I remember a few dishes clearly that my grandparents would make or constantly have around their house.
My mom’s mother I remember things like german chocolate cake (had it for my birthday once, it stuck with me forever) stews and popcorn. My grandma would make bags upon bags of popcorn in baskets lined with paper towels for all of her grandkids to split, and pour melted butter over each batch, as a kid, it was a real treat.
My father’s mother I remember fish frys (which are hands down the tastiest seeing my grandfather is a fishermen), meat sauce with pasta and sloppy joes seemed to always be a staple for dinner. I can still remember the table we would gather around with the big pot of meat sauce and pasta in the middle. Both grandparents with at least 15 + grandchildren – so the snacks and meals were always enough to feed a large crowd.
Sloppy joes may be messy, but the flavors are something to remember.
I started making this version a few years ago, when Kelsey Nixon came on the air on the Cooking Channel and made this version of sloppy joes for the one and only – Martha Stewart. Very daring of her to serve such a sloppy dish to the queen of crafting, but after making this it is no wonder why she did! This recipe has stuck with us over the years, constantly rotating through a dinner of choice. It is DELICIOUS!
It is made with ground turkey – so if you are not into that, go to ground beef. But, I highly recommend using the turkey. I tried the recipe once with ground beef, in fear guests would not enjoy the ground turkey and well, the flavor was not as good – all you tasted was the beef.
This recipe makes a huge portion, perfect for a family party. We like to make it, split it in half. Saving half for the fridge for dinner the next day, and the other half we freeze to use another night.
I tweaked the original recipe just barely to fit our tastes.
With the chilly days creeping up on us quickly, these sloppy janes will be sure to warm you up!
- 2 green peppers – diced
- 2 red peppers – diced
- 1 large onion – diced
- <span class=”mceItemHidden” data-mce-bogus=”1″><span class=”hiddenSpellError” pre=”” data-mce-bogus=”1″>3lb</span> ground turkey</span>
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 heaping Tbsp paprika
- <span class=”mceItemHidden” data-mce-bogus=”1″><span class=”hiddenSpellError” pre=”” data-mce-bogus=”1″>14oz</span> crushed tomato</span>
- <span class=”mceItemHidden” data-mce-bogus=”1″><span class=”hiddenSpellError” pre=”” data-mce-bogus=”1″>28oz</span> tomato puree</span>
- 1 Tbsp garlic powder
- 1 cup ketchup
- 4 Tbsp brown sugar
- <span class=”mceItemHidden” data-mce-bogus=”1″>3 Tbsp <span class=”hiddenSpellError” pre=”Tbsp ” data-mce-bogus=”1″>dijon</span> mustard</span>
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- <span class=”mceItemHidden” data-mce-bogus=”1″>2 Tbsp <span class=”hiddenSpellError” pre=”Tbsp ” data-mce-bogus=”1″>worcestershire</span> sauce</span>
- Salt and Pepper
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Prep your veggies – dice the peppers and onion.
- Warm a dutch oven or large pot with a few tablespoons of olive oil, saute the veggies with a pinch of salt and pepper until barely softened (5-10 minutes)
- Add the ground turkey, drizzle of olive oil, 1 tsp of garlic powder + heaping Tbsp paprika – add pinch of salt and pepper.
- <span class=”mceItemHidden” data-mce-bogus=”1″>Stir everything together, and let the turkey brown until <span class=”hiddenGrammarError” pre=”until ” data-mce-bogus=”1″>its just</span> cooked through. (10-15 minutes)</span>
- <span class=”mceItemHidden” data-mce-bogus=”1″>Next add the sauce to the meat — crushed tomato, tomato puree, ketchup, brown sugar, <span class=”hiddenSpellError” pre=”” data-mce-bogus=”1″>dijon</span>, apple cider, garlic powder and <span class=”hiddenSpellError” pre=”and ” data-mce-bogus=”1″>worcestershire</span> sauce.</span>
- Add a good pinch of salt and pepper again – stir everything together.
- Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer with lid on low for 45 minutes –
- <span class=”mceItemHidden” data-mce-bogus=”1″>I keep <span class=”hiddenSpellError” pre=”keep ” data-mce-bogus=”1″>ours</span> on the stove top during football games, or in the oven on low for entertaining!</span>
Serve these sloppy janes on your favorite bun + enjoy!
These are also fabulous on the second night on top of mashed potatoes!
barely adapted from: Kelsey Nixon