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.

Sloppy John's Sloppy Joe

I hate to admit we usually use the canned stuff, but since Annie asked for a real one, I came up with this. Don't worry, I tried it out for dinner before posting.

1 lb. hamburger
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
6 oz. can tomato paste and two paste cans water
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tbs. chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

Brown the meat with the garlic, onion and pepper. Stir in paste, water and spices. Simmer over medium heat until thickened down, about 20-25 minutes.