Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Day 30 and Hamburger Meat

This is a crockpot sloppy joe recipe that a friend gave me years ago. I've made it many times, and it is yummy. Because I try to keep hamburger meat browned up and in the freezer ready to go, this is very simple for me to throw together.

Crockpot Sloppy Joes
2 pounds of hamburger meat (browned and drained)
1 onion, chopped
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon mustard
1 tablespoon liquid smoke

Mix all together in crockpot and cook on low for 3-4 hours.

Hamburger meat in bulk
hamburger meat
quart size ziploc bags
colander
measuring cup

I have a huge skillet that can hold about 5 pounds at a time. You can also use a big stockpot and cover the hamburger meat with water (if you do it that way, you have to stir a lot or it gets really clumpy). When you use the stockpot, you have a beef stock that you can freeze to use in soup recipes. I cook it until it's done all the way through, then drain and rinse the meat. I put about 2 cups (this is roughly equivalent to 1 pound of browned hamburger meat) in a quart size ziploc bag, squeeze as much air out as possible and zip the bag closed. I squish the bag flat and lay the packages in the freezer. When they are cooled enough, then I stack them all together in a tub in my freezer. Doing this is great for quick meals like tacos, hamburger helper, spaghetti, throwing together a pot of chili, or anything you need browned hamburger meat for.

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