Slow Cooker Loose Meat Sandwiches Recipe

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Loose meat sandwiches are sort of a "grown up" version of Sloppy Joes. These are delicious, savory, ground meat (can be beef, lamb, turkey, or chicken) sandwiches that aren't loaded down in sauce and glop. They are fantastic to serve at a football or any other sort of sports day get together!

I am such a dork that I didn't realize that yesterday was the Super Bowl until Saturday afternoon.

I knew it was coming, but in my head I thought there were still a few weeks to go. Because of this, I didn't plan any Super Bowl food---

in fact, on Friday when I woke up feeling kind of sluggish and I'm-coming-down-with-a-cold like, I decided that I was going to eat raw for the next three days.

And when I watched my DVR'd Oprah, and it was on "going vegan" for a week, it seemed like A SIGN that I should really do it.

So I plopped the baby in the stroller and we walked to the local produce market and bought pretty much everything in sight

(at least we must have, according to my receipt. DUDE. eating that way costs bank.)

Anyway. I came home and made a delightful smoothie of pear, mango, clementine oranges, apple, banana, and kale (and then a bit of water to get it to smoothie-cize).

It was actually pretty good.

and I was all geared up to eat/drink nothing but this concoction for the next three days.

You see where I'm going with all this.... right?

yeah.

I lasted until about 1/4 through the game and then succumbed to Adam's "Super Nachos" (essentially a few chips loaded with 8 million pounds of cheese, guacamole, and sour cream).

oh well.

I don't really have a segue from that story to this recipe.

The first time I heard of Loose Meat Sandwiches was on the Roseanne television show back in the 90s.

I forgot all about them until our family friend, Harvey, asked if I had ever made them in the crockpot.

When I said I hadn't he told me that they'd work great.

Harvey was right!

The Ingredients.

serves 8

1 pound extra lean ground beef or turkey (the lean is more imp. than the type)

1 onion, finely diced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 cups beef broth

8 hamburger buns (I used gluten free bread, toasted)

traditional hamburger fixen's (pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, mustard, etc)

The Directions.

Use a 6-quart slow cooker.

Crumble in the ground meat (it needs to be thawed, or it'll cook in a big clump).

Add onion, sugar, spices, mustard, and vinegar.

Pour in the beef broth.

Mix well until everything is fully incorporated---you may want to use your hands. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.

Stir well before serving by scooping with a slotted spoons onto hamburger buns.

Top with your desired fixings.

The Verdict.

The meat is juicy and tender with a slight tang from the pickle and mustard.

It doesn't taste salty as much as savory---which I was worried about. I've had hamburger-with-gravy sandwiches before and didn't really care for them, but this is not that.

The kids loved their dinner, and Adam ate 1 1/2 sandwiches.

I served the leftover meat over mashed potatoes with frozen peas the next night.

Thank you for picking out a winner, Harvey!

2008 flashback:

February 1: Banana Bread

February 2: Foil-packet tilapia

February 3: Jambalaya

February 4: BBQ Beef Ribs

February 5: Roasted Vegetables

Made easily in the crockpot slow cooker, Loose Meat Sandwiches are a bit like a "grown up" version of Sloppy Joes. Seasoned with vinegar, mustard, and garlic they are not saucy and gloppy but beautifully savory and delicious! Naturally gluten free -- serve on toasted bread or hamburger buns.

Italian Beef Sandwiches, and other Super Bowl- Type Food

Monday, January 14, 2019

[originally posted Jan 2012]

I must admit that I don't watch very much football. I grew up in a 49er household, and that's pretty much the only football I'll watch, and even then I kind of daze in and out unless it's a rather exciting game. I did watch last week's game, and followed along until the bitter end.

when we lost.

That said, I'm a sucker for parties, and for hearty comfort food. We aren't hosting a super bowl party this year because 1) it snuck up on me, and 2) I'm not even sure exactly who is playing. Those East Coast teams all look/sound the same to me.

(~~ ducking~~)

BUT! You should TOTALLY have a party. And make these sandwiches. Because they rock.

The Ingredients.

serves 8-10 for sandwiches, 6 if spooned over rice

(If feeding more, use a bigger roast. You want roughly 1/2 pound meat per person.)

