Homemade Sloppy Joe Seasoning Mix III

By Addie

This saves a ton over buying the prepackaged version from the store, plus it can be prepared with as much or as little salt as you want to add. I've used cornmeal as the thickener because my step-mother, who is from Nicaragua, uses it to thicken tacos and it turns out to work great with sloppy joes too. It makes the Joes nice and thick, but you don't notice it at all in the prepared dish.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons dried onion
• 1 teaspoon beef broth powder or 1 beef bouillon cube
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon celery salt or regular salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 dash red pepper flakes or ground red pepper
• 2 tablespoons cornmeal

Preparation

Step 1

Combine all of the ingredients in a small jar, or a snack-size storage bag, or a small plain white envelope. Label and seal. Store on the pantry shelf until needed.
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To Prepare:

1 pound regular ground beef, drained and rinsed
1 packet Sloppy Joe Seasoning Mix
8 ounce can tomato sauce (no-salt-added)
1/2 cup water

Cook the ground beef in a skillet, breaking it up into small bits as you go along. When it's well done, drain off the fat and pour the ground beef into a colander. Run hot water over the beef in the colander and allow it drain. Rinse the skillet in hot water and return it to the stove. Put the ground beef back into the skillet.

Add the Sloppy Joe Seasoning Mix, tomato sauce and water to the ground beef. Cook and stir until thickened. It should simmer for about 10 minutes for optimum flavor. Serve in hamburger buns, homemade or store-bought. When we are in a rush we serve it over cornbread. Very tasty and cheap too.