Game Day sloppy joes

(WJBK) - This recipe for easy game day sloppy joes comes courtesy of Laurie McNamara. She's a local author whose book 'Simply Scratch' is out this fall. She also has a blog of the same name which you can find here.

VIDEO: Laurie joins us in the FOX 2 Cooking School to show us how she prepares her game day sloppy joes. You can find her recipe below. 

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons olive oil or bacon fat
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1-1/4 pounds ground round
1-1/2 teaspoons Ancho Chili Powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup Water
2 teaspoons Yellow Mustard, to taste
Worcestershire Sauce, a few drops to taste
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, to taste
8 mozzarella string cheese sticks, at temperature or warmed in microwave

8 Hot Dog Buns, toasted if you're in the mood
Sliced green onions, for serving
Pickled jalapenos, for serving

Directions:

Sauté the onions in olive oil (or bacon fat). Once soft and translucent add in the garlic, cook for one minute. Add the ground beef, use a spatula to break it up into small pieces and cook thoroughly.
Add the ancho chili powder, sugar, tomato sauce, water, mustard, Worcestershire, salt and pepper to the meat mixture. Simmer over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes.
Place the cheese sticks inside the buns and top with sloppy Joe sauce. Sprinkle with green onions, pickled jalapeno slices and/or anything else your heart desires and serve!
*note for optimal cheese string action, warm the mozzarella cheese sticks in the microwave until very soft before placing in the bun and pouring sloppy joes sauce on top.