Mom's Sloppy Joes

With the onset of colder weather, my cravings for comfort food become irresistible. My favorite comfort food is sloppy joe, a loose meat, saucy sandwich, which I grew up with served on either a piece of bread or a bun. This recipe really is my mothers. Wouldn't eat anything else!

Just let me say, Sloppy Joe doesn't photograph well. Not that I'm a great food photo taker. (I've been practicing!) But don't be fooled - it tastes like heaven on a bun.

When I say 'sloppy joe is my favorite food' to most people, they grimace and then look at me like I smell bad. Trust me, this is NOT that school lunch horror on a stale white bun you're remembering.  That is this stuff, <---, and it comes in a can. Just looking at this picture gives me a stomach ache. Not like momma makes! A junior high flashback-nightmare, that's what manwich is. (Sorry, anyone who's a lover of this horror. I'm sure you're out there.) John gets excited when I tell him I'm making sloppy joe (he gave me the 'you smell funny' look before I converted him), and eats more than he should. If that doesn't convince y'all on its tastiness, I don't know what will.

Anyway, making real sloppy joe, which does not stick together like a salty, glutinous mass from a can, is very simple. Hamburger, a can of tomato soup, water, brown sugar, ketchup, mustard, cracked pepper and meat seasoning ala Lawries. (Mom and I have a secret seasoning. It's a SECRET, however.) If you're like me, and you want left overs, double it.

This is one of those recipes I'm so familiar with, I don't need a recipe. A little bit o' this, a big glob of that, smells right, tastes right, done!  Too ketchupy, add some mustard. Not sweet enough? Add ketchup. Should be nice and sloppy when done, so it dribbles all over the place if you actually are foolish enough to pick it up with your hands. True sloppy joe is only eaten with a fork, and is very saucy.

If you make anything off this blog, make these! I promise you will not be disappointed.

Must be served with mac-n-cheese on the side.

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Mom's Sloppy Joes

by Katie's Mother, November-12-2012

Ingredients

• 1 pound hamburger
• 1/2 sweet yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 1/2 tsp Crazy Janes Mixed-up Salt (everyone should have this stuff in their spice rack)
• 1/2 tsp, or to taste, cracked black pepper
• whole can tomato soup
• emptied soup can, filled a third of the way up with water
• 1/2 TBS yellow mustard
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 TBS brown sugar
• several dashes meat seasoning

Instructions

1. Brown hamburger until no longer pink.2. Add onion, salt, pepper and meat seasoning, cooking until onions are soft and glassy. 3. Add tomato soup and water, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar. Cook until hot, allowing to bubble briefly. Turn off heat and serve immediately.