Crockpot Sloppy Joes & Mustard Bread buns

Spending some time slow-cooking makes this sloppy joe filling remarkably tender and blends the flavors in a way that just can't happen in 20 minutes on the stovetop.  The real beauty of this recipe (adapted from BH&G's Slower Cooker Recipes) is that it adapts to whatever your cooking time frame is...if you've got a whole day free before you need to serve it, you can do it completely in advance and reheat from fridged or frozen...if you've got just a little time to prep and more to cook, just measure, assemble and freeze the ingredients to finish on Dinner Day...or if you're in between, you can cook the beef and onions and freeze it with the sauce to dump into the crockpot on Dinner Day.  Options, options, options!

This recipe makes A LOT of sloppy joe filling, so serve it for a crowd or serve half for dinner and freeze the remainder for another day.

I'm serving this tonight with Mustard Bread buns, a recipe adapted from one of James Beard's.  If you use a bread machine, add the ingredients in the order recommended by your instruction manual and use the dough setting.  The bread dough can itself be frozen if desired.  If you freeze shaped rolls, simply thaw them at room temp, let them rise until doubled in size (if you take them out of the freezer in the morning, they should be good by afternoon) and bake them off.


Crockpot Sloppy Joes
Makes 12 servings

2 lbs. ground beef
2 onions, chopped
1 10.75 oz can tomato soup (low-sodium, preferably)
3 tbsp mustard
3 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
Hamburger buns to serve

For a freezer kit, place beef and onion in freezer bags, and combine sauce ingredients in a third.  Fridge/freeze all components together.  (Alternatively, brown the beef and onions over medium-high heat until cooked through.  Drain fat.  Mix into sauce ingredients and fridge/freeze this mixture, preferably in a container that will fit inside your crockpot.)

To cook, thaw the freezer kit (not necessary if beef is already cooked and frozen mixture will fit directly into crockpot).  Brown beef and onions over medium-high heat, if not already done.  Drain fat.  Transfer to a crockpot and add sauce ingredients.  Mix to combine well.  Cook on low 8-10 hours.  Serve on toasted hamburger buns (filling can also be frozen at this stage for future use...simply reheat in microwave or stovetop).

Mustard Bread Buns
Makes 6 rolls

1 1/3 cup white flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup rye flour
1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 packages (4 1/2 tsp) dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
3 tbsp butter, room temperature
1/2 cup mustard

Mix together all dry ingredients in a large bowl or in a stand mixer.  Combine water, butter and mustard.  Stir liquid into dry ingredients until well-combined.  Knead 10 minutes, adding sprinkles of flour if necessary.  This dough is somewhat soft and sticky, so kneading in the mixer is preferable.  Let rise 1 1/2 hours, until doubled in volume.  Punch down and shape into rolls.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 1 hour, until doubled.  Bake 20 minutes at 375F. Pin It