Flavorful Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes were something I ate often as a child, usually when dad was in charge of supper. (He was only in charge of supper if mom was gone for some reason). My dad’s favorite meal is sloppy joes. (That is what he requested my mom to make for his 70 birthday a few years ago). What is really quite funny is that my dad’s name is Joe. I remember as a kid calling him sloppy Joe and then giggling. It wasn’t too far off from the truth, because my dad can be a little sloppy when he eats. Ha! Just read about the mustard explosion incident of 1987 in a past blog post, Things I learned in the kitchen from my dad. I often joke with him that we need to get him one of those trough bibs, that my 16 month old uses, to catch all the food he drops. (If you are reading this dad, you know I love you!) Whether you like to be clean or sloppy when you eat sloppy joes, you will love these flavorful sloppy joes.

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The Ingredients

I wanted to add a little extra nutrition in these sloppy joes, so I thought shredded carrots would be perfect. (Make sure you shred them with a grater. Don’t chop them or used pre-shredded carrots). The best part is that my kids don’t even realize they are eating carrots. My 7 year old was eating these sloppy joes the other night and said, “These are really good mom.” Then I told him it had carrots in it, which he does not like. He thought he might change his mind about how good they were.

My husband and kids aren’t a big fan of onions in anything, unless they are cooked to zero recognition. This makes me sad, because I love onions. I decided to try some diced up pickled onions in these sloppy joes. The pickled onions made these so good!

I have tried creating so many different sloppy joe recipes. Probably 6 or 7 different recipes before I finally figured this one out. One had pureed sweat potato to add some nutrition, which actually wasn’t too bad, but the combination of everything else in that particular trial wasn’t good. I tried adding chopped artichokes, which was also okay, but not wonderful. Then there was the debate of ketchup versus tomato sauce. Tomato sauce is healthier. It has less calories, less sodium, and less sugar, but the sloppy joe just isn’t the same with tomato sauce. I decreased the amount of maple syrup a would usually add to compensate for the added sugar in ketchup. Needless to say, I have done my research.

You will love these flavorful sloppy joes. Kids and adults, alike, will devour them. They really are the best. For best results, serve them on fresh buns from your favorite bakery, or better yet, make your own buns. Don’t ruin these sloppy joe with crappy buns.

Flavorful Sloppy Joes

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• Author: Lisa
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x

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Description

These sloppy joes are flavorful and delicious.  They are a little sweet and a little tangy with the vinegar and pickled onions.  My kids devour these.

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Ingredients

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• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/4 cup shredded carrots
• 2/3 cup ketchup
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tablespoons pickled onions
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 6 hamburger buns

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Instructions

1.  In a skillet, brown ground beef
2. Once beef is browned, add all ingredients and stir to combine.
3. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Notes

• Serve on fresh buns from your favorite bakery. 
• This freezes really well.  I usually make a double batch and put leftovers in a freezer bag and freeze.  
• If you need to make this a few hours ahead of time so that it’s ready for supper, just make it without simmering for 15 minutes and put it in a crockpot on low for a couple hours.  

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes