You can't go wrong with this simple, 4-ingredient family favorite recipe! Easy Crock Pot Sloppy Joes are the perfect weeknight meal.
Hey, y'all! Welcome to my latest series on the blog; Make Ahead Mondays! Let me tell you, meal planning and meal prepping has been a game changer for me. Recently, our family grew from a family of 2 to a family of 5 when our latest group of foster children joined us.
Before, when it was just the two of us, I'd meal plan- meaning I'd sit down on the weekends and figure out what meals I was going to prepare throughout the week. I'd jot down a grocery list and head to the store to stock up for the week. Now that we're moms to a 5-year-old and 1 1/2-year-old twin boys, I had to switch over to meal prepping. Meal prepping, for me, means planning out our menu, grocery shopping, and then spending a couple of hours 1 day a week whipping up all of our meals for the week and tossing them into the freezer until we're ready to use them. Ya'll, I have so much more time on my hands doing things this way AND there's a hell of a lot less dishes.
Throughout this series, I'm going to share with you the recipes I use to on these meal prep days. Hang on tight, your life is about to get so much easier! This week, I'm highlighting my Easy Crock Pot Sloppy Joes
Sloppy Joes are an iconic family meal. Sloppy Joes are a super simple sandwich. Most family's simply combine ground beef with a can of Manwich and call it dinner. Sure, that's all good and well but this dinner is just as easy to make from scratch as it is from a can!
Sloppy Joes are perfect for busy weeknights. You can make them in advance when you're meal prepping or whip them up in just minutes with pantry staples; ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar.
Tips for Making Freezer Crock Pot Meals:
- Keep an eye on your grocery stores sale flyers and stock up on meat when it's on sale.
- Print off recipes your family likes so you don't have to hunt them down or create a special Pinterest board with all of your favorite freezer meals.
- Label each Ziploc bag with the name of the meal, simple directions and cooking time.
- Make sure you have all of the essentials before you get started- bag holders, gallon size bags, quart size bags, permanent markers, bag holders, and slow cooker liners are great to have on hand.
Kitchen Essentials:
Ingredients:
3 lbs ground beef 1/3 cup brown sugar 1/3 cup mustard 1 1/2 cups ketchup Hamburger Buns
To Enjoy Now:
1. Brown the ground beef, breaking it up into crumbles as it cooks. Cook until the meat is no longer pink.
2. Add the brown sugar, mustard, and ketchup to the crock pot Stir to combine.
3. Cook on low for 3-5 hours.
4. Serve on hamburger buns.
To Enjoy Later (as a freezer meal):
1. Label a gallon size Ziploc bag with the meals name, directions and cook time.
2. Brown the ground beef, breaking it up into crumbles as it cooks. Cook until the meat is no longer pink.
3. Add the brown sugar, mustard, and ketchup to the Ziploc bag. Seal the bag and use your fingers to squish the bag until the ingredients are well mixed.
4. Add the ground beef to the sauce mixture.
5. Remove as much of the air from the bag as possible and store the meat mixture in the freezer until ready to prepare.
6. Thaw the beef mixture in the refrigerator overnight. Place the ingredients in a crock put and cook on low for 3-5 hours. Serve on hamburger buns.
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