Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes

Since it is getting a little colder in Florida, my sister and I thought about making our mom’s Sloppy Joes recipe. We had fond memories of Sloppy Joes growing up in Brookfield, Illinois. Our neighbor, Mrs. Pucel, used to make Sloppy Joes for her two daughters, Jody and Donna, for lunch. They would often invite Glenna and I over for lunch, too! We had so much fun and the Sloppy Joes were delicious. Then when we went to Indianapolis, my Aunt Dorothy would make Sloppy Joes for Glenna and I and our two cousins, Jack and Jayne. We changed the name of Sloppy Joes to Sloppy Jacks, in honor of my cousin. (He really wasn’t sloppy; we just loved to tease him.) Then my mom started making Sloppy Joes at home since Glenna and I loved them so much. However, we couldn’t find mom’s recipe anywhere at the moment. So we searched online and found this recipe. It is originally from the April 2007 issue of Southern Living. It tastes just like my mom’s recipe! My sister and I were so happy! Glenna actually made the Sloppy Joes I’m featuring today. Our mom made the Sloppy Joes on the stove top, but this recipe is for the slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 (16-oz.) package ground pork sausage (could do all lean ground beef)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 medium-size green bell pepper, chopped 
• 1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce 
• 1/2 cup water 
• 1/2 cup ketchup (can use sugar free or an organic ketchup)
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar (can use Swerve brown sugar replacement)
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar 
• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard 
• 1 tablespoon chili powder 
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (hard to find a substitute)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup all- purpose flour (can use gluten-free flour)
• 8 hamburger buns, toasted (we used sourdough for an open-face sandwich)

Directions:

1. Brown beef and sausage with onion and bell pepper in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring 10 minutes or until beef and sausage crumble and are no longer pink. Drain well.
2. Place beef mixture in a 4-1/2 qt. slow cooker. Stir in tomato sauce and the next 9 ingredients. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours. Serve on hamburger buns.
3. Cooktop Method: Proceed with recipe as directed in step one, returning drained beef mixture to Dutch oven. Stir in tomato sauce and next 8 ingredients, omitting flour. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes. Prep: 15 min., Cook: 45 min.
4. Note: to freeze leftover Sloppy Joe mixture, let cool completely. Place in ziplock plastic freezer bags; lay bags flat, and stack in freezer. Freeze up to one month. Thaw overnight in the fridge, or defrost in the microwave.

These Sloppy Joes really do taste like mom’s. It is so fun to find a nostalgic recipe that brings you right back to happy childhood memories. I’m sure Glenna and I will be making Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes again soon. Enjoy!