Sloppy Joes and Sweet Potato Fries: Day 4 of My Week of Meals

  Cook-out Style Sloppy Joes

Sloppy joes are so simple because they are made from ingredients that almost everyone keeps on hand at their house. We have them for dinner at least once every other week for that reason. Let's be honest though, most of the time when you hear sloppy joes, you are probably wishing you could just get take-out instead. Well, my sloppy joes have something just a little extra that makes them a meal we look forward to each and every time I make them. Kick the old stereotype and try these sloppy joes for dinner this week! 

I start by adding 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a fry pan. I heat the pan over medium-high heat and when the oil ripples I add 1 lb. ground turkey. You can certainly use ground beef if you prefer, but I have been trying to substitute ground turkey into all of my cooking because it is much healthier. If you haven't tried ground turkey then you should give it a shot. You can't even tell the difference, promise!

While browning the turkey I add 1 tablespoon McCormick's steak grill seasoning. I like to add a little kick of flavor whenever I can...

Speaking of kicks, this is where my sloppy joe recipe starts to get a little different then the good ol' traditional ones your mama made while you were growing up. After the turkey is completely browned, I add 1-2 chopped hot dogs to the mix. Why hot dogs you ask? Well, to be quite honest I have absolutely no idea other than the fact that I just love hot dogs. I know, I know...they are the chopped up parts of the pig that can't be made into anything else (or so they say), but I don't care. I love hot dogs, so I add them to my sloppy joes. Delicious in my opinion, but if you are one of those hot dog haters then just skip this step.

I cook the hot dogs with the turkey for about a minute and then add 1 cup ketchup, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, and 1 teaspoon mustard.

I stir everything well and reduce the heat to low. I continue to let the mixture simmer for about 10-15 minutes to let all those yummy condiments get incorporated.

And that's all she wrote, folks! It's like a cook-out in your mouth (except no grill is required).

Cook-out Style Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey or ground beef

1-2 chopped hot dogs (all beef are best, but I used turkey hot dogs...trying to be healthy)

1 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon McCormick's steak grill seasoning

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon mustard

4 hamburger size buns or 8 slider size buns

1. Heat the olive oil in a fry pan over medium heat.

2. When the oil begins to ripple add the ground turkey and seasoning. Cook through or until there is no pink remaining, about 8 minutes.

3. Add the chopped hot dogs to the pan and cook for an additional minute.

4. Add the ketchup, mustard and Worcestershire and reduce heat to low.

5. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

6. Serve on toasty buns with sweet potato fries!

Sweet Potato Fries

Now for the side...this one isn't for the kiddos!

My husband and I have been trying to cut back on our beer intake. We both could stand to lose a few pounds from our pregnancy, but sometimes a beer makes a wonderful marinade and this is one of those times! I start by soaking the cut sweet potato fries in one can of dark beer. My husband is a Sierra Nevada fan, so that is what we had on hand.

If you aren’t a fan of beer, or don’t drink this recipe is still fantastic without the pre-soak.

After the fries have soaked for about one hour, I toss them with 3 tablespoons olive oil, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 teaspoon rosemary, salt and pepper and then stick them in a 425 degree oven. At this point it's time to find something else to do for a bit, but don't wander too far. It's best to check on the fries about every 15 minutes. Ya know, just give them a flip to make sure they are cooking evenly. These typically take about 45 minutes - 1 hour to cook, but they are worth it. Sometimes I get a little antsy and want to speed along the cook time, so I turn on the broiler and let them cook under it for a few minutes. Just be really careful and watch the fries closely if you decide to do that...they can burn very quickly.

I am often impatient and ended up turning on the broiler after about 30 minutes. I let my fries get a tiny bit too crispy, but they still made a lovely side to the sloppy joes!

Sweet Potato Beer Fries

Ingredients:

(I typically half this recipe because it is only two of us eating and fries don’t really save well.)

3lbs sweet potatoes

1 bottle of brown ale beer

3T olive oil

2 large garlic cloves, finely minced

1 sprig fresh rosemary, finely chopped or 1 tsp dried rosemary 

1t salt

black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425.

2. Scrub potatoes, and cut into 1/4 inch pieces. Leave the skins on.

3. In a large bowl, soak the fries in one bottle of beer.

4. Let soak for about 1 hour, tossing once or twice.

5. Drain the beer and toss with olive oil, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper until well coated.

6. Spread the fries in an even layer a baking sheet.

7. Bake for 45 minutes - 1 hour depending on how done you want them. Toss them a few times during the cook time to make sure they are baking evenly.