Sloppy Joes...without the can!

I have to admit that I have only ever made Sloppy Joes with Manwich from a can. We haven't had Sloppy Joes in a long time, and we have a can of Manwich hanging out in our kitchen, and Rob requested that I use it. I definitely wanted an easy dinner tonight, but I wasn't willing to make it that easy. So I started surfing the net for an easy, but yummy recipe. I found just what I was looking for on allrecipes, but I decided to change it up a bit. I used some of the recommendations from the reviewers on allrecipes and came up with something that was easy and delicious. I can't say we'll be eating this very often. It's not especially healthy, but it was wonderful in a pinch. And I think it's safe to say I'll never be buying a can of Manwich again. You can find the original recipe here.

Simple Sloppy Joes (source: me? adapted from allrecipes)

1.25 lbs extra lean ground beef
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp yellow mustard
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup barbecue sauce (I used Hunt's Hickory and Brown Sugar, so I left out the brown sugar that the original recipe called for)
dash or 2 of chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cider vinegar
salt and ground pepper to taste

Brown beef and pepper; drain. Stir in remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Heat through about 5 minutes and transfer to slow cooker. Cook in slow cooker on low approximately 3-4 hours.

I served this with herb roasted red potatoes and roasted broccoli. One thing I will do differently next time is use chopped onion. I didn't realize that all of my onions had gone bad, so I had to use onion powder. Certainly not a gourmet meal, but yummy nonetheless!