Days at work when I have something cooking in the slow cooker at home are just awesome. I walk around feeling like I just crossed ten things off my to-do list and fighting the urge to high-five everyone I see. In quiet moments I want to whisper to the person next to me, "Want to know a secret? Dinner is ALREADY DONE."

Whether you are a complete food geek like me or not, knowing that dinner will be hot and ready when you get home is a great feeling. When it is the best sloppy joe recipe I've ever made, it's even better. Not too sweet and not too tangy, this recipe has great flavor and a nice, thick sauce. I wasn't sure about adding pork sausage in my sloppy joes at first but I'm a complete fan. It adds great flavor and isn't overpowering. This is a good recipe if you are serving a crowd because it makes a large batch and can easily be doubled, plus it can be hot and ready whenever you want it. Time is usually short in the morning when I'm getting ready so I've even cooked up the meat the night before and stuck it in a bowl in the fridge and assembled everything in the slow cooker the next morning.

And then walk around work like a rockstar all day.

Slow-Cooker Sloppy Joes

By HeatOvenTo350 Published 02/22/2013

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 lb (16 oz) ground pork sausage
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 medium 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

Instructions

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.

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook time: 4 hours

Recipe Source: Southern Living