Are there recipes in your file that take you back to your childhood? My mom and nanny made sloppy joes a lot when I was growing up. But we didn’t call it sloppy joes, we called it barbecue. I find that the word barbecue means different things to different regions. In my neck of the woods, barbecue and sloppy joes were the same thing.
Anyway…my nanny’s recipe is very good, but I changed it a bit, by omitting the ketchup, and adding a can of tomatoes. The recipe also called for two onions, but I used one onion and one red pepper. I added garlic. The biggest change however is the use of ground turkey instead of ground beef. We don’t eat beef, so I replace all recipes that call for ground beef with ground turkey. The result was hopefully a little healthier, yet still very tasty. My oldest daughter loved it. This recipe doesn’t taste like my nanny’s, but hopefully I am creating my own tradition.
Turkey and Veggie Sloppy Joes
adapted from my Nanny’s recipe
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1-2 cloves garlic – chopped or crushed
- 1 medium chopped onion, I used red, because that is what I had in the fridge
- 1 red pepper – or green, whatever you have
- 1 – 14.5 oz can whole tomatoes – I only had a can of whole and I pulsed them through my food processor. You could also use diced.
- 2 T. vinegar – I used white balsamic, again use the type that is in your cupboards. My nanny probably used white or apple cider vinegar.
- 1 1/2 tsp mustard
- 2 T. worcheshire sauce
Heat a little olive oil (about 1 T.) in a large skillet and add the garlic. saute for about 30 seconds. Add the turkey, onion and pepper and cook until the turkey is browned. Break up the turkey into tiny pieces as it cooks. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until most of liquid had evaporated. There might still be some though. Stir frequently and make sure to scrap the brown bits that might be stuck to pan. I use a slotted spoon to put the sloppy joes onto the rolls.
Complete your meal with Fries or Mediteranean Orzo Pilaf.
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This post is linked to:
- Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
- Tempt my Tummy Tueday at Blessed with Grace
- 5 Dollar Dinners
- Friday Feasts at MomTrends.
That looks delicious!
I’m having my first giveaway, come and have a look!
I really like the addition of veggies to this!
I haven’t made sloppy joes in a long time. I will have to add this recipe to my must try soon list. THANKS!!! Geri
To answer your question, YES, Sloppy Joes is actually one of the things that screams out childhood to me and I have NOT had them since. And growing up, it was different from BBQ. Well, I love the spin you put on this. Simply awesome.
First time joining MomTrends so wanted to say hello. have a great weekend.
Thanks for the comments. I love to hear from readers and check out their sites too! I did make an edit to the recipe, someone emailed me and asked me about the size of the can of tomatoes. I used a 14.5 oz can. Thanks again.
Interesting. My kids like sloppy joes. I’m not a big fan of them, but this might be something for me to try with them.
I like your additions – they really up the nutrition! Mmmmm…
Thanks for joining the Make it from Scratch Carnival!
–Katie
M – I am a little embarassed to say, but I just used the Frenh’s yellow mustard, but I am sure you could experiment with other flavors. 🙂
This looks great! What type of mustard did you use or do you recommend?
Very clever!Can’t wait to see what you come up with for tomorrow’s Momtrends Friday Food feature. My recipe is pork–until then!