Sloppy Turkey Joes

We made another meal out of our Cooking Rocks! Rachel Ray 30-Minute Meals for Kids cookbook. Last Friday night, D had a friend over and we all decided it was a good night for Sloppy Turkey Joes. Apparently, one of the few things that D's friend will eat is Sloppy Joes! I was glad I had picked up all the ingredients the previous day. The boys seemed to really enjoy this meal. I served it with carrot and celery sticks and ranch dressing to dip 'em in. B and I also liked the sloppy joes. It was a nice treat.

Sloppy Turkey Joes
Makes 4 Servings

1-1/3 pounds ground turkey or ground turkey breast
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) (2 turns of the pan)
1/2 red onion
1/2 red bell pepper
1 tablespoon grill seasoning blend (a palmful), such as Montreal Seasonings by McCormick or Mrs. Dash grill seasoning for poultry
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup tomato sauce (8 ounces)
4 crusty sandwich rolls, split
12 celery sticks (available in produce department, or GH can chop)
12 carrot sticks (available in produce department, or GH can chop)

Using a pair of kitchen scissors, cut open the package of ground turkey and hand it off to your GH (grown-up helper).

Have your GH place a big skillet over medium-high heat for you. Add the evoo. Have the GH add the ground turkey to the pan, in case it splatters. Break the turkey up with a wooden spoon as it starts to cook. If anyone touches the raw turkey, they should go wash their hands.

If you are a really good chopper, using a small, sharp knife chop up some red onions. Remember when you are chopping to keep the fingers that are not holding the knife all tucked in and curled under. Have a GH help you. You need half a red onion chopped up small. Pull the seeds and white membrane and the top out of a half red bell pepper and chop that up small too. Add the veggies to the cooking meat and stir it all together.

Next, mix in a small bowl: grill seasoning blend, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and the tomato sauce. This will make your special sauce. When all the ingredients are combined, pour the sauce evenly over the meat and stir everything together really well. Turn the heat down to simmer and cook the sloppy mixture for 10 minutes. Blow on a spoonful until cool and taste it to see if you need to adjust the seasonings.

Have the GH help you serve. Place bun bottoms on plates. Use a big ice cream scoop to get a pile of sloppy meat onto each bun. Put bun tops in place and serve with vegetable sticks on the side and cheese fries (recipe on page 72 of Cooking Rocks!).

This recipe should satisfy even your pickiest eaters.


Enjoy!

The Creative Cook & Son

Honeyed French Toast Sandwich

Yes, we are doing another French Toast recipe. Obviously, we are big French Toast fans around here. D and I both had today off so he wanted to make something out of a cookbook. He decided on using the Breakfast All Day by Edon Waycott cookbook. He found two more french toast recipes. We tried one today with a few substitutions for items that I didn't have in the house. We both loved these "sammies" as Rachel Ray would call them. But that is for another day.

We substituted marscapone cheese for the ricotta cheese. You may be wondering why we had marscapone cheese in our house. That is a valid question. D has been on a marscapone cheese kick since he found out it is a good substitute for cream cheese. It has less calories and fat in it. I have to agree that it tastes great. Try it some time.

Honeyed French Toast Sandwich

3 large eggs

1/2 cup low fat milk

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

4 slices firm-textured white or egg bread

1 tablespoon safflower oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/4 cup ricotta cheese

1 cup thinly sliced strawberries

powdered sugar

maple syrup (optional)

In a shallow dish, whisk together the eggs, milk, honey, flour, and baking powder. Press each piece of bread into the mixture and allow to soak for several minutes. Using a spatula, turn, and allow the other side to soak.

In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil and butter. Using a spatula, lift the bread from the batter into the pan and brown on both sides. Spread the yogurt cheese on 2 of the slices and distribute the strawberries evenly over the cheese. Top with the remaining slices, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve. Pass maple syrup, if desired. Makes 2 sandwiches.

There is a variation to make ham sandwiches:

After browning, spread one side of each of the 2 slices with Dijon mustard, add thinly sliced ham, and top with the remaining slice of toast. Serve hot. This sounds really yummy, too!

The Creative Cook & Son