Homemade Sloppy Joes

Any more, I know better than to ask my husband what he wants me to make for dinner. He’ll either tell me to pick something, and he won’t eat seconds if he doesn’t like it, or he’ll mention one of his three favorite foods: ribs, meatloaf, or sloppy joes. I think I surprised him last night when I said I was going to make sloppy joes for dinner (especially after telling him that I had a long boring day and didn’t really feel like cooking).

You may be wondering what’s so special about sloppy joes. All you have to do is open a can of Manwich and pour it in, right? Wrong. You see, my husband’s grandmother made her sloppy joe sauce, not entirely from scratch (I’m guessing she used store-bought ketchup just like I do), but not from a Manwich can either. This recipe was passed down to my mother-in-law, which was then passed on to me after my husband and I got married. The thing is, I’ve copied the recipe a few times and can never find it when I need it – like when my brother-in-law and his girlfriend are over for dinner and it doesn’t taste or look quite right (sorry guys!). I didn’t have the recipe in front of me last night either, but my concoction tasted just as good, or at least I thought so.

So here’s my take on what my husband’s family calls “GaGa’s sloppy joes”.

Sloppy Joes

Serves 6-8

1 1/3 lb. ground beef
2 T. flour
1 c. water
1-1 1/2 c. ketchup (this is more or less to taste)
2 T. brown sugar
1 T. Worcestershire sauce

Brown ground beef in a large skillet. Drain. Return ground beef to skillet. Add flour and mix. When flour is combined, add water and stir. Add ketchup (enough to make the mixture turn slightly red – you can always add more later if it isn’t tomatoey or tangy enough for you), brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir until ingredients are combined. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens.

And that’s it! Serve on a bun, on tortilla chips, or whatever you typically eat sloppy joe meat on.