Sloppy Joes, Slop, Sloppy Joes

I've decided to start posting recipes and sometimes pictures of what I cook. So first up is Sloppy Joes!

Here is a link to the recipe from www.allrecipes.com. I actually follow this recipe pretty accurately. When I cook, I have a tendency to embellish the recipes with my own touches but not this one!

Ingredients:
2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
8 hamburger buns

Directions:
1. Place ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until evenly browned, stirring to crumble. I like to use a potato masher to even out the lumps. Add onion and celery, cover the pan, and cook until tender and transparent, about 5 minutes. Drain off any grease.

So much for following the recipe! I actually like to cook down the celery and onions a little before I add the ground beef. The less crunchy they are for my family, the better.

I used 80/20 ground beef but you can use whatever you want.

Here is a little trick for those without a garbage disposal or who don't want to dirty another dish to drain the grease off. I like to mix the tomato soup/ketchup mixture in a seperate bowl so that I can control the sweetness of the sauce. What is really nice about this is that you can drain your grease straight into the soup can and then throw it in the trash can once it is cooled!

2. Stir the tomato soup (undiluted), ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce into the beef mixture. Season with salt and garlic powder. Heat to a simmer over low heat, and cook until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently to prevent it from burning on the bottom.

Pour it in!

Up close and personal...

Yum!
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3. Spoon the hot beef mixture onto buns, which may be toasted first, and serve

I don't have time to toast the buns. We had the Sloppy Joes with corn and plain chips. Then we had them again the next night as leftovers because the kids had ate at my parents house.

This recipe freezes very well. So why not double the recipe and freeze some for another meal? I didn't but have frozen leftovers in the past. There is not much better at the end of a long day than just having to throw supper in the microwave to heat up!

Enjoy!