Sloppy Joe's without the can!

This recipe for Sloppy Joe’s has gotten the stamp of approval from my picky eaters and it’s so easy you will never go back to the canned stuff. What’s great about making your own Sloppy Joe’s is that you control the sodium and spices so you can customize it for your own picky eaters. Another healthful benefit to making your own is that there will be no high fructose corn syrup or other nasty ingredients. Did you know that for just a few cents more you can buy organic ketchup and it does not have corn syrup in it?


Here’s what you will need….

2 pounds of lean ground beef, organic preferably               

1 can organic tomato sauce

1/3 cup organic ketchup

1 onion chopped

3 cloves of garlic finely minced

2 tsp dry mustard

3 T Worcestershire sauce

2 T brown sugar

1T apple cider vinegar

Salt and Pepper to taste

Sauté beef in large sauté pan on medium heat and drain any fat if necessary. Add onions and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce, ketchup, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, and salt and pepper. Taste and correct seasoning if desired. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until sauce is nice and thick. You can adjust to your taste by adding less brown sugar, more vinegar or Worcestershire or dry mustard. Some other alternatives to try would be to add chopped bell pepper or some barbeque sauce depending on what your family enjoys. This recipe will make eight nice sandwiches easily and add a few sides like some homemade oven fries with regular or sweet potatoes or fresh veggies and you have a quick home cooked meal that cost less than a fast food meal and a lot better for you!

For oven fries just thinly slice some potatoes and place in a Ziploc bag and drizzle in some extra virgin olive oil and top with salt and pepper and toss in bag until evenly coated. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake in preheated 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Turn fries over about half way to get them evenly crispy on both sides.