Sloppy Tonys

Sloppy Tonys

Recently, I’ve been terrible about planning dinner ahead of time, so I was trying to find a recipe the other night that would require only a few ingredients to be picked up at the market. I had a package of ground turkey in the freezer, and that was about it. Rachel Ray’s email newsletter conveniently included the idea for this hit.

When I told Mark that I was making Sloppy Joes, but with turkey, he just responded, “Oh mannnn, Sloppy Tonys….”. The name stuck in my head, along with his whiney tone that comes out anytime I substitute turkey for beef, he’s really got it rough :) To make my meal (and day!) even better, I came home to a new All-Clad pan from the Plakas girls- it cooked the turkey perfectly! This super-fast recipe will definitely go in my book as a favorite!

Sloppy Tonys

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 package (about 1.25 lbs.) ground turkey
• 1 tbsp poultry seasoning
• Salt and pepper
• 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup syrup (I had light syrup in my fridge, and it worked just fine)
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 rounded tablespoon dijon mustard (I didn’t have dijon, but it was still tasty!)
• 8 soft burger rolls, split
• Shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese, chopped scallions and chopped pickles, for topping

1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil, one turn of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add the turkey and season with the poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Cook until browned, then stir in the bell pepper, onion and garlic and cook until the vegetables are tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the liquid from the pan.
2. In a bowl, stir together the tomato sauce, syrup, soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar and mustard. Pour the sauce over the meat and simmer over medium-low heat for a few minutes to combine the flavors. Serve the sloppy turkey on the rolls with the toppings.

Of course you could substitute ground beef in this recipe, but I really found that this flavor worked well on turkey. I’ll be the first to admit that turkey can be a bit bland, but these sandwiches were absolutely delicious. I couldn’t wait for leftovers the next night!