It’s Father’s Day, which means I’m posting a recipe in honor of my Dad today. My Dad loves dessert, so I should’ve made him a dessert, right? The answer is yes. But I didn’t because I’m avoiding desserts. If my Dad was here, he’d get a homemade dessert for Father’s Day but he’s not, so I’m making something that makes me think of him. And that’s ground beef, yo.
Fun fact: I’ve come to realize that people who are not regular readers but land on your site due to a recipe you’re sharing, don’t really care about your blah, blah, snort, gaggle, wort, bleech, ick and what not. They just want the damn recipe. Understood, because deep down, I feel the same way when I land on a random site with a recipe I want to possibly make.
So…. here you go. I’m adding a jump to recipe link and/or button from here on out. And some day, when I feel ambitious (i.e. never), I will add the button to recipes already posted.
Jump to RecipeAnd you’re welcome.
I’m Not a Fan of Ground Beef but My Dad is
We ate a lot of ground beef when I growing up. It’s economical and everybody loved it. Except me. I do not like ground beef … in most instances. Like sometimes I’m okay with it. Sometimes I even like it. But you can never tell which Tanya you’ll get.
It might be the one who eats it. It might be the one who accidentally (ahem) drops pieces of ground beef on the floor. Or sticks pieces of hamburger in her pocket for her Mom to discover when she does laundry. Ummm … sorry Mom.
Now my Dad is a big hamburger fan. A lot of dudes are steak and potato guys. Not my dad. He is more of a hamburger and dessert guy. Since I’ve shared a hamburger recipe for Father’s Day previously (and yes, I even liked it and so did he) I was on the lookout for something else and found these philly cheesesteak sloppy joes.
I Know. I Know. It’s Not Authentic. My Dad Won’t Care.
In other words, purists and Philly natives: please don’t hurt me. This is an homage to your beloved philly cheesesteak and I hope to enjoy a real one some day in the future. But if you’re not a purist and simply want an easy, delicious sandwich, I got you.

Yes, I ate it. I liked it. My Dad is rolling his eyes because I am super fussy and dramatic and he’s still probably secretly wishing that I had made him a dessert because I’ll make this for him eventually, and he’s gonna side-eye those peppers and think he’d rather have a crisp or cobbler or cake or cookie or brownie.
Man! That was a long sentence. Probably run on. The good news? My dad is not the grammar police and won’t care. He may slightly care about those peppers. Sorry Dad.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 small green or red bell pepper, diced
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced or roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 Tablespoons ketchup
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 small can (4 ounces) green chiles, optional
- 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
- Black pepper to taste
- 8 ounces Provolone Cheese, chopped
- 6 hamburger buns
Directions
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, crumble ground beef with a fork or spatula, and brown until almost cooked through.
- Drain most of the excess grease, leaving a tablespoon or two, then add onions, bell peppers and mushrooms. Stir occasionally until softened. Add minced garlic and cook for another 30 seconds, stirring continuously.
- Meanwhile, mix beef broth and cornstarch together. Add to beef mixture, along with the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, green chilies, seasoned salt and black pepper into the pan.
- Cook for another 3-5 minutes until sauce is thick and coats beef mixture.
- Stir in provolone cheese until fully melted. Serve on toasted buns.
Happy Father’s Day!
My Dad is Mr. Fix-It. He has the glorious job of trying diagnose car problems over the phone while I try to explain, poorly and with sound effects, what’s going on. He’s the one who made sure my car had a shovel, gloves, ice scraper and so on in it. Thanks to him I love dumb movies and laugh at potty humor and fart jokes. I used to yell at him for pointing out stupid plot holes in movies and shows, now I do the same. He’s a great dad, even if he loves ground beef as much as I love cats and loves cats about as much as I love ground beef. I love you, Dad!
Have you ever had a real Philly Cheesesteak? Are they as delicious as I imagine? What food dishes remind you of your father?
Tanya
This sounds yummy! (Although dessert sounds yummy, too. Lol.) My whole family is a ground meat fam although K isn’t a huge fan. He prefers ground sausage. But we have 1/4 cow in our freezer so ground beef is usually what he gets ๐ Now I’m wanting some of those tater tots, too! YUM.
I love me some tater tots and Trader Joes are my favorite. Yeah, I’m not a big ground beef typically, although I confess to reall enjoying those philly cheesesteak sloppy joes. It actually surprised me! ๐
manly man meal there ๐
All the meat
It used to drive my dad NUTS that I didnt eat meat. Poor guy – probably the biggest disappointment about me that he felt ๐ LOL
I suspect your Dad was proud of you for sticking to convictions, even if it meant he couldn’t enjoy a juicy hamburger with you. ๐