Sloppy Joe's, Real Food Style

Do you ever run out of ideas for cooking ground beef?  I sure do.

I had some defrosting in the fridge and wondered what I was going to do with it.  I also had some homemade hotdog buns in the freezer.

Hmmm....

Then the lightbulb.  Sloppy Joe's (so what if my buns aren't round, right?). We hardly ever have it - it's actually been years.  Way back when, we used to either open a McCormick's flavor packet and add a can of tomato sauce.  Or, we'd do it hubby's favorite way and just squeeze ketchup and mustard into browned ground meat, to taste.  The idea of that has always made me shudder (as if the envelope is any better), but if I'm honest, it had just the right amount of tang.

Well, neither of those methods pass muster any more, so I had to come up with a healthier recipe using real, untainted food.

Who of you more seasoned real food foodies can tell me if bottled mustard is dreadful?  It's the only thing I squeezed out of a bottle, but the ingredients list didn't look ridiculously scary.*

Here goes:


1 lb. grass-fed ground beef
1 yellow onion, diced fine and caramelized (I did it in tallow)
1 1/2 cup tomato sauce
3 T apple cider vinegar (or a dash or two more, to taste)
1 1/2 T sucunat (whole cane sugar)
1 T raw honey
1 T mustard (or more to taste, either yellow or spicy brown)
1/8 t chili powder
ground pepper, to taste


Saute the onion till caramelized and set it aside. Brown the ground meat, drain, and add the remaining ingredients, including the onion.  Simmer until it is heated through and the desired consistency.

I had to let it reduce a bit so it was firmer, it worked well as it allowed the flavors to marry.  Serve on warm buns and include a salad.  Mmmm mmm.


*The day after I made this I noticed a recipe online for homemade mustard that looked super easy, so I'll give that a try next time.

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