Sloppy Joes

If you've been following this blog for the past few months, you know that my husband and I bought a travel trailer this summer and have had a lot of fun exploring the Pacific Northwest. Our trailer is outfitted with a large refrigerator, microwave and two-burner stove. We also have a toaster oven, portable grill and Coleman campstove, so there are plenty of cooking options when we're traveling. I love to cook, but cooking while camping is not how I choose to spend my time. I'd rather relax outside with a book or go for a hike or explore a new town. Cooking is a necessity, so I needed to find a solution to get me out of the "galley" while adding more options to our meals. Burgers, hot dogs and grilled chicken are fine every now and then, but would surely get old during a two-week trip.

Enter Make-Ahead-Meals.

When fixing dinner at home, I've recently begun to freeze half of a given recipe to take with us when we head out on a camping adventure. Soups, stroganoff, chili, Sloppy Joes, etc. I can't say that I remember ever having a Sloppy Joe until recently, but it tasted so good I decided to make a batch for our recent trip to Bandon. I froze enough of the recipe so we could have it for dinner one night and lunch later in the week. Served with chips, salad or fruit it worked out to be a nice alternative to a cheeseburger. And, the best part? Not only was I able to heat it up in a skillet in just a few minutes, but there were very few dishes involved. (Always a big plus when camping!)

Remember Hunt's Manwich? I can honestly say I've never tried one and I doubt I ever will. This Crock-Pot recipe for Sloppy Joes is so easy, I don't know why anyone would opt for a canned variety. I'm not sure if this recipe tastes like a Manwich, but it's certainly filling and yummy, especially after a day of exploring.

Manwich is the brand name of a canned sloppy joe sauce produced by ConAgra Foods and Hunt's, introduced in 1969. The can contains seasoned tomato sauce that is added to ground beef cooked in a skillet. It is marketed as a quick and easy one-pan meal for the whole family. Manwich's slogan is, "A sandwich is a sandwich, but a Manwich is a meal." (Wikipedia)

Crock-Pot Sloppy Joes

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 (16 oz.) package ground pork sausage
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 medium-sized green bell pepper, chopped (optional)
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
8 hamburger buns, toasted

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.

Place beef mixture in a 4 1/2 quart slow cooker. Stir in tomato sauce and next 9 ingredients. Cover and cook on HIGH for four hours.

Serve on hamburger buns.

Stove-Top Method

Proceed with recipe as directed in Step 1, 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.

Note:

To freeze leftover Sloppy Joe mixture, let cool completely. Place in zip-top plastic freezer bag; lay bags flat, and stack in freezer. Freeze up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in refrigerator or defrost in microwave.

My Notes:

I made this on the stove, rather than in a Crock-Pot. I think either method is fine, but since it's just ground beef and pork sausage, slow cooking isn't necessary for tenderizing the meat.

I don't care for green bell peppers, so I left those out and reduced the amount of chili powder to 1 teaspoon.

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