Hot & Sweet Apple Butter Sloppy Johnny's

Ingredients:
1 1/4 lb 90% ground beef
3/4 cup water or beef stock
3/4 cup Musselman's apple butter
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 serrano peppers, diced
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ground chipotle
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt

rolls or English muffins for serving
cheddar for topping, optional

Directions:

In a large saucepan, saute the garlic, pepper, and onion in oil until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add beef and saute until brown, stirring to break up the meat. Add the remaining ingredients.

Saute, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes, until thickened. I served mine sprinkled with cheddar on sesame rolls.

(prep time: 5 minutes, cook time: 25 minutes, serves: 6)

My thoughts:

Sorry about the unexpected hiatus! I've been busy developing recipes for clients, making dinners that have appeared here before and going out for exciting dinners with friends and for our tenth anniversary. Excuses, excuses! I'm back now and bringing you this new recipe for Sloppy Joe's my mom has deemed Sloppy Johnny's after her childhood interest in Johnny Appleseed because they feature apple butter. I was lucky enough to have been contacted by Musselman's to become an apple butter blogger in 2015. I love apple butter so much, we go to the Apple Butter Festival in Berkeley Springs, WV each year despite it being two hours away. Musselman's Apple Butter is sweet, of course, but it also has a great spicy note to it that really lends itself to savory applications like these Sloppy Johnny's. Apple butter is more than just a spread. Normally I use tomato paste in Sloppy Joe's but the apple butter is thick enough to serve as a substitute. I added some serrano peppers, mustard powder and ground chipotle to kick up the heat and complement the ginger and cinnamon flavor of the apple butter. This made it a Sloppy Joe that was not only suitable for children but for adults as well.

Check out the Musselman's Apple Butter Pinterest account for more ideas.

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