Neat Annie's Sloppy Joe

The Sloppy Joe Challenge continues: here we have Annie's submission. She uses organic ingredients where possible. Anyone else (except Jimmy) want to jump in?

2 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
Red peppers, green peppers, yellow peppers, orange peppers (or any variety thereof), seeded and chopped - I am my mother's daughter - cook more by sight than by measuring - probably a total of 2 cups
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried marjoram
2 lbs ground beef (can substitute turkey, etc.) - if use a leaner meat, no need to drain fat off after cooking; if using a fattier meat, should drain excess fat after cooking beef
2 15-oz cans crushed tomatoes
1/2 can tomato paste
4-5 tbsp brown sugar
4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp yellow mustard
1/4 cup water
Kosher salt, ground pepper


In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until nearly transparent. Add celery and peppers. Cook another 10 minutes. Add garlic, marjoram and cook another 5 -10 minutes. Remove vegetables from pan and set aside.

Add meat to pan and cook about 5 - 10 minutes. Do not fully cook the meat, just enough to a gray color. If necessary, drain off excess fat. Add vegetable mixture to meat, along with crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, mustard and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Can serve traditionally over toasted hamburger buns but I like to serve over boiled red potatoes. My not-quite-as-health-conscious husband prefers to serve over Ore Ida 'Tater Tots.

I also like my Joes pretty tangy. The recipe above is not super tangy. I like to put a little bit of extra Worcestershire and vinegar on my personal helping, to give it some zest.