Just made a batch which pulled from each of these recipes- the winning ingredient though, was allspice from the recipe gluttonforlife posted- delish! Thanks everyone!

Betty Crocker, it reminds you of your childhood, my friends call them 4 bite sloppy joes

I think this is the original recipe. :) I was about 10 when I first made it in the 60s. Now I use an all-growed-up recipe like the one above from nutcakes, but every couple of years I'll throw this one together: A pound of 80/20 ground chuck, browned and drained, ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, enough water to bind it all together, simmer until the brown sugar melts and plop it on top of a white-bread bun; put dill pickle chips and plain potato chips on the paper plate next to the bun, or in the middle of the sandwich the way I used to do.

My favorite one comes from The New Basics (Rosso & Lukins) because it has a nice tang

2 T olive oil
1 c finely chopped onion
1 rib celery, minced
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 t oregano
1 lb lean gr beef
1/2 c ketchup
1/2 seasoned tomato sauce
1/4 c water
2 T red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 T packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp salt
ground pepper
Tabasco sauce to taste, opt

I serve on homemade regular or polenta roll.

Thanks for the delicious suggestions! Sometimes you just need sloppy joes! ;) I can't wait to try them.

Oops! I forgot to mention to brown the ground beef before add the veggies. Sorry about that!

For sloppy joes I think simple is better. Whenever I try to get fancy with them I'm disappointed. Saute the ground beef until very browned. When the beef is almost done add a generous amount of chopped onion and celery to the pan. Cook until the veggies are done then add ketchup until the mix has enough sauce. Add a squeeze of yellow mustard and a cup of water. Simmer until the sauce is the consistency you desire. I serve my sloppy joes open faced on hamburger buns spread with yellow mustard. Top the meat mixture with grated cheddar cheese.

A classical recipe for Sloppy Joes would be a yellow and a green bell pepper small diced (1/4 by 1/4), then a small onion small diced, a celery stalk small diced, a carrot small diced, and a clove of garlic small diced. Saute in olive oil until translucent, then add a tablespoon of tomato paste, brown tomato paste, and add a can of tomato sauce, a squirt of ketchup, squirt of mustard, sprinkle of dry thyme, and salt and pepper taste, if it is not sweet enough, then add a little honey. If it is too dry looking after incorporating all the ingredients then add a little water. Simmer for 15 minutes and your done! Best enjoyed on toasted buns.

There's a great one at the bottom of this post: http://gluttonforlife.com/2010/09/27/nice-to-meat-you/

I love to share this two recipes for sloppy joes
http://indiankeralafood.blogspot.com/2010/06/sloppy-joes.html
http://www.food52.com/recipes/5163_vegetarian_sloppy_joe

I start with some minced onion and garlic, sauteeing in olive oil, add the ground beef and cook it until all the liquid cooks away. Then I add some tomato sauce, some brown sugar, some paprika, some cardamon, some dry mustard (or spicy brown mustard) salt and pepper, some celery salt, a little rosemary, and then I taste and sprinkle until it tastes right. By that time it's simmered long enough, generally. Sorry that's so general, but that's about the best I can do....