My Mom’s 20-Minute Dinner Recipe Is Embarrassingly Simple, Yet So Good

My mom and her sister always made it a priority to make sure the family got together at least once a year, whether it was us packing up the car and road tripping it to Northern Colorado or them making the long, barren trip to Iowa. We were a small, but mighty, family that wanted to spend less time worrying about food and more time enjoying each other’s company.  

Whenever the cousins came into town, my mom would—without hesitation—reach for her trusty skillet to make her family-famous Cousins’ Sloppy Joe recipe, ensuring our guests were greeted with smiles and a warm hug in their bellies. The recipe quickly became a running joke in the family. Nobody would ever have to ask what that first night would look like; we always knew it would be Sloppy Joes, homemade potato salad, Kitchen Cooked kettle chips, and the longest card game of bridge you could ever imagine. The recipe was always attached to her hip, ready for use. 

Oddly enough, even though it’s incredibly easy, the recipe never made an appearance on normal weeknights. It was reserved for special occasions like graduations, birthday celebrations, funerals, and more. 

Why that is…well, we are still trying to figure that out. My best guess is that it was her way of teaching us that food can hold so many memories and emotions. Even after my mom’s passing, my cousin, Kaiti, still continues the tradition of making this recipe whenever we are in town to visit. A reminder that life moves on, but the memories and recipes we create hold on.

My Mom’s Sloppy Joe Recipe

Although the recipe is nothing that reinvents the wheel, I think it is safe to say that after decades of making it, my mom had perfected the ratio of ketchup-to-mustard. It was always the perfect balance between sweet and savory and was never shy of being saucy. Growing up in the Midwest, you learn to make do with what you have in your pantry, and that is where the real love in this recipe comes from. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 package hamburger buns
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 ½ teaspoon onion powder 
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder 
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 
• ½ cup ketchup 
• 1 teaspoon chili powder 
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¾ cup water
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

Directions: 

1. In a large skillet, brown ground beef with your onion powder and garlic powder
2. Once the ground beef is browned, add in Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, chili powder, brown sugar, water, white vinegar, yellow mustard, salt, and pepper. Mix well until incorporated. 
3. Bring the mixture to a boil. Once at a boil, reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes or until thickened. 
4. Serve on a hamburger bun.