Crock Pot Sloppy Joes

Is there any food better than the food from our childhood? I bet all of us can name at least 5 foods that we ate as a kid that we will always love and remember. My husband will tell you his Mom made the best grilled cheese. His favorite meal (made by his Mom of course) was tomato soup and grilled cheese. And now that his Mom has passed away, I think that is an even more cherished memory for him. No one makes food as good as Mom. One food I absolutely loved to eat as a kid was Sloppy Joes. My Mom worked full-time but she always worked real hard to make sure we had homecooked meals during the week. Even though she would be exhausted from work (she was a school custodian), she would still do her best to cook us our favorite foods.

Homemade goodness

Now, I ain’t got no problem with good ole Manwich in a can. I like it. My Mom used it often and I still use it today. But it’s kinda like spaghetti sauce. Sometimes you want to make it up from scratch when you have time. And you get such great flavor and hopefully enough leftovers to freeze for later. I’m making this Sloppy Joe filling in the slow cooker. I think it gets tastier as it simmers away gently in the crock pot. But you can definitely make these on the stove top (see notes below.)

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. cider vinegar
2 tbsp. yellow mustard
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
salt & pepper, to taste
8 slices American cheese (optional)
8 hamburger buns, toasted

Directions:

In a large pan, brown ground beef with chopped onion. Crumble and cook until no longer pink. Drain excess grease.

Put cooked ground beef mixture into your slow cooker. Add in the rest of your ingredients (except cheese and hamburger buns, obviously)

Give it all a good stir. Cover and cook on low for about 4-6 hours.

When ready to serve, toast your hamburger buns. I usually just put a dab of butter in my cast iron skillet. Put the heat on medium. Then put in the buns.Put filling onto each of your buns and top with cheese (optional.)

Homemade Crock Pot Sloppy Joes on a bun with cheese

Cook’s Notes: To make this on the stove top, brown ground beef and onion in a large pot. Drain excess grease and return beef mixture to pot. Stir in the rest of the ingredients (omit the flour.) Bring mixture to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium low and allow it to simmer for about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!