Lighter Classic Sloppy Joes

This lighter version of classic Sloppy Joes has all the rich, savory, full-bodied flavor you’re craving!

We had some amazing lunch ladies at my elementary school when I was growing up. Nearly every day, they baked us fresh bread, and they served up what I have come to learn was some of the finest school food offered in the Portland Public School District at the time.

Sloppy Joe Day was always a good day in our lunchroom! I remember passing through the lunch line, watching as the Sloppy Joe lady plunked a big ice cream scoop full of thick, meaty sauce onto the bottom half of a freshly baked burger bun, where it sat like a little brown igloo until she smooshed it into a patty shape with the other half of the bun.

Once at your table, you would hold your Sloppy Joe in both hands, fingers on top, thumbs down. The trick was to keep it level as you bit down, in the hopes that at least some of the filling would stay inside the bun as you did. I nearly always finished mine with a fork though, as most of my Joe inevitably ended up plopping out on my lunch tray.

^{This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.}

Tradition has it that Sloppy Joe’s originated in the Midwest in the 1930’s as the saucy loose meat creation of a Sioux City, Iowa cook named Joe. I’m not sure how true that story is, but I like it, so I’m going with it.

Sloppy Joe didn’t find his way into my mother’s kitchen until Hunt’s released its canned “Manwich” sauce in the early 1970’s, at which time Mama was quick to jump on the Sloppy Joe train. Like many women of her generation, she was fascinated by the boon of boxed, canned, and frozen meals that food companies of the time were churning out. Hello, Joe!

Thankfully, the frenzy over boxed and canned meals has long passed, and today I do all I can to avoid prefab foods. But sometimes I still get the craving for those old standbys – most recently for the classic Sloppy Joes of my childhood cafeteria.

Lightening Up Ol’ Sloppy Joe

In order to bring classic Sloppy Joes into the new millennia with lighter, healthier ingredients, I had to make a couple of significant changes.

First, because we’ve taken a giant step back from beef in the last few years, I substituted ground chicken for the traditional ground beef. (You can also use ground turkey.)

That, however, presents another problem, because ground chicken is essentially the tofu of live proteins, in that it is utterly tasteless all by itself. For a more positive spin, think of it as a blank canvas, just waiting for you to paint it up with your culinary magic.

In order to recreate the rich, savory flavor that is the calling card of any respectable Sloppy Joe, I started by adding a splash of Worcestershire sauce and a little cocoa powder to the mix.

In addition to the traditional onions and celery, I also added a handful of grated carrots for depth and sweetness, a squirt of Sriracha for a touch of heat, and a handful of savory spices.

Finally, because I prefer my Sloppy Joes to have some body, I added a little ground oatmeal. If you’ve never used this trick to thicken a meat sauce before, it may sound weird, but it works like a charm, and you’ll never even taste the oatmeal. (Do not use oat flour for this: it is too finely ground.)

How to Make Homemade Burger Buns, with recipes for "Cheese & Onion Buns" and "Cheesy Ranch Buns" | The Good Hearted Woman

5 from 1 vote

Lighter Classic Sloppy Joes

This lighter version of classic Sloppy Joes has all the rich, savory, full-bodied flavor you’re craving!

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Course: Main, Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine: Comfort Food

Keyword: lighter sloppy joes, sloppy joes

Servings: servings

Calories: 210kcal

Author: Renée ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

Sloppy Joes Sauce

2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion chopped
3-4 stalks celery finely chopped
1 - 1 1/4 pounds ground turkey or ground chicken
1/2 cup cold water
3/4 cup ketchup [We use Portland Ketchup!)
1 tablespoon brown sugar see NOTES
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons salt
2 medium carrots coarsely grated
1 teaspoon Sriracha
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 cup water or as needed
1/8 - 1/4 cup old-fashioned or quick oats coarsely ground or chopped

For Serving

Chopped green onions
Toasted burger buns
Cheese sliced or grated [Optional; see NOTES]

