Slow-cooker Sloppy Joes

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hour(s) 10 minutes
Yield: Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 1/2  pounds  lean ground beef
• 1  (16-oz.) package ground pork sausage
• 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
• 1/4  cup  firmly packed brown sugar
• 2  tablespoons  cider vinegar
• 2  tablespoons  yellow mustard
• 1  tablespoon  chili powder
• 1  tablespoon  Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  cup  all-purpose flour
• 8  hamburger buns, toasted

Preparation

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 next 9 ingredients. Cover and cook on HIGH 4 hours. Serve on hamburger buns.

Cooktop 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. Prep: 15 min., Cook: 45 min.

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