Sloppy Joes

For my first giveaway, one of the questions I posed dealt with what types of dishes you all would like to see on my blog. A couple of commenters suggested I blog about some family recipes. While most people would see this suggestion as normal and more than satisfactory, I thought it was quite humorous because for my family, there is really no such thing as a family recipe because the relatives with whom I grew up never really learned how to cook. Their inability to cook stemmed from the fact that my grandmother would kick the kids out of the kitchen!

This sentiment may come off weird, but I'm actually proud to admit that my mom is considered the worst cook of my family b/c her ineptitude in the kitchen goes against gender stereotypes. She doesn't like to be in the kitchen for more than 5 minutes. In fact, her dream house would include a small kitchen and a huge bathroom. My dad, on the other hand, does know how to cook, but I was not raised by him. My maternal aunts and uncles are inept in the kitchen as well; however, one or two of my aunts have been getting better b/c their husbands or ex-husbands taught them how to cook.

So, unfortunately, I won't have any family recipes to share on this blog. Well, my mom does know how to make one dish: potato salad. So, I could share that one day (mom?). Anyway, I wrote all of that to say that the recipes on my blog will probably become my future family recipes if I ever procure my own family, and this sloppy joe recipe will definitely be one of them.
The dish was very flavorful. I didn't make any buns, so I just used regular, store-bought bread. I highly suggest you make this recipe part of your "family recipes" soon. Enjoy!

Sloppy Joes
adapted by allrecipes

1 pound lean or regular ground beef or black/kidney beans (for vegetarian option)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper (optional; I didn't use)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
3/4 cup ketchup
3 teaspoons brown sugar
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
Topping: cheddar cheese, optional

In a medium skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef, onion, and green pepper; drain off liquids.

Stir in the garlic powder, mustard, ketchup, and brown sugar; mix thoroughly. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Plan-ahead: Fill the cups in a muffin tin with leftovers, and freeze them. When frozen, pop them out, and store in a Ziploc bag in the freezer. Each one is the perfect size for a bun and ready to microwave.