You might recognize these as Sloppy Joe’s, but when I ran across a wiki article that mentioned that they are also known as Yip Yips I had to go with it. Yip Yips is just way too much fun.

Turns out what I have always called Sloppy Joe’s has a bunch of aliases: Yip Yips in southeast Illinois, Wimpies in northeastern Pennsylvania, and Slushburgers in the midwest. What do they all have in common? Ground beef, ketchup, seasonings, and a big mess.

If you haven’t had a Yip Yip in a while (like say, since you were in elementary school) it’s worth taking a chance and giving them a try. I promise you that these will taste a lot better than anything served up over the school lunch counter.

I also boosted the traditional recipe a little bit by adding in a good dose of spinach and red peppers (similar to my additions to the turkey meatball sub a couple of weeks ago). There are a wide variety of ketchup choices out there, and I know everyone has their personal favorites. My recommendation is to avoid labels that include high fructose corn syrup; there are a lot of new brands that use cane sugar instead. My favorite is Stonewall Kitchen’s Country Ketchup. If you can find it, give it a try-it will knock your socks off.

Yip Yips
(serves 4-6)
•    1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
•    1 cup chopped onion (about ½ medium onion)
•    sea salt
•    1 cup chopped red pepper (about 2 medium red peppers)
•    4 cups spinach (packed), finely chopped
•    ½ teaspoon chili powder (or more to taste)
•    ½ teaspoon ground mustard
•    ½ teaspoon garlic powder
•    ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
•    1 pound ground beef
•    fresh ground black pepper
•    red wine vinegar to taste
•    4-6 hamburger buns

Heat the oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the onion and a pinch of sea salt and sauté, stirring frequently, until they have softened and become translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the red pepper, spinach, chili powder, ground mustard, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. Sauté, stirring frequently for 3-5 minutes.

Make room for the ground beef by pushing the vegetables and seasonings to the side of the skillet. Add the ground beef to the skillet with a pinch of sea salt and a crank of fresh ground black pepper. Break the beef up with a wooden spoon and stir frequently. When the beef has browned and cooked through, stir in the vegetables so everything is well incorporated.

Turn the skillet down to medium-low. Pour off about ½ of the juices that have accumulated in the skillet. Stir in the ketchup and cook for 15 minutes, or until the ketchup has reduced a bit and the flavors have blended.

Finish with a splash of red wine vinegar to brighten up the mix. Spoon onto the hamburger buns and enjoy!

Tagged as: gameday eats, sandwiches