Sloppy Joe Sandwiches

OK, here's the deal...I am a 38 year old mom of 3 and have ALWAYS been a Manwich junkie (don't worry, I did go to confession specifically for this in my 20's). This was even BETTER than my beloved canned Manwich sauce! It tastes so much fresher and all of the flavors meld together so perfectly, my older (10 year old) son and I (who until last night was a die-hard Manwich fan as well) were in heaven over these soft white buns filled with pure yumminess. The only thing I did differently was - aside from doubling the recipe - brown the meat with 1/2 a chopped onion and 2 minced garlic cloves (still added the onion and garlic powders later because we love those flavors) and added a splash of vinegar. I had originally planned to omit the water but went ahead and added it when I saw how thick it was as I wanted it to simmer for a long while to let all the flavors "marry". I know I'm going on and on about something so simple (I do realize we are still talking about a darn sloppy joe here) but if you knew how much I love them you'd totally understand (BTW - we don't add cheese slices, we're purists)! These are awesome, Laurie you are a saint for submitting!!!!!!!

My mom has made this "almost exact" recipe for over 40 years. The only things that are different: add 1 teaspoon chili powder, use fresh onion and cook with the meat and add 1 teaspoon white vinegar. Don't be afraid of the vinegar, it counter balances the sweetness of the sugar and the spice of the chili powder. I take these to potlucks and always, always, always get many requests for the recipe.

Delicious! I feel bad reviewing this recipe because I made a lot of changes -- I used ground turkey and cooked that with a chopped yellow onion. Then due to a tomato allergy I used a non-tomato ketchup which is made from carrots and beets -- due to the increased sweetness of the non-tomato based ketchup, I left out the brown sugar. I added about 1 tbsp. of vinegar per another review and extra garlic powder. These were the best sloppy joes we have had -- thanks for the recipe!!! Addendum: I have made this recipe many times as stated (except my non-tomato based ketchup) and it is absolutely delicious!!!