Sloppy Turkey Sandwiches, or is it Turkey Joes?

I am probably the last person to have tried using ground turkey in sloppy joes! I have seen other people blog about it and have run across many recipes for it, but had never gotten around to trying it myself. So today, while trying to figure out what to cook and not in the mood to do anything complex, I decided to go for it. I chose the simplest route of course!



First of all, I only used three ingredients! I had a packet of sloppy joes seasoning that my mother in law had given us in a box of foodstuffs that she didn't want to take with her when she moved to another state. I usually use the Manwich sloppy joes sauce, so I had never tried the packets before. A can of dollar store tomato sauce and some ground turkey I picked up on sale, and I was set.

So I started off by browning and crumbling the turkey meat, of course. I drained the meat and my daughter added the tomato sauce.

Then in went the seasoning packet. Right away I could tell it would taste a lot different from the sauce I usually use. It has a totally different, almost peppery smell to it.

Stirred it together and let it simmer for ten minutes like the packet said to. I will admit that it smelled pretty yummy while it cooked.

Then I made up the plates for everyone. We use just plain ole dollar store white bread. It comes out cheaper usually than buns. Buns are a special treat on those rare nights when I get the urge to use a ton of ground beef and make us all burgers. I usually don't make burgers because the meat goes farther in a dish of some sort and comes out cheaper for the meal on a whole that way.

The sandwiches looked pretty yummy! The package said it would make eight sandwiches. I made seven and put enough in Serenity's bowl for maybe another two. I guess I made a couple sandwiches pretty thin! Serenity doesn't like to eat her sloppy joes on any kind of bread. I ended up giving her part of the meat off of one of my sandwiches too!

Then I ended up giving Bobby most of my second sandwich after he finished off his three. My man can really eat. We ended the meal with a special treat, cheesecake! I had a boxed cheesecake mix in the cabinet that we hadn't gotten around to using yet. Bobby loves cheesecake so I try to buy a mix every once in a while. It is cheaper than making one from scratch, plus I've never made one from scratch! Our gallon of milk had the best by date of a couple of days ago, so I figured this would be a good way to use up some of it.

Anyway, after everyone ate I asked them what the thought of the Turkey Joes. Serenity loved them and wants me to make them again. Bobby liked them, but he prefers the Manwich. Joey thought they tasted weird, but he says that all sloppy joes taste weird. I liked them OK but, again, prefer the Manwich.

As for using turkey instead of ground beef, everyone agrees that the turkey tasted great in this. As I tend to only buy what is on sale, I do bring home turkey almost every month during my once a month trip to the store. My store usually has a buy one get one for a penny sale once a month and I try to get there during it. The turkey usually comes out cheaper per pound during this sale than any other meat. I have been experimenting with different ways of preparing it and so far this is a good, and cheap way of doing so. We also like turkey in meatloaf with spinach and cheese!

I think I will end this post now. I just wanted to share my cooking experiment with you all. I highly recommend trying this if you have not before. If you know you like a certain sloppy joe sauce, then I would urge you to stick with it, whatever it is. I didn't dislike the McCormick seasoning. I don't want you to think that. I just prefer my usual sauce. I would give the McCormick seasoning a 4 out of 5 stars for taste and for ease of use. I love simple recipes! Don't you?

Until next time my tangled tanglers......     Happy Cooking!