Instructions

In a small bowl, mix together ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, cocoa powder, salt, Sriracha, basil, oregano, fennel seeds, and paprika. Set aside.
Melt butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Increase heat to medium-high and add chopped onions and celery. Stir intermittently until the onions just begin to brown.
Add 1/2 cup water and ground meat to skillet with the onions and celery. Season with Break meat apart and cook until no pink remains and water has evaporated.
Add contents of small bowl to skillet mixture and stir to combine thoroughly.
Reduce heat to Low, cover skillet, and simmer 5 - 10 minutes.
If mix is too thick: Add up to a cup of water before simmering (Don't go crazy, though!)
To thicken the mixture, add 2 -4 tablespoons of quick or old-fashioned oats. This works best if you run them through a food mill or small blender first. Be careful though - you don't want to turn it into oat flour - you just want to break the oats up a little.

Notes

SLOW COOKER DIRECTIONS: Do steps 1 - 4 as outlined, then dump everything into the slow cooker, and cook on low for 1-2 hours.

INGREDIENT NOTES:

BROWN SUGAR: If you prefer your Joes a little less sweet, reduce or omit the brown sugar according to your tastes. Also, pay attention to the amount of sugar in your ketchup - if it is a very sweet variety, you will want to cut back on the brown sugar.
CHEESE: I usually use cheddar, or a blend of cheddar and jack. Just use whatever sounds good to you.

Nutrition

Calories: 210kcal

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

One of the best things about classic Sloppy Joes is that you can make them well ahead of time – as in days ahead – and simply heat the sauce up when you’re ready to eat.

Sloppy Joes: Not Just for Buns!

Never underestimate the versatility of the humble Sloppy Joe. Sure, it’s great on a bun, but it has so much potential for branching out. Here are just a few ideas:

Sloppy Huevos Rancheros
Sloppy Breakfast Tacos
Sloppy Lasagna
Sloppy Pasta
Sloppy on a Shingle
Sloppy Rice
Sloppy Avocado

Homemade Sloppy Joes are even better on homemade buns! We like to serve these on my homemade Cheese & Onion Burger Buns. If you’d like to learn more about making your own burger buns – it’s super easy!!! – check out our post on How to Make Homemade Burger Buns (includes my Cheese & Onion Buns recipe).

{Psst! I’m sharing this recipe on the Weekend Potluck Recipe Linkup. Check it out for more great recipes!}

THANK YOU so much for being a faithful reader and supporter of The Good Hearted Woman. ❤ Be sure to PIN and Print this recipe!

You may notice our cat Jackson Browne in the background of a few of the photos in this post. Jack has turned photo-bombing into a serious art form. I am almost certain that he watches for me to point the camera (or my phone) at something, then waits until just the right moment before leaping into the shot a millisecond ahead of my shutter finger. (You can catch more of Jack and friends, plus a few of my doodles, on Instagram at The Harmony Cat.)

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Grilled Corn on the Cob {with Compound Butter}

August 26 By Renée ♥ 34 Comments

Tis the season. (No, not that season.) It’s Farmers Market season. That magical time of year when local markets are busting at the seams and roadside stands pop up nearly everywhere. Those long, hot summer days when we load up on every sweet, luscious fruit and vegetable we can get our mouths on, before they disappear for another year. Sure you can buy things year round in the store, but they just aren’t the same, and we all know it. Especially when it comes to things like Peaches, Tomatoes, Watermelon… and Corn.

Ahh, Corn. Fresh corn. Freshly grilled corn. Mmmm…

Compound butter for corn on the cob! The beautiful part about it is that you can experiment to your heart’s content. Last night we ended up having roasted corn with Lemon Basil Butter, and it was delicious. I just followed the recipe for Mesquite Cilantro Butter, substituting McCormick’s Perfect Pinch® Lemon & Pepper Seasoning for the Grill Mates® Mesquite Seasoning, and basil for the cilantro. I loved how the lemon flavor really brightened the flavor of the corn.

