Crock Pot Sloppy Joes

Before I start in on this post, I must get a couple of things out of the way:
1. That is steam coming off of my fresh-out-of-the-crock-pot sloppy joes in the above picture. I think knowing that makes them look more tasty instead of "Hey, that photo's kind of weird" (I said that in a  funny voice in my head).
2. Yes, it's on a hot dog bun. Not a hamburger bun. There is a method to my madness. Let me get there!

On to the recipe and such things. If you can believe it, I've never had sloppy joes before I made them the other day. And oh, was I missing out! This is officially one of my new favorite foods.

When scouting out sloppy joe methods and recipes, I came across Ezra Pound Cake's recipe. She and I are on the same wave length in terms of textures. The peppers simply can't be in it because it makes it weird. Peppers have an entirely different texture than beef. That's just how I think. I'm sorry if that offends you.

So, I adapted her recipe for the crock pot! And this is how.

First, I browned some ground beef.

Then I drained off some of the fat and added onions and garlic. Now, let me be clear. These onions took a beating in the food processor because I wanted flavor out of them not texture. If you're a normal person, dicing them will be fine.

Set the ground beef aside and grab your itty bitty crock pot. Or a normal sized one. Pour in a can of tomato sauce.

Then add some chili powder, pepper, red wine vinegar, and worcestershire sauce.

Followed by some mustard and red pepper flakes. I love red pepper flakes.

Stir it all together, add the ground beef, and set it to cook low and slow for 6-8 hours. Your house will smell divine.

When it's finally time to eat, toast some buns. The toasting is very important- it helps the bread hold up to the messy, messy beef.

Okay, here's the bun thing. I always see photos of sloppy joes with hamburger buns and the beef is always falling out of it! Isn't that hard to eat? So my thinking was, why not use a hot dog bun? It's one less side for beef to fall out of. But you can totally use a hamburger bun if you're traditional like that.

Enjoy your sloppy joes! I know I did!

Crock Pot Sloppy Joes

Serves 4-6
Adapted from Ezra Pound Cake


Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1/4 cup finely minced onion
1 tsp minced garlic


1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp yellow mustard

Hot dog or hamburger buns
Butter

Directions
1. Brown the ground beef in a large skillet. Drain off most of the fat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until onions are translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
2. In the crock pot, combine all remaining ingredients except buns and butter. Add the ground beef mixture and stir to combine. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
3. When beef is ready to serve, butter buns. Broil until tops are golden brown, about 1 minute.
4. Spoon the ground beef onto the buns and serve. Enjoy!