Sloppy Joes …..  I always think of the old TV program, Family Affair, where the butler Mr. French, decried the use of the word sloppy and the abbreviated name Joe.  So he renamed the children’s favorite dinner and christened it, Messy Samuels.
fam aff

I remember telling that story to my two oldest sons when they were small.  Now the story always has a little mileage here because we  have a fourth child name Samuel. And yes, he has his share of messy moments.

Sloppy Joes ( Or Messy Samuels, take your pick).

Combine all of the ingredients in a small glass or plastic jar with a tight fitting lid. Label and store in your pantry shelf until needed.

2 tablespoons dried onion OR use 2 T Onion powder
2 T Paprika
1 tsp Garlic powder
1 tsp Chili powder (chipotle chili powder is good in this)
1 tsp dried Marjoram
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Black pepper
1/4 tsp celery seed

This makes one recipe of sloppy joes using 1 pound of ground meat, so increase the amount you make, double, triple or even more, to store and use. If you make a ton of it, you’ll need to use 1/3 cup of mix per pound of ground meat.


Here’s how to use it:

1 pound regular ground beef, cooked,drained and rinsed in hot water.
1/3 cup or one recipe Sloppy Joe Seasoning Mix
1 cup tomato ketchup (some people use tomato sauce but trust me ketchup is better. If you do use tomato sauce, you’ll need to use some cornstarch to thicken the end product)
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

You can make it even better by dicing up some red bell pepper and adding it in.

Cook the ground beef in a skillet. Use a wooden spoon to break it up into small bits as it cooks.

When it’s done with no pink showing at all, drain off the fat. Next, pour the drained ground meat in to a colander and rinse it in the sink with very hot water. Drain off all the water.

Rinse out your skillet and return it to the stove, add the rinsed, drained meat to the skillet.

Add 1/3 cup of the seasoning mix to the meat along with the ketchup. Cook and stir until thickened. Allow the meat and seasonings to simmer for about 10 minutes. If you think its too thick you can thin it carefully with a little water.

Serve hot over buns or mashed potatoes.