The Ultimate Sloppy Joes

Ingredients

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups ketchup
• 1/4 cup yellow mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 5 whole wheat hamburger buns
  

Directions

Set a heavy-based pot over medium-high heat and add a 3-count of olive oil. Add onions and saute for 2 to 3 minutes until translucent. Add ground turkey, season well with salt and pepper and brown well all over, breaking it up with a wooden spoon - about 7 to 10 minutes. Add ketchup, mustard, cayenne, brown sugar and tomato paste. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. Finish with a splash of red wine vinegar and season it once more before serving on hamburger buns.

From whence it came: These Sloppy Joes were featured on Oprah's show quite a while back and I just now got around to trying them out. The recipe is by Tyler Florence of The Food Network. Wanna know a secret? You can't tell The Spy Who Love Me. Promise? Alright, if you promise not to tell, I'll tell you that I have a little crush on Tyler Florence. It's true. I also have a crush on Guy Fieri and Sam the Cooking Guy. Do you see a pattern here? I'm a sucker for a man who can cook. Have you ever watched the Oprah episode where Tim McGraw makes his famous Chicken and Dumplings? I nearly choked on a bonbon that day while watching Oprah. Let's just say it was HOT HOT HOT in that kitchen, and not from the dumplings! The Spy Who Loves Me knows all too well about my unhealthy obsession with Tim McGraw, but he isn't quite aware of my devotion to Tyler, Guy and Sam. If he finds out he might cancel cable TV, or at least The Food Network, and that would send me into the DTs and that wouldn't be pretty. So we'll just keep my little secret to ourselves. I'll bet you're wondering if The Spy Who Loves Me can cook. Not so much! Although, one time, when I was near death from the flu, and I was just about to walk toward the bright light, he did whip up a batch of pancakes (from a box) and they weren't half bad. Oh yeah, and he can pour a mean bowl of Mini Wheats!

Why it's blogable: Who doesn't love Sloppy Joes? (My married daughter, that's who. But what does she know anyway!) Sloppy Joes are a good ol' American favorite and they're just plain yum-e! This recipe is really extra good, and healthier than that powdered stuff you buy in the package. These are my favorite Sloppy Joes of all time. I used ground beef because I didn't have ground turkey, but I'm sure it's great with turkey, too! And if you want to take them to the next level...toast your buns. (Does that sentence make you giggle? Me too!) Put some butter on the buns then sprinkle them with some Parmesan cheese and pop 'em under the broiler for a couple of minutes. Now you're talking!

Why I finally got around to making it tonight: Today I had a bad mommy moment. My teen daughter, also known as "the middle child" has a sore throat. Last night she went looking for cough drops and couldn't find any so I said I'd stop and buy some today. I said I would, but I didn't. I forgot. Like I said, a bad mommy moment. This middle child of mine is a lover of Sloppy Joes. It's one of her favorite dinners. So, when dinner time rolled around, and I realized I was coughdropless, I quickly pulled out this recipe and whipped up a batch of "I'm So Sorry I Forgot The Cough Drops Sloppy Joes." And it worked! She was a happy girl, and I was back on the good mommy list! Then I went to the store an bought the cough drops because I've learned over the past 17 years that you don't mess with middle children. They're an interesting bunch. I'm scared of them. Although mine is as sweet as a pie, unless you forget the cough drops, or drive away from church, and leave her there, on accident, because you forgot all about her. Then she can be a bit feisty. Other than that, she's sweet as pie!

Hope you enjoy stirring it up!