From My Kitchen: Super Sloppy Joes

This recipe originally came from Rachael Ray. I've made a few changes to suit our tastes -- most notably eliminating one small chopped red bell pepper for the WBH, who does NOT like peppers.

While this is a 30-minute meal, I found that simmering the sloppy joes a little longer helps them set up a bit and not be so "sloppy."

I often double or triple this recipe so I have some to put in the freezer. I freeze the sloppy joes in my muffin tin then pop them out and put them in a Ziploc freezer bag so it's easy to grab just the right amount to make as many as we want. It also makes it easy for Jeff to grab one to put in his lunch bag, too.

Here's the recipe:

Super Sloppy Joes

1 1/4 pounds ground beef, 80% lean

1/4 C. brown sugar

1-2 tablespoons McCormick's Montreal steak seasoning blend

1 medium onion, chopped

(optional, 1 small red bell pepper, chopped)

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 C. tomato sauce

2 tablespoons tomato paste

Brown the ground beef. Drain. Return to the pan with brown sugar and steak seasoning. Add onion and red peppers, if using, to the pan. Reduce heat to medium and cook onions, peppers, red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce with meat for 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste to pan. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to simmer and cook sloppy joe mixture at least 5 minutes or until it's as sloppy or unsloppy as you like it. I usually simmer mine for 10-15 minutes.  

Serve on buttered, toasted buns with your favorite toppings.

Perfect for the coming cool fall weather and for tailgating.

Enjoy!

© Trippin' Mama 2010