Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes

Every Thursday, mom blogs Centraljerseyworkingmoms and the Harried Mom host Thursday Crock Pot Buddies. In the recipe series, the moms try out a new crock pot recipe each week. I was chatting with CC Fowler of Centraljerseyworkingmoms the other day about the cooking fest, and decided to join in the fun.

I decided to make my life easier for myself Monday, and so I made a slow cooker supper of Sloppy Joes that afternoon.  The recipe was quick and easy to put together and the meal came out tasty! This is the recipe, which I adapted from Dawn J. Ranck’s and Phyllis Pellman Good’s  Fit-It and Forget-It Cookbook.”

Sloppy Joe Recipe (serves 4-6)

Ingredients

• 2 pounds  ground beef
• One 16-ounce jar of tomato sauce (I used Prego’s 100%  Natural Tomato Basil Garlic sauce)
•  1 small onion,  chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4-6 toasted buns

Brown the beef and drain.

Pour the tomato sauce into the crock pot. Prepare the onion, garlic and green pepper and combine with the tomato sauce.  Add black pepper, red pepper flakes, Worchestershire sauce and ketchup to the tomato sauce mixture. Add the beef to the crock pot and cook on high for 3- 4 hours.

Toast buns. Spoon sloppy joe mixture onto the toasted buns.

This recipe turned out great, and my kids loved it. But, as my spouse and I tend to like spicy food, I may add some more spice my next go-round for some especially zesty sloppy joes!