Steve's Sloppy Joes

First of all, I am not sure whether the phrase is "Sloppy Joes" or "Sloppy Joe's."  I could see it either way. I justify the former name by thinking that the sandwich is named a Joe. So, if it sloppy and if it has friends, then they are all called "Sloppy Joes."  On the other hand, what if someone named Joe thought up this sandwich and dubbed it "Sloppy Joe's Sandwich," which later could have been truncated to "Sloppy Joe's."

A little detective work on wikipedia has led me to some knowledge that may provide the answer. The sloppy sandwich was first created by a cook named Joe (in Iowa, by the way). This would indicate that the sandwich should be "Sloppy Joe's."  However, the name of the wikipedia page is "Sloppy Joe." So, I put a whole minute into researching sloppy joes and still have no idea of the correct spelling. I will just alternate between the two, and maybe throw in some names like "Sloppy Steves."

not exactly the belle of the ball

Yesterday, Steve made sloppy joez for lunch.  Then, he wrote down the recipe and put it next to my computer.  I'm guessing this means he expects me to keep track of the recipe or blog about it.  Here are the ingredients he included:

• 1 lb ground meat 
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3/2 cups of diced onion (yellow or white)
• 3/2 cup diced poblano pepper
• 1 tsp salt (and more to taste)
• freshly ground pepper
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 7 or 8 ounes (one half can) of tomato sauce
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground mustard
• 1 Tbsp A1
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire 

Brown the meat in a large pan (we used a big cast iron pan), then add the garlic, onion, and poblano.  Throw some salt and freshly ground black pepper on top and stir it around to spread out the delicious flavors.  Once the vegetables have softened, add the sauces and stir. Let the sauce simmer for 15 minutes. While the sauce finishes, toast some wheat buns. We think that it helps keep the bun from getting soggy and gross. These are supposed to be sloppy, not soggy.

If you want these to be vegetarian-friendly, use TVP or tempeh instead of meat. If you want to make this vegan, all you have to do is keep the Worcestershire out. Surprisingly, A1 has no animal products in it. Kind of unexpected, since it's a steak sauce and all. Also surprising is that A1 has raisin paste in it. I love raisins, but raisin paste somehow sounds mildly disgusting.

So there ya go! Who knew that you could actually make sloppy joses out of real ingredients?! I thought you just browned beef and threw some packaged sauce on!!