Sloppy Joes

My sister recently bought her first slow cooker and made a delicious roast.  In honor of her success, I thought I'd post my most used slow cooker recipe.  Enjoy!

Sloppy Joes
Makes 16 - 20 servings

2 lbs ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 C ketchup
1 medium bell pepper, chopped (I like green for color, but use whatever you prefer)
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/3 C water
3 T brown sugar
3 T prepared mustard (I like it spicy)
3 T white vinegar
3 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T chili powder
Hamburger buns or rolls for serving the meat on.

In a large skillet, brown ground beef, onion, garlic and pepper until meat is browned and veggies are tender.  Drain off any fat.

In slow cooker, combine ketchup, celery, water, brown sugar, mustard, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and chili powder.  Stir in the meat mixture to combine. 

Cover and cook on low heat for 6 - 8 hours or high heat for 3 - 4 hours. Serve on buns.  I like to serve these with roasted potatoes or chips and potato salad.

My Notes/Tips:

• I don't like huge pieces of celery in my sloppy joes, so here's how I cut the celery; slice each stalk lengthwise into three or four sticks, then hold the sticks together and chop them into small bits.  
• To toast the buns, split them in half and butter them lightly.  Place them butter side down on a cookie sheet and bake them at 400 degrees for just a few minutes.  Check them often because you don't want to burn them, just get them nicely toasted. 
• If you want to freeze some of this, cool the prepared meat mixture and portion it out into freezer safe dishes or freezer bags.  If you're using bags, seal the bag then smoosh the meat mix out into a smooth layer in the bag.  Freeze flat and then you can stand or stack the frozen meat mix (and anything else you've frozen flat) to maximize freezer space.
• To reheat from frozen, thaw overnight in the fridge and then heat in a saucepan over medium heat, adding a bit of water or ketchup if the mix is too thick and stirring frequently.