Who doesn’t love sloppy joes! They’re so yummy, and messy, and awesome. My mom used to make them with the Manwich sauce and they were so good. I had some ground beef on hand and thought I’d give it a shot as I’ve wanted to try making them for a while. Another really easy recipe that I will definitely be making again soon. I got some sweet brioche buns which were a nice alternative to the potato buns that I really wanted, but couldn’t seem to find anywhere. Knowing the sauce would likely make the bread soggy, I toasted the buns with a little butter under the broiler so they’d hold the sloppy joes a little better. All in all a successful dinner! I think next time I’ll add some roasted poblano peppers to the mix as well.

Ingredients:
1 lb 85%  lean ground beef
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup barbeque sauce
1 cup water
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet or dutch oven over medium heat. Cook the beef until browned. In the meantime, chop all of the vegetables and set aside. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the ketchup, BBQ sauce, water, tomato paste, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar. When the beef is browned, add the garlic and cook for a minute or so, then add the onion and pepper mixture. I did not drain the liquid from the beef because I bought lean meat so there wasn’t much to drain. If you have fattier beef and there’s a lot of liquid, drain most of it out and just leave a little. Once the onions and peppers have cooked down for 5 minutes or so, add the wet ingredients and mix well, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan. Salt and pepper to taste, then cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to cook for another 15 minutes to allow it to thicken a little. Lastly, butter each side of the bun and toss under the broiler for a minute or so until toasted. Plate and spoon sloppy joe mixture onto your bun! Enjoy with lots of napkins.