Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes, sloppy, sloppy joes...do any of you remember that Adam Sandler FNL song?  Classic!  Last night was my lil' sister's b-day, so for dinner my mom made sloppy joes.  Not just ANY sloppy joes, though...the best.  I had a best friend growing up who lived down the street from me.  Both coming from big families, it seemed one of our mom's was always having a baby (ok, I'm exagerating).  So whenever her mom would have a baby, my mom would make them lasagna and whenever my mom had a baby, we'd get sloppy joes.  The funny thing is that they didn't think they were that great, but we LOVED them (and visa versa with the lasagna).  So last year I made a cookbook for my family and I hunted down her recipe, so here it is.

• 2 lbs lean ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cans tomato sauce
• 1 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 cup grated carrots
• 1 tsp season salt (or to taste)
• 1 tsp pepper (or to taste)
• a "little" garlic powder
• 1 whole bay leaf
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp vinegar
• 1 or 2 Tbsp mustard
• 1 cup ketchup

Brown ground beef with onions and green pepper.  Drain off grease.  Add remaining ingredients.  Simmer for about 1 1/2 hours; stirring frequently.  Remove by leaf.  Seve on hamburger buns.

Makes about 12.

Julie R.

AG, CA