West Coast Snappy Joes

Snow on Black Mountain Tuesday. Three inches. The roads were greasy by Wednesday. Worked at the construction company in Lexington this week. The body holds. Most days.

Connie at the vet clinic, four shifts this week. Her back is tired. She does not say so. I see it. Mama is 85. She is the toughest person I have ever known. She still cooks every day in the company house in Evarts.

Pot roast Sunday. Chuck. Five hours low. The kitchen smelled like the cabin smelled when I was a boy.

Travis called Tuesday. The landscaping company is busy. He sounds tired in a good way. Amber called from Louisville. Hospital is busy. Floor nurse to charge nurse to nurse manager — she is the most successful Hensley alive.

Connie made biscuits. The biscuits were biscuits. Some things stay.

Worked on a basement remodel job in Lexington. The work was good. The pay was good. The body is tired.

The dog — old Beau, fifteen years old — slept by the wood stove all afternoon Tuesday. He used to be a hunting dog. Now he is a heating pad with opinions.

Connie cut my hair on the porch Tuesday afternoon. She has been cutting my hair for forty years. The barber in Pineville cannot do what Connie does, which is also love.

Drove the truck to the dump Saturday afternoon. Saw three deer crossing the road on the way back. The mountains have been giving back this year.

I sat on the porch with bourbon at sundown Friday. The fog rolled into the hollow the way it has every fog of every year. The porch was the porch. The bourbon was the bourbon.

Sunday service at Harlan First Baptist when we go. Pastor preached about Ruth and Boaz. The choir sang. Connie wore her gray dress.

I checked the truck oil Saturday. The mileage on this truck is criminal.

Connie made jam Saturday afternoon. Wild blackberries from the patch up the hollow. Twelve jars. The pantry is filling for winter.

Read the paper at breakfast Tuesday. The county news is not great. The mines have not come back and they will not come back. The young people leave. The hollows empty. We stay.

Travis sent a photo of Earl Thomas riding on the mower with him at a job site. The boy is wearing a Hensley Landscaping T-shirt that's too big. Three generations on a mower. I saved the photo.

The creek was running clear Sunday afternoon. I watched a kingfisher work the riffle. Did not move for an hour. Some Sundays the watching is the worship.

I split a half-cord of wood Saturday. Slowly. The back does not let me work fast anymore. It got done. The wood was for the smokehouse.

I went up to Earl's grave at the Evarts cemetery Saturday. Brought a beer. Drank half. Poured the rest on the dirt. Some traditions are mine alone.

Amber sent the kids' school photos this week. Nadia is taller every year. Marcus has Amber's serious face. Little Betty has Mama's eyes.

Connie read aloud from a novel Tuesday evening while I worked on the bench. Some Appalachian writer she had picked up at the library in Whitesburg. The voice was the voice of where we live. We listened together.

My back was tight after the wood-splitting Saturday. Took an Aleve. Slept eight hours. Got up.

Drove to Pineville for parts Wednesday. The hardware store man knew me. We talked about the weather and the price of feed. Forty minutes for a five-minute errand. That is rural Kentucky.

I sat at the kitchen table Tuesday night working on the recipe project. Mama's soup beans. I cannot get the words right yet.

The pot roast gets its five hours on Sunday, and that is the meal that holds the week together — but Mama always said you need something in your pocket for the nights the body comes home before the spirit does. West Coast Snappy Joes are that recipe for us: ground beef, a little heat, a little sweet, and it’s on the table before the news comes on. After a week of basement work in Lexington and a Saturday of splitting wood, quick and warm is exactly right.

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

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
1 green bell pepper, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1/3 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
Salt and black pepper to taste
6 sturdy hamburger buns, toasted

Instructions

Brown the beef. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it apart with a spoon, until no pink remains, about 7–8 minutes. Drain excess fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pan.
Soften the vegetables. Add the diced onion and bell pepper to the skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
Build the sauce. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in the tomato sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, mustard, chili powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne. Mix until fully combined and the beef is well coated.
Simmer and season. Let the mixture simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10–12 minutes until the sauce thickens and the flavors come together. Taste and adjust salt, pepper, and cayenne to your liking.
Toast the buns. While the filling simmers, toast the hamburger buns cut-side down in a dry skillet or under the broiler until lightly golden.
Serve. Spoon the beef mixture generously onto the bottom buns. Cap and serve immediately, with pickles or coleslaw on the side if you have them.

Nutrition (per serving)

West Coast Snappy Joes — Something Warm After the Long Week