Sloppy Joes

Let me just say straight up that I've never been a fan of sloppy joes. Mainly because they're sloppy. And the juice from the meat turns the buns into soggy messes. I do not like soggy buns. My husband always has a good laugh over that when I say it. "She doesn't like soggy buns....ha, ha, ha!"

So in all of our married life I've never made sloppy joes. If I didn't like them, why make them? Well, I recently learned that Charles loves sloppy joes. And he wanted some. Oh dear, what's a good wife to do?

Well, she makes sloppy joes and hopes her kids don't like them either! Ha ha! Unfortunately for me, the kids loved them and ate two apiece. Great. I made them from scratch - no Manwich in this house! - and they really turned out well. I learned that if I toast my buns before slathering on the sloppy joe filling, the buns don't get soggy. Not if I eat them quickly.

Here's what you'll need:

1/2 onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, finely diced
1 lb ground beef
1 8oz can tomato sauce
2 TBSP ketchup
1 teas chili powder
1 teas garlic powder
1/2 teas cumin
1/2 teas salt
1/4 teas pepper

In a skillet, cook the ground beef, onions and green pepper. Drain well. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Heat through, then served on toasted buns.


You can use ground turkey in place of the ground beef, but add a little water because ground turkey tends to be drier.