Sloppy Joes

To me, Sloppy Joes are a summertime dish: Tasty and easy to make. Relatively inexpensive. Satisfying to kids of all ages. Because of these great features, there are a million recipes for this dish. The following is a tangy, but not too spicy, version.

Sloppy Joes
Adapted from Epicurious

1 Tbs. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 jalapeno, finely diced
1/2 green pepper, small dice
2 cloves garlic
1 lb. ground chuck
1 medium tomato, peeled, cored and chopped (make sure to preserve the juice!)
2 Tbs. tomato paste
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 tsp. Tabasco
1 tsp. steak sauce
salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a large fry pan. Add onion, celery, jalapeno and green pepper. Cook over medium heat until the vegetables soften, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 2-3 minutes more.

Increase the heat to medium high and add the ground chuck. Break-up the meat and cook until brown, about 10 minutes. Season with pepper and 1/2 tsp. salt. Add the tomato, tomato paste, ketchup, Tabasco and steak sauce. Reduce heat to medium and cook another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the mixture thickens.

Serve on hamburger buns.