Sloppy Jose! Olé!

No, that’s not a typo.  These are Sloppy Joes with a Mexican twist.  They’re simple and only take a few ingredients, but they taste fabulous.  On a night when I’ve been busy all day and want to just throw something together in half an hour, this is one of my go to meals. 

We’ll Keep this short and sweet and get right to it.  This recipe makes enough for about three sandwiches.  My husband and I usually each eat one for dinner, and then one of us will use the leftovers for lunch the next day.  You can easily adjust the amounts up or down depending on how many you are feeding. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

½ pound ground turkey breast
½ medium onion, diced
½ red bell pepper, diced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup good salsa
1 cup cheese, grated
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

You’ll notice that there is no bell pepper in my process.  My grocery store didn’t have one worth buying that day, so I just went without.  It really is better with it, though, so if you can get one, put it in. 

Add the oil to your pan over medium heat.  When it’s hot, throw in the onion and bell pepper and sprinkle them with a pinch of salt.

Stir them around for about a minute and add your turkey. 

Start chopping it into pieces and sprinkle it with chili powder. 

Continue chopping and stirring until it looks something like this.

Add the salsa.  As usual, I like to use homemade.  If you use store bought, remember, the salsa is where all the flavor comes from.  Splurge and go for something good. 

Stir it all together.  Starting to look pretty tasty, huh? 

Cover it and let it simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so.  Don’t skip the simmering.  See what happens during that time?

Stir it again and turn off the heat.  Throw in the cheese. 

I used a half cup of a pre-grated mix and a half cup of extra sharp cheddar.  It’s best to use a mix of some kind.

Stir it all together.  Did I mention I really like cheese? 

Cover it and let’s start on the buns.  I like to use the ciabatta buns that my grocery store makes.  You want something slightly crusty so that it will stand up to the filling, but soft enough to easily bite.  All those air pockets in ciabatta are helpful, as well. 

Scoop the filling onto the bun. 

Drooling yet? 

I like to serve them with just potato chips, but you could always add a pickle spear, potato salad, or whatever other side item you like. 

Try my Sloppy Joses and let me know what you think.  You’ll never want to go back to canwich again.          

Comments

[Seeley deBorn]

I am so making these this week. I'm heading to the bakery now and I'm going to get some crusty buns to put them on.

I'm guessing the cheese in the mix really helps hold them together and minimizes the sogginess of the buns... have you ever toasted them first, or is that too much crusty bunness?

[Amber Green]

Looks great--I'd use English muffins, though, because the ciabatta available here is too crumbly to use on ANY decent sandwich.

[Taneasha]

@Seeley - The mix of cheese does hold everything together, nicely. Toasting would probably be fine, but honestly, I'm just too lazy most of the time.

@Amber - English muffins would work great for this. Really, any buy will work just fine. My husband actually prefers just a regular old hamburger bun.

In fact, we've even spooned the filling into pieces of lettuce leaves and eaten it that way. It tastes fabulous, still, and is great if you're avoiding gluten or carbs.