Sloppy Joe Under a Bun

The birthday is behind us and the apartment has been restored to its non-party configuration and the twins are two and the year is continuing. Owen has decided that being two is something he will treat with the same methodical seriousness he brings to all new developments. He is building more elaborate towers. He is asking "why" about specific things, not everything yet, but selected things that he has decided warrant explanation. Why is the truck red. Why does the soup steam. Why did Owen knock over Owen's tower, which is a question he asked about himself in the third person, which I am choosing to interpret as philosophical rather than diagnostic.

Nora has decided that being two means she has opinions about her clothes. She has opinions about her shirts and her socks and particularly about which shoes she wears, and this is fine with me because she has taste and because the alternative is arguing about it, which I have tried and which does not work. She gets dressed faster when she picks. This is a lesson I will apply more broadly.

My birthday is March 3rd. I am going to be thirty. This is something I have been thinking about in a low-key ongoing way since October, not with dread, more with the quality of attention I give to things that feel significant: turning them over, measuring them, trying to understand what I am walking into. Thirty after twenty-nine which was the year of the NICU and the teaching and the first birthday with the nurses. Thirty feels different from twenty-nine. I am not sure yet what the difference is. I will know when I get there.

Slow cooker Italian beef this week: Aldi beef chuck, Italian seasoning, pepperoncini, beef broth, garlic. Eight hours. Shred. Serve on hoagie rolls from the Jewel bakery. This is a Chicago sandwich and I will defend it as the best use of slow cooker beef available. Ryan had three sandwiches. This is probably excessive. I did not say anything because I would have had three sandwiches if the babies had not needed me.

The Italian beef was Ryan’s reward for surviving the birthday weekend, and honestly mine too — but the week that followed called for something just as easy and just as satisfying, the kind of dinner where the stove does most of the talking. Sloppy Joes feel like the right answer when you are turning things over in your mind and you need food that is warm and uncomplicated and does not require you to be precise about anything. Owen asked why the sauce was red. I told him it was happy. He accepted this.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ground beef (80/20)
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
1/2 green bell pepper, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water
6 hamburger buns, toasted

Instructions

Brown the beef. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the ground beef, breaking it apart, until no longer pink, about 7–8 minutes. Drain excess fat.
Soften the vegetables. Reduce heat to medium. Add the onion and bell pepper to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
Build the sauce. Stir in the ketchup, tomato paste, brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, and water. Mix until fully combined.
Simmer. Reduce heat to low and let the mixture simmer uncovered for 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and coats the meat.
Assemble. Spoon the sloppy joe mixture generously over the bottom half of each toasted bun. Place the top bun over — or serve it on the side, under the filling, if you’re feeling unconventional.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sloppy Joe Under a Bun — When the Slow Cooker Does the Work and Ryan Eats Three