Saturday Sloppy Joe's

For some reason, many years ago, Saturday night became "hamburger night" in our house.  And as Canadians, we generally BBQ year round, so Saturday night became barbeque'd hamburgers night.  However, today was an exceptionally WINDY day, and the BBQ King in our house didn't want to stand outside getting blown to kingdom come, so our usual hamburgers turned into Sloppy Joes.  In the past, when our kids were young, the Sloppy Joe sauce came out of a can, and for some reason my husband liked to put Cheese Whiz on the buns.  These days I'm trying to stay as far away from processed foods as much as humanly possible which meant that our Sloppy Joes tonight are going to be made from mostly fresh ingredients, and real cheese.

This recipe is still very simple, and so easy to make ahead on a busy Saturday. I made this recipe in half, but the one below is enough for 4 people. We like our Sloppy Joes open face, so are happy with how sloppy this recipe is.  However, if you prefer your filling between the bun, reduce the amount of water by half. And the recipe below that is for 4 people, can be stretched to feed 6.  Enjoy!

Sloppy Joe's

Recipe by Fluudbloggler

Home made-sloppy Joes in the slow cooker.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 3-4 hours
Yield: 4
Ingredients

• 2 pounds Extra Lean Ground Beef
• 1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red pepper (green works too if you prefer)
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 minced garlic
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1 can tomato paste (small)
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1 block cheddar cheese (enough to slice to place on buns) The cheese is optional
• 8 hamburger buns 

Cooking Directions

1. Brown ground beef until cooked, drain fat.
   
2. Place in slow cooker.
3. Add all other ingredients (except cheese and buns), and stir until well-combined.
   
   
   
   
4. Cook on low heat for 3-4 hours.
   
5. Take regular hamburger buns, and place slices of cheddar cheese on them to cover surface of bun.
   
6. Place in oven on broil until melted.
   
7. Place cheese buns on plates, and place sloppy joe mix on top.About 1/4 cup each.