...sloppy joes...

So I'm going from fancy food to not so fancy food, but can you blame me?  They're Sloppy Joes and I love them.  Truth be told I hadn't had one since the high school sloppy joe fundraiser dinner held in the cafeteria, but still- it was like pot roast memories revisited, only better.  I felt like I should be walking over to the stadium, standing in the usual spot to watch the football game, or maybe helping serve the nacho cheese because I was on student council and that's what we did.  

Oh wait, you're not from the Midwest and have a connection with Sloppy Joes?!  Let's start your love affair now...

I wasn't thinking I'd be making these until I realized with ground beef in the fridge and not wanting burgers, I should do something different.  I looked up PW's recipe and sure enough, all the ingredients were in the fridge- a sign that things are meant to be in my kitchen.

Recipe thanks to and loosely adapted from the Pioneer Woman

Ingredients You'll Need:

• 1 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 pound Ground Beef
• ½ whole Large Onion, Diced
• 1/2 Green Bell Pepper, Diced
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 3/4 cup Ketchup 
• 1/2 cup Water
• 1 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoons Chili Powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon Dry Mustard
• 1/4 teaspoons Red Pepper Flakes to your liking
• Worcestershire Sauce, To Taste
• Tabasco Sauce, dash
• Salt and Pepper
• 4 Hamburger Buns

Other things you can add are A1 for a smokier taste.  These are very forgiving so just taste as you go and you'll end up with something you're happy with, I'm sure!

1.  Add butter to a dutch oven over medium high heat. Add ground beef and cook until brown. Drain most of the fat and discard if there's a lot, if there isn't much, don't worry about it.

2.  Add onions, green pepper, and garlic. Cook for a few minutes, or until softened.

3. Add ketchup, brown sugar, chili pepper, dry mustard, and water. Stir to combine and simmer for 15 minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste. Also add Worcestershire, and Tabasco. Taste and adjust seasonings and flavors as needed.

4  Spread rolls with butter and brown on a griddle. Spoon meat mixture over the rolls, topping with some cheese if you'd like.

My husband decided we needed salt and vinegar chips to have with these- a great pairing I highly recommend!