I remember way back in the day when Mama would serve Sloppy Joes and snag major brownie points with our family. My sisters and I thought it was a special treat. I still think the sweet and savory flavors of Sloppy Joes are all that, but these days I make my own sauce instead of reaching for Manwich. (No offense, Manwhich! LOL!)

Earlier in the week I browned several pounds of ground beef. This is one of my favorite kitchen tips. Whether you’re baking chicken, browning beef, or prepping any other kind of meat or base, always prepare more than you need for a single meal if at all possible. You can utilize that meat in other dishes during the week, or freeze the leftovers and be one step ahead in the days to come. Now, back to the our regular programming.

My Sloppy Joe recipe delivers just the right mix of sweet and savory (in my humble opinion). You may want to go heavier on the hot sauce, or lighter on the ketchup and brown sugar, whatever works for you! Here are the ingredients. I’ll meet you below with the oh, so, simple instructions.

“Shut the Front Door Sloppy Joes”

Tbsp. each of butter and olive oil
1 lb. cooked and drained ground beef
Chopped red and yellow peppers (to taste!)
2-4 cloves minced garlic, ( I do heavier on the garlic!)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup water
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp yellow mustard
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Salt and Black pepper
Hot sauce

Sauté your chopped peppers in the olive oil and butter. Add your drained brown beef and all the other ingredients. Stir and cook over a medium heat 20-30 minutes or until you can finish whatever you’re doing and get back to it. It’ll keep. Now, one thing you really, really, really want to do is to toast your buns in a hot skillet with a tad of olive oil. The crunchy buns will be a huge payoff and they’ll “stand up” to the sloppiness of your Joe! We also like to top these with cole slaw, but again, that’s up to you. Just eat ’em. And thank me later!