One of my Mother’s staples in her dinner rotation was Sloppy Joe’s. Sloppy Joe’s was a common dish in the Midwest. There are a couple of different ways of making it. A common denominator is ground meat (or plant based meat) with chopped onions and celery. What changed is what kind of soup is used as the base. My Mother used tomato soup. Some of my friend’s family’s used Chicken Gumbo soup. Looking up recipes show it varies by region, some use chopped peppers, make various types of sauces, Worcestershire sauce, tomatoes and brown sugar. I prefer the simple taste of tomato soup with it. It’s quick to make and will be a great addition to your dinner rotations.
Serve it on your favorite bun. It goes well with a tossed salad or coleslaw, some chips or fries or a side of veggies. Enjoy!
Vegetarian Options
I’ve made this many times using Morningstar or Boca crumbles, Impossible burger meat or other plant based meat. Tastes great!
Ingredients
1 lb 90-93% lean ground beef (or plant based ground meat)
1 sweet onion chopped
4 stalks of celery chopped
1 can Tomato Soup (I prefer Campbell’s)
1 tbs garlic powder
1/2 tbs Montreal Seasoning
3 turns of salt grinder (1/2-1 teaspoon)
4 turns of pepper grinder (1/2-1 teaspoon)
Cooking Spray
Optional dash of milk
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Spray fry pans with cooking spray
Brown the onions and celery in one fry pan. Season with some of the spices.
Brown the ground meat (or plant based meat) until done (your desired type-I prefer it well done) Season it with the remaining spices.
Mix the meat and vegetables in a sprayed baking dish. Add the Tomato Soup and mix well. If it seems a bit dry, you can add a dash of milk.
Bake 35-45 minutes
Serve on buns.
Make it your way-add additional types of chopped vegetables if you wish. It will turn out great!
