Joes for a Crowd

This is one of those recipes that I thought I had shared long ago here at the Cafe, but I couldn't find it! So I'm sharing it today.

This Sloppy Joe recipe is the one I've used...well, since we lived in Indiana. And that's going back a fur piece. Think last century. Think Mom Jeans and the original Full House. Cheers was still on the air, and so was Seinfeld. ("On the air" meant they were making new episodes, not just re-runs on syndicated channels...or binge watching opportunities on Netflix!)

That provenance makes this recipe a perpetual family favorite, and Friday evening called for this kind of recipe.

It was our last evening together as a family before Jacob and Katie move on to their new adventures! We're so excited for them!

It's been two years since their wedding.
Can you believe it?

But...they'll be twelve hours away. Two-and-a-half states away.

Suddenly, having the whole family together will be a once-in-a-while thing. (Especially since another son is planning to move away this summer!)

So we got together for a meal and a couple games of Forbidden Island. (If you haven't heard of this game, look it up on YouTube. It's definitely a Geek-type board game. Perfect for our family!)

I didn't take any pictures that evening, but here's the recipe.

Joes to Go

ingredients:

3 pounds ground beef

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 15-ounce can tomato sauce

1 cup chili sauce

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 Tablespoons white vinegar

1 Tablespoon ground mustard

24 hamburger buns

This is an easy recipe, which is probably why I made it so often while the children were growing up!

Brown the ground beef in a large skillet (I use my Dutch oven), then drain. Saute the onions in the skillet for a few minutes, then add the ground beef back in and mix well.

By the way, if your daughter-in-law doesn't like onions, leave them out and substitute onion powder instead. :-)

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

At this point, you can keep the sloppy joe mixture on the stove, stirring occasionally until it's heated through. Or you can put it in your slow cooker (on low) until you're ready to serve it.

The slow cooker option is great for carry-in dinners!

* * * * * * * *

That was how we ended our week. It started out like this:

After more than five weeks of frigid temperatures, the weather warmed up. On Tuesday we reached 50°!!!! So we headed up into the Hills, of course. Our favorite spot (in case you didn't already know) is the Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park.

Even though there was still snow, the animals were out - even the prairie dogs!

As we topped this rise, we knew we were in for a treat!

Yes, the "Black Hills Car Wash" was ready for business!

We patiently waited our turn...

And then, as the cars ahead of us moved on, the crew headed our way.

They did a less than perfect job, but they were fun to watch!

And they were close enough to touch...but we didn't. The last thing we want is a surprised bison to swing its head (and horns) into the side of our truck!

Isn't it tempting to sink your fingers into that thick coat, though?

As we drove on, we saw this lady shoving the remaining snow aside to get to the grass underneath. Was that grass sweeter than the field behind her?

But we also noticed her neck...see the ridge? The hollows along her shoulders? In the fall, the bison have thick humps on their shoulders, full of fat for the coming winter. These bison were all skinny like this. It's time for the green grass to start growing!

Not yet, though. The day after our warm spell, a blizzard hit.

LOTS of snow, and winds gusting up to 60 mph. Not the worst storm we've had, but bad enough.

This is the snow trapped between the
screen and the window. Pretty, isn't it?

We have no idea how much snow we got. The front yard was swept bare (along with our driveway,) but this was what the dogs' run looked like:

Wynter has always liked the snow...

This time, Thatcher wasn't so sure.

We're back to warm weather, now. This storm was definitely a spring storm, bringing wet, heavy snow, and then turning warm right afterwards.

The flooding farther east is terrible, though. I have a feeling we're going to be hearing a lot about flooding in the next few weeks.

But the first day of spring is on Wednesday! I'm ready for it! How about you?

Jan Drexler lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and growing family. When she isn't writing, she loves hiking in the Hills or satisfying her cross stitch addiction.

You can find Jan on Facebook, Jan Drexler, author, or her website, Jan Drexler.com.