1.5 lbs ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped bell pepper

1 2/3 cup crushed tomatoes (puree)

1/4 cup ketchup

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 Tablespoon vinegar

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon ground mustard

1/4 teaspoon paprika

Brown meat and drain.  Saute onion and pepper together until soft.  Combine all ingredients together and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Feel free to make your own substitutions.  I just tried zucchini in place of the bell pepper that I didn’t have and it turned out really good.  In fact, next time I’ll do it again only increase it to half a cup or more.  Celery is also good and I use that when I have it on hand.  I’ve found that the more veggies I put in, the better the texture.  The small chunks of veggies help to break up the monotony of the ground beef.

To put our sloppy joes together, I toast hamburger buns under the broiler with some cheese on one half of each pair to melt.  I usually use cheddar for the munchkins and pepper jack for Hubby and I.  If you like a little kick but others in your family don’t, I highly recommend the pepper jack.  Once that’s done, I place some leaf lettuce on the non-cheese side and pile on the sloppy joes meat. 

For a “classier” look (if it’s possible for sloppy joes to ever be classy), I leave the sandwhich open and let everyone close up their own sandwiches.  It fills up more of the plate when you serve it then also.