This is the version of Sloppy Joe’s that I grew up with. My dad would make this in a jiffy, and it was always amazing to have with either plain potato chips or my favorite, tater tots.
My husband great up with Manwich, so when we started living together, it was a bit of a shocker to him of making it from scratch. It’s not the same comfort that he grew up with, but he knows it is just as good. We usually will rotate so that the other can have their memories of childhood come flooding back.
Michigan Ingredient: Hamburger and Meijer Brown Sugar
I prefer to get beef from a local butcher and also in bulk. It makes more sense to me to purchase your meat in bulk, separate it to the amounts you need, and freeze until you are ready to use. I know that some prefer not to freeze their meat, but for my family, that mainly only applies to steak.
Now I bet you are a bit shocked to see that brown sugar is even an ingredient for this recipe. How else are you suppose to get that sweetness?
Brown your meat ( I used beef for this time, but sometimes I use turkey or chicken. Both are just as good.)
Meanwhile, chop your onion and mince your garlic while your meat is browning. It’s all about multitasking in the kitchen. That’s how things can get done quickly. Once your meat is browned, drain the fat (rinse with hot water to remove excess fat). Leave in the colander. 
Saute your onion and garlic in olive oil until onion is translucent. If you notice, I actually use a bit of salt and pepper when I saute my onion and garlic so that it will saute a smidgen faster.
What is it with the smell of onion and garlic sauteing that makes it smell like home? Every time I do it, I think of home with my parents or my grandparents. It’s amazing what a smell can do for you.
Add your meat. Add a little bit more salt and pepper if you like. NOW for the sauce. It’s very simple… ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar. That’s it. 
It takes some adjusting, but I learned what the exact amounts of each are that I need in order to get the flavor of deliciousness.
You can adjust the flavor that will suite your family’s taste buds. Sometimes you may want a tangier taste, which means a little a bit more yellow mustard, or calm the tangy with more ketchup. Of course you don’t want to add too much brown sugar, because it is a bit harder to “mask” the sweetness.
Serve with chips (or tater tots) and a veggie. Enjoy!!
- 1 pound of Beef, Chicken, or Turkey
- 1 medium Onion - chopped
- 1-2 cloves of Garlic - minced
- Olive Oil
- ¾ cup of Ketchup
- ¼ cup of Yellow Mustard
- 2 tablespoon of Brown Sugar
- Salt and Pepper
- Buns
- Brown your meat. While your meat is browning, chop your onion and mince your onion.
- Drain the fat (and rinse any excess fat with hot water if you wish)
- Saute your onion and garlic in olive oil until your onions are translucent. (You can add salt and pepper at this stage if you wish.)
- Add your meat to the onions.
- Ad the ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar and stir until thoroughly combined. Adjust to suite your family's taste buds if need be. Spoon onto buns (or if need be, bread) and serve!
This was for dinner tonight. I made a 1 1/2 batch thinking that we normally eat more than a pound of meat when we have hamburgers…but there was so much left over, this really stretched the meat out nicely.
What’s great is that if you have a weird amount of meat, you can just add a little here, little there of each ingredient so that you get the taste you want 🙂