Sloppy Joes
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef (we use 93% lean, but anything 80% or better should be fine)
1 medium green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
2 small celery stalks, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained (we used no salt added)
1 15 oz. can of tomato sauce (we used no salt added)
½ c. ketchup
½ c. water
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon dry mustard
2 tablespoons cornstarch (flour would probably also work but I haven’t tried it)
Sprinkle of red pepper flakes (adjust to taste)
Healthy splash of Worcestershire
Salt to taste
½ tsp. ground black pepper
8 hamburger buns or crusty Kaiser rolls (we prefer Martin’s potato rolls)
Directions:
Finely chop the bell pepper, onion, celery and
carrots. Combine in a bowl and set
aside. My husband objected to the size of
the carrots – you may want to use a food processor if you have picky vegetable
eaters. The ratio of vegetables to meat
is approximately 1:1. The flavor is
delicious, but to the extent you want a more traditional sloppy joe, reduce the
amount of vegetables by half.
Peel, smash and mince the garlic; set aside.
Brown the ground beef in a large high-sided
skillet over medium-high heat (I used a 4 quart braiser). A dutch oven would also work (and may help
contain the splatter). If using beef
with a higher fat content, drain the fat.
Once the ground beef is brown and crumbled, add
in the bell pepper, onion, celery and carrots.
Add the drained can of diced tomatoes.
Stir to mix, and cook approximately 5 minutes.
Add the can of tomato sauce, ketchup, water and
garlic, stirring until combined and an even consistency has been reached.
Add brown sugar, chili powder, dry mustard, red
pepper flakes, Worcestershire, cornstarch, pepper and salt to taste. Stir to combine, and simmer over medium heat uncovered
until thickened, about 30 minutes.
If you’re feeling patient, you can coat the
inside of the hamburger buns with a little butter and brown on a griddle or in
a skillet, but I was too hungry to try that.
Place approximately ¾ c. of meat mixture on each
sandwich roll and serve (with lots of napkins). We served with
a green salad, roasted potatoes and coleslaw for dinner.
