Monday, February 2, 2009

Sloppy Joes, from BobDar via Gael

Sloppy Joes, from BobDar via Gael

Darlene Lange was a kind woman who was a member of Gael's Lenora Mattingly Weber online book list. She was nicknamed "BobDar" because she and her husband, Bob, shared an email address and used that name.

Darlene was a very sweet woman and the entire list sorrowed with her as she fought cancer in the 2000s. The last time I saw her was at the Portland list reunion in summer 2007. Although she was bald from chemo, she made the trip from Chicago, and kept trying to look out for me and find me seats since I was pregnant, not worrying about herself, even though she was still weak from her chemo. She died on Jan. 30, 2009, painfree and among her family.

This is her Sloppy Joe recipe. I plan to make it in her memory soon. I don't think she will mind if I leave out the pickle relish.

Darlene wrote, in 2006:

"My sons came over on Sunday to watch the Bears lose (boo hoo) and asked if Iwould make my "famous" sloppy joes. The recipe is from a crock pot book,but I usually just let them simmer for 1/2 hour or so and they taste the same! Anyway, here goes:

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 small onion, minced
2 stalks of celery, minced
1 (12 oz.) bottle chili sauce
2 tbs. brown sugar
1 tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt
2 tbs. sweet pickle relish
1/8 tsp. pepper

Cook beef with onion and celery until brown. Pour off excess fat. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer for 1/2 hour on stove, or cook in slow cooker on low for 3 to 4 hours.For some reason they taste best over a toasted bun. Enjoy!

Darlene
PS: The chili sauce I use is usually in the aisle with the ketchup, seafood sauce and other condiments. It's tangier than ketchup, but not a hot kind of spicy. Hunts makes chili sauce, but I'm frugal and tend to just get the store brand - there's really not a difference that I can taste. Let me know what you think.

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