Slow Cooker Sloppy Joe's

Val's Version

(Denver, CO)

I have never met a grown man that loved such a simplex cuisine before. I remember the first time I made Sloppy Joe's (years back when I was doing something quick because I was working full-time) and he smiled from ear to ear when he found out what was for supper. How hard is it to cook up some beef and add a can of the pre-made mix? But, low and behold, that guy was pumped up!!! 

Aaaand - he still is :) Only this time … I spruced it up a bit!

Again, taking an ordinary meal and putting your own staple on it. When you cook from scratch, opportunities are endless. 

This particular recipe from The Country Cook, Brandie, has quite a few ingredients, but I found that you could exchange some depending on what you already had in the pantry. Now that I'm venturing out into the world of culinary arts, I am learning good alternatives. So, with this one, I substituted tomato paste and extra water for tomato sauce. Everything else I had on hand. I tend to go down the canned food aisle and grab stuff that's on sale (even if I don't need it) and it eventually comes in handy. Some call this wasting. I call it preparing!

Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 4-6 hours

Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes - 6 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef (I used turkey)

1 small onion, chopped

8 oz can tomato sauce (I used 6 oz tomato paste and 6 oz water)

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 T chili powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 T cider vinegar

2 T yellow mustard

1 T Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a large pan, brown the beef (or turkey) with the chopped onion. Crumble and cook until no longer pink. Drain excess grease. 

Put beef/turkey mixture into your slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients. Give it a good stir. 

Cover and cook on low for about 4-6 hours. 

Serve on hamburger buns with cheese!!!

I don't know why, but I love the smell of Worcestershire sauce. Maybe it's cause it reminds me of Bloody Mary's. My husband makes the best! Dang it. Wish I had one …

I have another gadget shout out … THE SLAP CHOP!!!!! Yep - I purchased this and LOVE IT! I hate the texture of onions, shrooms, peppers, etc., so when I started cooking with them to add the necessary flavor that powders can't add, I use this doo-dad. It works beautifully and is much simpler than a food processor. I'm beginning to like the taste of fully cooked onions, and I think I owe mad props to this guy.

I diced up the onions and cooked with the turkey and a smidgen of olive oil (not mentioned in

the list of ingredients). 

Then I chucked everything into my crock pot and gave it a girl swirl.

Did I mention that my sue chef was playing with mustard and got it all over himself and his lion?

6 hours later (we ate a little late due to my side dish - still to come), 

my house smelt like my childhood!

Magnifico!

Hash Brown Cakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes (I added 10 more minutes of frustration)

Ingredients: 

12 oz shredded potatoes

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 T fresh chopped parsley

1 large egg, lightly beaten

salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 cup peanut oil (or vegetable or olive)

Directions:

CHEF SECRET (thanks Jen): Prepare your shredded potatoes by soaking them in water for an hour to take some of the protein out to make them soft, when cooked. Dry them completely (this is where I screwed up). Make sure all of the water is squeezed out before cooking. 

Place the potatoes and onion powder (or chopped onion, if you dare) into a bowl with the cheese, flour, parsley and egg. Mix with some salt and pepper. Mix it, mix it good!

Heat about 1/4 cup oil to skillet, on high. Scoop a spoonful of potato mixture into skillet and flatten with a spatula. Cook until golden and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and cook on other side for another 2 minutes. Remove to a paper towel lined dish and let drain.

Recipe adapted from the Food Network.

So, this side dish … a newby and a toughy. I bombed. And not the kind of bomb that takes out the bad guys. The bomb that makes you the bad guy. 

I was not happy with the way these turned out, so will be trying them again … 

and again … and again. 

The flavor was great, but presentation was a fail. The first batch were patty-like and then the rest just turned into zesty hash browns. 

It looks good in theory …

But in reality ...

All-in-all, another success! Vital ingredient to wrap this all together is cheese! 

Side Note: As I create this post, I am watching the Olympics and these snowboarders are AWESOME!!!! Living in Denver, it's kind of the "thing to do" and I can't wait to learn how to ride the powder now that I'm done having babies!


Jen's Version
(Acworth, GA)

Every time I think of Sloppy Joe's - I think of the movie with Adam Sandler...

I know you guys do too.

Great pick from Val this week, considering my girls love Sloppy Joe's! Anything they love to eat, I love to cook. My husband Chris on the other hand could take 'em or leave 'em. In my defense though, I usually make with the Mam-which sauce, so this recipe was a definite upgrade.

Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 4-6 hours

Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes - 6 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey
1 pound ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

8 oz can tomato sauce 

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 T cider vinegar

2 T yellow mustard

2 T Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper, to taste

Dice your onion. 

Melt your butter. (and tell Val to get a cast iron skillet)

This is one of my favorite smells - sauteed onions and butter. I also add my salt here to soften the onion. I have to hide those bad boys as best I can. 

Trick your husband by mixing ground beef and ground turkey. 

You'll cook this up until you see no pink and have a lot of grease you need to pour out. Don't do what I did and pour into an already used grease can. It will spill over. 

This is what it will look like when it's ready to go in the crock pot. 

You will mix the remaining ingredients in the crock pot. I learned my lesson a long time ago when cooking with chili powder. It is an incredibly overpowering spice. I use as little as possible when cooking with it. Really because I don't want everything to taste like chili. Some people may want that. Weird people...

After it cooks for 4 hours, it's ready to go on a butter-toasted bun paired with Palmetto Cheese and jalapenos. Since I splurged on that, I just added some steamed veggies. I highly recommend french fries though. 

We pin our recipes on Pinterest and would love comments from fellow pinners! You can comment about the recipes, pictures, Val needing to get a cast iron skillet, Jen needing to take better pictures, the Olympics... really whatever you wanna say.