Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes!

I haven’t posted in a LONG time. This recipe is one I actually made 3 weeks ago too! And probably one of the last things I cooked.

My husband and I have been so busy as the final few weeks of this pregnancy approach that we haven’t been cooking anything original – just things we have done in the past that were fast and easy. Or defrosting leftovers to make room for new things I am planning to make and freeze. (I’m one step closer to that – we actually bought a bunch of different ground meats to work with!)

Anyway, this sloppy joe recipe was actually delicious! I hated sloppy joes… my husband made me try the Manwich kind for the first time when we started living together and I just wasn’t into it. But when I saw this slow cooker recipe on MomsWhoThink.com, I knew I wanted to try it.

We first ate it as sandwiches, but I also used it to put over leftover pasta and it was a great topper for that too! So this recipe is pretty versatile for the way you can eat it.

Being a slow cooker recipe, it is very easy to make, and this one is a “set and forget” recipe, you do not need to do anything in the middle while cooking. I definitely recommend this one!

And now, the recipe: (as usual, I made half of what is listed below)

Ingredients:

3 lbs. ground beef, browned and drained
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green pepper, chopped (I actually used red)
28 oz can tomato sauce
¾ cup ketchup
3 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
8 sandwich buns

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except for sandwich buns in the slow cooker. You can grease your slow cooker if you want. I did for the first time, and I felt it made it harder to clean.

Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours. (If you put the meat in raw, cook longer until brown!)

Service in sandwich buns and top with shredded cheese if desired.

The first time we ate them, we did not use cheese but the second time we did. Yum! When I also used this over pasta, I put Parmesan cheese on and that was delicious!!
Definitely try this one out – maybe I’ll use some more of my ground beef to make more and freeze so we can eat it when the baby is here!

Also, another reminder – if you or anyone you know plays fantasy baseball, their drafts are most likely starting or coming up SOON! Get an advantage! Go to www.rotoprofessor.com and buy the fantasy baseball draft guide! It’s only $6 and gets updated every few weeks until the baseball season starts. (In fact, 2 or 3 updates have already gone out so the guide is getting more and more comprehensive by now!) This is the 3rd year the draft guide is on sale and it gets rave reviews. Check it out! (And if you must know, the RotoProfessor himself, who makes this guide, has won his fantasy league a few times now.) Plus, anyone who purchases the guide before March 15th has a chance to win an autographed baseball of Yankees starting pitcher, Michael Pineda! Pass the word!

Game Day Dessert Week 15 - Six Layer Cookies

So, today's recipe came from my company's newsletter that came out on Friday the 16th. There were some "holiday" recipes in there, and this one caught my eye. It's originally called "Seven Layer Cookies," but one of the layers was coconut and I hate coconut.









Here is the original recipe: (click on it for a larger view)


It seemed easy enough so I wanted to try and make it. The result did come out very, VERY tasty, but either mine still wasn't cool enough to cut, so it turned into a crumble of sorts (still very tasty to eat) or it needed to be baked a minute or two longer or it needed to be chilled in the refrigerator. I don't have the answer yet - and I just put the remainder of the dish in the fridge to see if that solidifies it a bit more so they can be cut into perfect squares.

I really need to stop attempting to bake since I could never get it perfect but at least the correct flavor of the cookie recipe was there and my husband and I are more than happy to eat it as a fork and knife dessert or over plain ice cream or something!

I also wanted to post the original recipe because I made quite a few changes, just to flavors. Instead of regular graham crackers, I used cinnamon graham crackers, because that is what we had in the house.

Instead of butterscotch chips, I used white chocolate chips, for the same reason. We used to have butterscotch chips, but I guess we used those up.

Lastly, instead of pecans, I used peanuts. We had cashews, peanuts and almonds in the house, so I chose the peanuts.

My revised combination tasted great and you can tell how easy this recipe is to manipulate. None of my changes should have affected the consistency. I have a feeling it needed a minute or two longer baking time and then refrigeration to solidify.

I also thought baking it at 275 was a little odd, it seemed low, so I wonder if there was a typo in my company newsletter. I wish I knew who the recipe came from to ask!

Maybe those of you better at baking than I am will know the answer!

Anyway, as mentioned, the original recipe is above, and here is what I used:

Ingredients:

1 stick butter or margarine
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (I used cinnamon!)
1 12 oz package of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 12 oz package of white chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup chopped peanuts

Directions: (I halved the recipe, but these are directions for full size!)

Melt butter in a 9 x 13 pan.

Mix and press graham cracker crumbs in with butter to form a base.


Add all the other ingredients in order listed.


Bake at 275 degrees F for about 20 minutes.

Let cool completely before cutting into small squares.

Enjoy!


The recipe was very, very easy to make and I was about to put it together in about 7 minutes and then bake it. The cooling takes the longest.

I'll see what happens after refrigeration time - if it solidifies more, success! If not, well, back to the drawing board when it comes to baking! What else is new?

Also, a reminder for you sports fans who play fantasy baseball. The season is coming up and my husband's website, www.rotoprofessor.com, does an annual fantasy baseball draft guide. It is sold online via Excel for $6 and once it is released (sometime in January), it will get updated every 2-3 weeks and re-sent to you via e-mail until the baseball season officially starts.

This is the 3rd year for the draft guide and it gets rave reviews. Many fantasy baseball fans appreciate the low cost and constant updates as opposed to the pricier magazines in the stores. So hurry up and reserve your copy today! The RotoProfessor is currently hard at work making sure it will be finished on time for its release!

As for the Eating With A fans, I actually have a few recipes from the past week that I never posted (blame it on some jackass who left me so stressed I didn't have time for something else!)

So watch out for those as well!

Ta Ta For Now!