Italian Joes

Ah Sloppy Joes-- the potluck standby. Kent is not a big fan of traditional sloppy joes, but every once in a while I just get a craving for something meaty with a lot of memories. This recipe is an adaptation of one that my sister-in-law Katie makes in her crockpot. I’ve lightened it up a bit, using ground turkey and low-fat cheese.  You can use any sauce you like-- 1 ½ cups is about half of a large jar of pasta sauce. If you have leftovers, go ahead and use them up!

Italian Joes

Ingredients:

1.25 lb pkg lean ground turkey

1 ½ cups tomato-basil pasta sauce

½ medium onion, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

¼ cup ketchup

1 cup low-fat Italian or mozzarella shredded cheese

1 tsp dried basil

Preparation:

In a fry pan with high sides, sauté minced onion in a tsp of olive oil over medium-high heat until soft. Add ground turkey and cook thoroughly. Put in the minced garlic and stir for 1 minute.  Reduce the heat to low and add the sauce, ketchup, cheese and basil. Stir until well mixed. The cheese will melt and incorporate into the sauce. Cover and cook for 10 minutes on low, stirring occasionally or remove to a crock-pot of sharing.

You can serve this dish in a lot of ways: on pizza, over green salad, on toast, with chips, or traditionally in a bun. Since it is pretty heavy, I like a green salad with this one.

Go-Share- Potluck!

-Nikki