I remember as a child being served sloppy joes that were a combination of ground beef and a can of manwich. I was never a big fan.
My husband ate sloppy joes a lot as a child as well, but his mother would generally make them from scratch.
Throughout our marriage I have tested several different sloppy Joe recipes. Each with their own benefits and negatives. All the recipes call for some kind of diced tomato and tomato paste.
That’s where this recipe differs. There are no tomatoes, or paste - just the chili sauce.
The chili sauce provides the tomato flavor as well as a nice bit of spice. Don’t worry, it isn’t too spicy, but just spicy enough.
The onion, celery, pepper and mushrooms give the dish a nice hearty vegetable feel. They are soft enough to not still be crunchy.
The best part was toasting the buns before serving the meat mixture on them. Generally sloppy joes fall apart and make a huge mess.
The toasted buns held up better to the filling. I found the sandwiches to hold up better. Yes, the filling still fell out, but the bread didn’t fall apart!
SLOPPY JOES
2 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 Cup Minced Onion
1/2 Cup Chopped Celery
1/2 Cup Chopped Bell Pepper
1 1/2 Pounds Ground Beef
1/2 Cup Chopped Mushrooms
4 Tablespoons Chili Sauce
1/2 Cup Water
Salt and Pepper To Taste
8 Toasted Sandwich Buns
Melt butter in skillet. Add onion, celery, and bell pepper and sauté. Add ground beef and cook until meat it lightly browned. Add mushrooms, chili sauce, water and adjust seasonings. Simmer uncovered over low heat for 15 minutes. Spoon onto buns and serve.
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