Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Mama's Barbecue

Lately, I have been trying to prepare one big recipe on Sundays to enjoy for the week to come. It's nice to know there is a meal already prepared for me (by me) after a long day of rockin' and rollin' with my toddlers and it's fun to try cooking new things. It's also fun to cook tried and true recipes that you know will be amazing. One of these comes right from my mama's kitchen. All my young life, we referred to them as Barbecues (for which she lovingly now gets teased). I think it must be a Central Wisconsin small town thing....and since I was born and raised a Cheese Head for a good chunk of my youth, I only later learned that the rest of the world calls them Sloppy Joes.

No matter what you call them, they are yummy and easy to put together. You will need:

Brown 1 pound of ground beef....chop up one green pepper and one small onion. Add to the browned beef and let the veggies sweat it out a bit.

Add in one can of tomato soup, a swirl or two of ketchup around the skillet, the same with the yellow mustard.

Mix it all up and let it simmer together for a few minutes- then add in the spices. My mom never really measures the spices....she says just add to your liking and go with what you feel. Embrace your inner Julia Child and spice away...I would say the chili powder is your main attraction and add in the others to your taste. She also sometimes tosses in some cayenne for a little zing, some chopped up organic celery for a little extra crunch and a pinch of brown sugar to cut the acidity of the tomato.

Yum. Also, there are a few specific sides that always go along with Mama's 'Barbecue'. Cool Ranch Doritos, Milwaukee's Baby Dill Pickles and Cottage Cheese (with chives). You gotta have them...it's just the rules. At least that's how I remember it as a kid. Enjoy.

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