Dump Meals

Beef Freezer bag

Sloppy Joes

dumpmeals.com/recipes/sloppy-joes/

Browned ground beef simmered with ketchup, peppers and onion, then spooned onto buns.

Serves
8
Prep
20 minutes
Cook
Low 4 to 6 hours, or high 2 to 3 hours
Slow cooker
4-quart

Sloppy joes are ground beef in a sweet and tangy tomato sauce, served on a bun. The sauce here is ketchup, tomato sauce, brown sugar, mustard and Worcestershire, with diced onion and green pepper for body. The beef is browned first, so the cooker only has to blend the flavors and heat everything through.

Make it ahead for a game night or a church supper; the slow cooker keeps it warm for serving. Pile it on toasted buns with pickle slices, and serve with coleslaw or baked beans. A fork will help with what falls out of the bun.

Toast the buns, or the filling will soak through them. A scoop of coleslaw or a few pickle slices on top adds crunch. Leftover filling is good over baked potatoes or tucked into a grilled cheese.

Ingredients

Into the slow cooker

  • 2 pounds ground beef, browned and drained
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

To serve

  • 8 hamburger buns

Directions

  1. Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat breaking it up as it cooks, until it reads 160°F on a food thermometer (no pink is not proof). Drain off the fat.
  2. Put the onion, pepper and garlic in a 4-quart slow cooker.
  3. Stir in the ketchup, tomato sauce, brown sugar, mustard and Worcestershire. Add the browned beef and stir.
  4. Cover. Cook on low 4 to 6 hours or on high 2 to 3 hours.
  5. Check the mixture. It should be steaming hot and read at least 165°F in the center.
  6. Toast the buns. Spoon the filling onto them.

It's done when the mixture is steaming hot and reads at least 165°F in the center. The ground beef was cooked to 160°F before it went in. Check with a food thermometer.

Leftovers go in the refrigerator within two hours. Reheat them on the stove or in the microwave until hot all the way through (165°F), not in the slow cooker. Slow cooker safety

Make it a freezer dump bag

Cook the beef to 160°F, drain it, spread it in a shallow container and refrigerate it until cold. Put it in one gallon freezer bag with the onion, pepper, garlic, ketchup, tomato sauce, brown sugar, mustard and Worcestershire. Squeeze out the air, seal, label and freeze flat.

Bag: gallon freezer bag. Keeps: 2 months for best quality; safe indefinitely at 0°F in the freezer.

Sloppy Joes

Frozen on:

Thaw in the refrigerator 24 hours, until no ice is left in the middle. Never cook it from frozen, and cook it within 2 days of thawing. Dump into a 4-quart slow cooker. Cook on low 4 to 6 hours. Check with a food thermometer that it reads 165°F in the center. Stir and serve on buns.

Best within 2 months of the date above.

Plan several bags at once with one shopping list and printable labels.

The planner prints this label free. A designed set for all 17 freezer recipes, plus blanks, is in the Freezer Bag Labels pack ($7).

Cooking for two

Use 1 lb beef, half the vegetables, 1/2 cup ketchup, half the tomato sauce and half the other seasonings. Use a 2-quart slow cooker, so the food still fills it about halfway. Cook on low 3 to 5 hours.

More in Cooking for two in a slow cooker.

Tips

  • Drain the beef well. Extra fat makes the sauce greasy.
  • If the sauce is too thin, cook with the lid off on high for 20 minutes.
  • Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours, in shallow covered containers. Reheat them on the stove or in the microwave until they reach 165°F. Do not reheat them in the slow cooker.

Food-safety sources

More beef

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  • Beef Stew Low 8 to 10 hours, or high 4 to 5 hours Freezer bag Beef chuck cubes, carrots, potatoes and celery in a beef and tomato gravy. Peas go in at the end.
  • Italian Beef Low 8 to 10 hours, or high 4 to 5 hours Freezer bag Chuck roast pieces in Italian dressing mix and broth, shredded for sandwiches with pickled pepper relish.
  • Beef and Broccoli Low 4 to 6 hours, or high 2 to 3 hours Freezer bag Thin-sliced beef chuck in a soy, garlic and ginger sauce, with broccoli added at the end. Serve over rice.