Sloppy Joes (with hidden vegetables)

Joe picked up some ground turkey last week.  It was buy one, get one free.  I froze one of the packages and put the other in the fridge.  I hadn't decided what to make with it and almost put it in the freezer with the other pack. 

I'm not fond of turkey burgers, so that wasn't an option.  We already had spaghetti with meat sauce last week, so that wasn't an option either.  And I really wasn't in the mood for a big pot of chili.  Don't get me wrong, I love chili and can usually eat it any time of the year, but the heat has been really getting to me lately and chili just wasn't something I wanted to cook  or eat in the middle of a heat wave! 

Just before I put that second pack of turkey in the freezer, I remembered eating a Sloppy Tom Sandwich at a cute little restaurant in New Hope, PA many years ago.  No, not a Sloppy Joe, it was a Sloppy Tom.  Get it?  Tom Turkey? 

Okay, anyway, I recently saw a recipe on Nicole's blog, Colie's Kitchen, for Very Sloppy Joes.  I'd never made Sloppy Joes from scratch before.  I always added a can of Manwich to the cooked ground meat.  Or, if I didn't have a can of Manwich, I used the seasoning packets from the grocery store.   I knew when I saw the recipe I wanted to give homemade a try, since we are trying to cut out processed foods as much as possible around here. 

I intended to follow Nicole's recipe as written, except for the ground turkey in place of the ground beef.  But as usual, I strayed from her original recipe and added in a lot of fresh veggies.  Oh, well.  I tried. 

Still, Nicole's Very Sloppy Joes recipe and that cute little restaurant in New Hope were the inspiration for this very tasty meal! 

Alison's Sloppy Joe ( or Sloppy Tom) Sandwiches (with hidden veggies)

Ingredients: 

• 20 oz. ground turkey
• 2 celery stalks, finely diced
• 3/4 medium onion, finely diced
• 3/4 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 1 small zucchini, finely diced
• 1/2 Tbs. garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 cup barbecue sauce (I used homemade)
• 1 tsp. dry mustard
• 1 1/2 Tbs. Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Tbs. cider vinegar
• several dashes Tabasco brand Chipotle Pepper Sauce

Directions:

• In  a large frying pan, brown the ground turkey and vegetables.
• Drain grease, if needed. 
• Add the remaining ingredients and bring to boil. 
• Reduce heat and cover. 
• Simmer for about 10-15 minutes. 
• Serve on your favorite homemade or store bought buns. 

I really loved the addition of the fresh vegetables.  During the summer months, when the zucchini is cheap (or free from the garden), I like to add zucchini and carrot to my ground meat base.  Here's why: 

• We're not always real good about getting enough of our fruit/vegetables servings in each day, but if they're added to the ground meat base, it's easy to be sure to get some vegetables into our diets.  Especially, in meals that we wouldn't usually have veggies on the side. (i.e. spaghetti with meatsauce, tacos, etc.)  
• Plus, the added vegetables really stretch the meat a bit.  We were able to get 3 nights' dinners from this one pot of Sloppy Joe's. The first night we topped fresh baked rolls (from the store's bakery) with the Sloppy Joe mixture.  The second night, we used leftover hamburger buns and had a side of fried zucchini and some celery sticks.  The final night, we used leftover  hot dog buns.  I was even thinking that the Sloppy Joe mixture would be great on top of a baked potato!    

 I'll be linking this post to the following blog carnivals this week: 

• Homemaker Monday
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
• Tuesdays at the Table
• Tasty Tuesday
• Slightly Indulgent Tuesday
• What's on the Menu Wednesday
• What's Cooking Wednesday
• Works for Me Wednesday
• Make it From Scratch
• Food on Fridays
• Ultimate Recipe Swap (Zucchini Recipes)