Heat the oven: Preheat the oven to 400°F and grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.

Brown the beef and vegetables: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the ground beef with the onion and bell pepper for 7-9 minutes, breaking the meat apart as it cooks, until no pink remains and a thermometer reads 160°F. Drain off the grease and return the pan to the heat.

Bloom the garlic and tomato paste: Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute, until the paste darkens slightly and smells sweet instead of raw.

Build the sloppy joe sauce: Add the ketchup, beef broth, brown sugar, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, salt, and black pepper. Stir until everything is combined.

Simmer it thick: Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring now and then, until a spoon dragged across the bottom of the pan leaves a track that holds for a second before filling back in. Taste and add another spoonful of brown sugar if you want it sweeter.

Fill the dish: Spread the beef mixture evenly in the prepared baking dish and scatter 1 cup of the cheddar over the top.

Top with biscuits and bake: Quarter the biscuits and arrange them in an even layer over the cheese right before the dish goes in the oven, not while the filling cools. Bake at 400°F for 22-28 minutes, until the biscuits are puffed and golden and cooked through in the center. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup cheddar over the top in the last 5 minutes and return it to the oven to melt.

Rest and serve: Let the sloppy joe casserole stand for 5 minutes before scooping so the filling settles instead of running across the plate.