My husband loves Sloppy Joe's, Manwiches or whatever you want to call them. So earlier I knew I was going grocery shopping and made a mental note to pick up the ingredients and then sat down to flip through my cookbook for something new to try. I'm just about burgered-out from our vacation, so when I came across the recipe for skillet burgers I thought eh, no more burgers, wait a sec, these are kind of like sloppy joes...hmmmm.  By the way, this recipe was in my 1968 New Better Homes & Gardens Cook Book. Of course, I made a few changes, but you knew that was bound to happen!

Okay, I know nothing can be simpler than a can of "the sauce" and meat, but if it tasted better and was better for you, wouldn't you be willing to put in a little extra love and effort into making it? Seriously, it really didn't take that much longer to make. The smell was amazing. The taste was even more amazing! Are you ready for it?

Here's what you need:

1 pound of Ground Meat (turkey or beef)
3 or 4 stalks of Celery
1 small Onion
2 8-ounce cans of  Tomato Sauce (or 1 can and 1 can of Tomato Soup)
1 tablespoon Cornstarch (omit if using tomato soup)
2 tablespoons Sugar (omit if using tomato soup)
1 teaspoon Salt (only use 1/2 teaspoon if using tomato soup)
1/4 teaspoon Chili Powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire

You know I normally use ground turkey, but I found a pound of hamburger meat marked down to $2.00 at the store so I grabbed it. If you know me, you know I eat ground turkey because it's cheaper, not just because it's healthier. Anyways, put your meat in a skillet and add a little water to it. You don't want to drown the meat. Just cover the bottom of the skillet with it. Turn the burner on medium-high and let the meat brown.

While it's browning, chop up the celery and the onion. By this time, the meat should be brown. Don't drain it. Add the celery and onion to the meat and let it cook on medium-high until the water evaporates.


If you're using tomato soup, you can skip to the next paragraph, unless of course you want to know how to save yourself a little money next time. The substitute for condensed tomato soup in any recipe is 1 8-ounce can of tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. So, if you're not using tomato soup, mix that up in a small bowl and add in the other can of tomato sauce and the chili powder.



By this time the liquid should have evaporated and the vegetables should be tender. You'll want to turn the burner down to low. If the vegetables aren't quite tender let them simmer a little longer on low and put the lid on the skillet.

Add the sauce. If you're using tomato soup, add it, the tomato sauce, the chili powder and the salt. Stir it in and let it simmer on low for about 10 or 15 minutes or as long as you can stand it.


Spoon the skillet burgers on some buns and top with a slice of cheese.


Hubby gave this a three helping rating! He said they were better than whatever that other stuff is called. It made enough for about 8 to 10 burgers. You know the leftovers are going to be even better!