3 to 4 pound beef rump roast

1 onion, sliced in rings

2 tablespoons dried oregano

2 tablespoons dried basil

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon anise

1 (14.5-ounce) can whole tomatoes (undrained)

1 (12-ounce) bottle beer (Redbridge, by Anheuser Busch is gluten free)

8 hoagie rolls (I use gluten free bread)

8 slices of mozzarella cheese

The Directions.

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Put the meat into your cooker (frozen is okay).

Top with sliced onion, and all the dried herbs and spices. It will seem like there are way too many herbs—try not to worry. Add the entire can of tomatoes and bottle of beer. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or until meat shreds easily with two large forks. Shred the meat completely, and stir well.

Serve on toasted rolls with melted mozzarella cheese, or you can use provolone if you are extra fancy!

The french bread shown here is gluten free--it's from the Against The Grain Gourmet, and comes frozen.

All I did was thaw the bread, slice it down the middle, then bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees. Once the bread felt toasty, and the cheese was melty, I took it out.

The Verdict.

Having a party? This is a fantastic pot-luck meal, or game day feast.
The resulting meat is fall-apart tender and nicely seasoned. The cayenne provides a bit of a kick, but not enough to bother sensitive palates.

If you’d like more heat, sliced pickled jalapeño peppers works great as an additional sandwich topping. I sent the leftover meat home with my friend Sharyl, and she reported back that her three kids LOVED their sandwiches the next day.

Fantastic Sandwich recipe! You can feed up to 12 people with this simple and easy crockpot slow cooker recipe. Toast hoagie buns, top with provolone and you've got the best tailgate party, ever!

other rocking sandwiches and football-type fare:

peperoncini sandwiches
bbq beef and bean

party little smokies (two recipes here)

Hoppin' John Slow Cooker Recipe

Sunday, December 30, 2018

Hoppin' John is traditionally made on New Year's Day to bring good luck and prosperity throughout the entire calendar year.

Today isn't January 1. Instead, it's September 21, the first day of fall.

You remember the song from the musical, Mame? The one where it says "we need a little Christmas, right this very minute..." I think we could agree that we ALL could use a little good luck and prosperity right this very minute.

[edited 5:24 pm: okay, there's some disagreement over whether or not it's actually the first day of fall. It looks like I'm wrong---but the sentiment is still good!]

so here you go: Hoppin' John. If you win the lottery after eating, buy some crockpot books!

:-)

The Ingredients.

serves 10--freezes nicely!

1 pound dry black eyed peas, soaked overnight

4 cups chicken broth

1 pound smoked sausage, sliced

1/2 cup instant rice (or use 1 cup already cooked rice, and stir it in at the very end)

1 (10.5-ounce) can Rotel

1 bunch of collard greens or kale, chopped

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

The Directions.

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Soak your beans overnight in a bunch of water and drain well in the morning and rinse in cool water.

Put the beans directly into your slow cooker. If you don't have time to soak the beans overnight, that's okay! Instead, put them in a pot with a bunch of water and boil rapidly on the stove for 10 minutes.

Then turn the heat off, and cover the pot. Let it sit for one hour, then drain and rinse and plop into the pot.

easy-peasy!

Once the beans are in the crock, add broth and sliced sausage. Stir in the rice and rotel.

Add greens, and sprinkle on the salt and pepper.

Cover ( you may need to shove in greens to get the lid on nicely) and cook on low for 8 to 12 hours, or until the beans are soft.

Stir well before serving.

The Verdict.

We've got 101 days left in the year---lots of time for good luck to happen!

This tastes wonderful. It has more of a casserole consistency than a soup or stew, and my whole family enjoyed this meal.

I liked how the smoky sausage flavored the beans and the kale I used just kind of shriveled up and disappeared----we got a great punch of iron without notice.

other stuff you should make:

the first time I made black eyed peas, I wasn't impressed

but then I made this totally awesome black eyed pea soup

and guess what? I just plopped in Barbecue Beef and Beans to put on top of toasted Udi's white bread (LOVE THIS BREAD) for dinner, and check out the date on this post: 2 years ago today! ack! totally trippy.

ALSO, I wrote an Article on Making and Keeping New Year's Resolutions. You should read it!!