Cheeseburger Sloppy Joe (Tomato-Free)

Forgive me for what I'm about to do. I'm going to share a Sloppy Joe Recipe that is a little bit different. It has no ketchup and no tomato paste. Gasp! You'll survive, and you'll like it trust me. After looking at a few different recipes I came to the conclusion that the ketchup in the recipes was used as an ingredient to make a sort of BBQ Sauce, as it is mixed with spices and mustard, etc. And the tomato paste appeared to be a thickener. So, I cut straight to the chase and just added BBQ Sauce, and thickened it with flour and it worked beautifully.

The reason for calling it Cheeseburger Sloppy Joe (even though we didn't actually put any cheese on it at all - but you could and I'm sure it would be amazing) is because as it was simmering it smelled just like the smells I associate with hamburgers. Red meat, BBQ sauce, onions, mustard & spices. I think it was mainly the BBQ sauce & mustard combo that did it though. But, when you tasted it, it actually tasted nothing like it smelled which for me was a good thing because we just had had hamburgers the night before and I wanted something different and it was. I'm sure we'll be making this again which excites me because up until this point I have never eaten a sloppy joe.

Recipe adapted from Kayotic Kitchen.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

2 lb ground meat

Salt

Pepper

1 Large Onion, diced

1 Green Pepper, diced

3 Cloves Garlic, minced

1 Can Sliced Mushrooms, drained

1/4 C. Yellow Mustard

1/3 C. BBQ Sauce

1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

Dash or Two Tabasco

1 1/2 Tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1 Tsp. Oregano

1/2 Tsp. Cumin

1/2 Tsp. Paprika

1/4 Tsp. Chili Powder

1 C. Water

1-2 Tbsp. Flour

Buns

Butter

Directions

~In a large skillet season meat with salt and pepper to taste and brown

~Add in the onions & peppers and cook until veggies have softened and meat is cooked

~Add in the garlic and stir just until cooked.

~Add in the mushrooms. Stir

~Reduce heat to a simmer and add in mustard, BBQ sauce, sugar, tabasco, worcestershire and spices. Stir to mix.

~Add about half of the water. Stir. If sauce is looking watered down, whisk flour into remaining water and add mixture to skillet. Stir. (Really just play it by ear. The moisture content is really going to depend on your cut / type of meat so if it's too runny add less water / more flour, and if it's not saucy enough add some more mustard / BBQ sauce / water. Find your happy medium.)

~Simmer for 15-20 minutes.

~Butter the buns and warm them in the oven until butter has melted (don't let the buns go crispy, just want them warmed)

~Scoop meat mixture onto buns

Enjoy!