dry mustard powder
- 1/2 tsp Red pepper flakes, optional
- 1 or 2 TB tomato paste (freeze remainder in 1 TB dollops
- 1-1/2 tsp salt, sea salt preferred
- 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- add’l salt and black pepper, to taste
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Dice the onion, about 1/4 inch dice.
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Dice the bell pepper, about 1/4 inch dice.
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Mince the garlic, add to the diced onion and bell pepper.
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Set aside.
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In a large frying pan, melt the butter and add the ground beef. Saute just until cooked through.
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Remove all but 2 TB of the fat. You will need some of the fat to saute the vegetables.
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Add the onion mixture. Stir and saute until the onions are translucent and the green peppers are softened. They will just be losing their bright green color, about 5 minutes.
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Measure the next 7 ingredients. Set aside.
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Add the ketchup, spices and 1 cup water. I measured the water in the same measuring cup to rinse out the excess ketchup. Stir well.
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Bring to a boil, then turn the burner down to just above a simmer.
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Simmer about 15 minutes, stirring regularly until most the liquid has evaporated. Watch that the sugar in the sauce does not burn.
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Taste. Adjust flavors – add any salt and pepper needed.
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When all the liquid has evaporated, it is ready.
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Serve on the buns or rolls of your choice.
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Garnish with cheese or avocado, if desired.
* From The World’s Healthiest Foods, George Mateljan
