Skinny Joe Sandwiches

October 28, 2012

I am not the best chef on the weekends. I am really good at getting my cleaning, organizing, and maybe even some light Target shopping completed. But when it comes to cooking on Saturday or Sunday night, I just don’t wanna!

Maybe it was because growing up my parents had the rule that my mom cooked dinner and made lunches for all of us during the week and my Dad was in charge of meals on the weekend. This usually resulted in my dad only going to get food from one of three places in a two mile radius.

So when the weekend rolls around, I look to Mike and see what he is going to make or suggest we get for dinner. Some nights we go out. Other nights it is a big ol’ burrito bowl and some chips and guac. Most often it is a deep dish pizza and salad. I am totally content with this set up.

Until I get that feeling of pure gluttony that comes from eating Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and McDonald’s for lunch (sadly, that is real life sometimes) and decide it is time for something healthy and homemade. This only happens about 15% of the time on the weekends.

What can I say? I have a lot of errands and weekday TV to catch up on during the day.

One of my favorite things to make is sloppy Joes. Except, since I make them with ground turkey and a lot of veggies, I like to think of them as skinny, not sloppy. Serve this up with a side salad or some sweet potato tots. There will even be leftovers for lunches during the week!

See, thirty minutes of work in the kitchen and I feel like a healthy human being again!

Skinny Joe Sandwiches

Course Entree
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 6 - 8
Author Sarcastic Cooking

Ingredients

  • 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
  • 1 ½ Pounds Ground Turkey Breast
  • 1 Teaspoon Salt
  • ½ Teaspoon Pepper
  • ½ Teaspoon Ground Cumin
  • ¼ Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
  • ¼ Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
  • 1 Carrot peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 Celery Stalk peeled and roughly chopped
  • ¼ Onion roughly chopped
  • 2 Cloves Garlic grated
  • 1 Tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
  • 2 Cups Crushed Tomatoes
  • 1 Tablespoon Reduced-Sugar Ketchup
  • 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
  • 8 Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

Instructions

  1. In a large heavy-bottomed skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat for about a minute. Add turkey, break apart using a wooden spoon, and cook until browned, about ten minutes.
  2. Add the roughly chopped carrot, celery, and onion to a food processor. Process on low until all the vegetables are finely minced.
  3. Season the turkey with the salt, pepper, cumin, crushed red pepper flakes, and cayenne. Mix well. Add in the minced carrot, celery, and onion. Cook for five minutes while stirring.
  4. Stir in the garlic, vinegar, and Worcestershire. Cook for another five minutes.
  5. Add the tomatoes, ketchup, and tomato paste. Stir to combine. Turn heat to medium/high and bring to a simmer. Simmer mixture for ten to fifteen minutes until it starts to thicken to your liking.
  6. Cool slightly before serving a few spoonful’s on hamburger buns.

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  • Kayle (The Cooking Actress)
    October 30, 2012 at 6:47 am

    Oooooh I bet I could trick Michael into totally not realizing these are skinny-fied 😛

    • Stefanie
      October 30, 2012 at 7:11 am

      I tricked my Michael into eating them, so I think it could work!

  • Anita at Hungry Couple
    October 30, 2012 at 4:49 am

    HA, I like that…skinny, not sloppy. 🙂

  • Stephie @ Eat Your Heart Out
    October 29, 2012 at 7:16 pm

    If we’d had that cooking rule in my house growing up, I think I would have starved to death. :-O (I like it, though…)

  • Ashley Bee (Quarter Life Crisis Cuisine)
    October 29, 2012 at 1:08 pm

    Manwich is one of my ultimate comfort foods–one of the few things my Dad could cook and not mess up 🙂 Not sure I’d ever stray from that crazy unhealthy sauce, but these do look like a good compromise!

    • Stefanie
      October 30, 2012 at 7:15 am

      That sauce is good, but aren’t all unhealthy things?

  • Patrick
    October 29, 2012 at 12:06 pm

    Sometimes you need a few unhealthy meals in a row to make the healthy ones taste so good. However, you also need a few healthy meals in a row to make those trips to McDonalds so enjoyable 🙂

  • Debi
    October 28, 2012 at 9:55 pm

    I love your recipes – right up our taste bud alley 🙂 I make a similiar recipe to this but instead of tomato paste, use the sauce from canned chipotle in adobe sauce and totally skip the ketchup. So easy so tasty. Thank you for sharing your recipes and bits of your self. Love reading about both!
    🙂

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  • Michelle
    October 28, 2012 at 8:14 pm

    These look so good regardless of their skinniness!