WHY I LOVE THIS RECIPE: As a past matron of the Order of the Eastern Star, a masonic order affiliated with charity work, I attended a meeting where the hostess served Sloppy Joes. It was so good that I insisted on having the recipe. I then made it for my three sons: Otto, Albert, and Ronald, who loved it. They enjoyed it so much there were no leftovers. When one of my sons, Otto, traveled to Vietnam with the US Navy he brought the recipe along with him. When each son moved out of the house, they got their own personal copy of the recipe to take home and share with their families. I once had a meeting at my house for past matrons of the Eastern Star, where I made this recipe and served it to 50 people! People would come in the front door where I would serve them in the kitchen. They would then go out the backdoor and go around the house and come back in through the front door for more. My one day of fame was when they printed my Sloppy Joe recipe in the Arizona Daily Star. They even made them here at Handmaker in the kitchen. My family and the staff at Handmaker continue to enjoy this recipe to this day.
Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 3 stalks celery, cut as if for potato salad
- 1 med onion, cut in small pieces
- 1 lb ground beef
- butter or olive oil
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup Heinz chili sauce
- 2 Tbsp mustard
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- salt to taste
- 10 small hamburger buns
Instructions
- Cook celery and onion in butter or oil for about three minutes.
- Add in the meat and the rest of the ingredients. Cook over low heat anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 ½ hours.
- Spoon over hamburger buns.
Notes
The Tracing Roots & Building Trees project paired teens from Tucson Hebrew High with residents of Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging to remember stories and favorite foods together. From this experience a cookbook, “L’dor v’dor: From Generation to Generation: Stories and Memories around Family and Food, was published.
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