I love the open-corn method (as in the video) if I’m wanting corn with that carmelly grilled flavor. It’s especially wonderful for using as an ingredient in salads and such. But for corn on the cob, we prefer the method shown below. It results in a decadently moist ear of corn that bursts with delicious corn goodness. (Bonus: Super-fast husk removal – no fussing with corn silk at all!)

To roast corn this way, simply throw the corn, husks and all, onto your barbecue. Turn them every few minutes and in about 15 mintues, you will have perfectly raosted corn. Then just cut the end off and slide the husk and all the corn silk off the other end. It doesn’t get easier than this! (If I had only known about this method years ago. I can’t even count how many hours of my life have been spent shucking corn!)

Whether you choose to grill it with the corn exposed as in the video, or with the husk still on as above, the compound butter makes every bite of corn pop with flavor. (Ha! I totally didn’t plan that, but there it is 🙂 )

Finally, while I was writing this post, I discovered something very cool on the McCormick website – their FlavorPrint Profile. If you click through and answer just a few questions about your personal tastes, the website will use your FlavorPrint Profile to match up “recipe recommendations that get you. Every time.” Every FlavorPrint Profile is a little different, and when you are done, you get a cool little icon to represent your profile.

This sounded like an interesting concept, so I thought I would give it a try. The brief FlavorPrint Profile questionnaire took me less than a minute to complete, and asked me preference questions about everything from cilantro to cheese cake. The questions also seemed to vary depending on the answers (I did it a couple of time, just for you). Once complete, I did a search for “grilled corn,” and a ton of delicious sounding recipes popped up, each indicating how closely it matched my FlavorPrint Profile. (As you can see, today’s Grilled Corn recipe is a 89% match for my personal profile.)

When you finish, the website offers you one recipe that is specifically matched to you – no strings attached. If you want to give them your email address, you can search through McCormick’s seemingly limitless collection of recipes, with the results displayed indicating how each recipe matches up to your personal tastes.

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Viral Gains, and I was financially compensated for writing it. Grilled Corn, FlavorPrint icon and FlavorPrint Search Results images courtesy of McCormick.com. All other photos used are mine. Grilled Corn video courtesy of Kitchy Kitchen and McCormicks/Viral Gains. All opinions expressed are my own.

Ginger-Chili Deviled Eggs

July 20 By Renée ♥ 6 Comments

With all the hot weather we’ve been having in the PNW, my cilantro got a little out of hand. These deviled eggs were a perfect place to use the dainty little flowers.

When I write a book review, I tend to jump in with both feet. Prepping to write about D’lish Deviled Eggs, a micro-focused cookbook by Chef Kathy Casey, was no exception: I ended up making four dozen eggs (that’s 96 deviled eggs!) using six of Chef Casey’s fifty-four recipes. Today I’m sharing a slightly-adapted version of my favorite of those six – Ginger-Chili Deviled Eggs. With just a hint of sweet heat and a crisp little cucumber fan for garnish and bite, these little beauties are absolutely delicious, and pretty enough to serve at your classiest soiree.

Ginger-Chili Deviled Eggs

This recipe is an adaptation of Ginger Chili Deviled Eggs from "D'lish Deviled Eggs" by Chef Kathy Casey.

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Servings: Deviled Eggs

Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

12 hard-boiled eggs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Miracle Whip
2 tsp. sambal oelek*
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp minced ginger
1/4 tsp salt

Garnish

cilantro leaves
cucumber fans

Instructions

Peel and rinse eggs. Slice them lengthwise and put the yolks into a medium-size bowl.
Smash the yolks with a fork. You can also run them through a ricer, or use a small mixer for the whole process.
Add the remaining ingredients to the smashed yolks and mix well to combine. The mixture should be quite smooth. Refrigerate filling until you are ready to fill the egg white halves.
Pipe or spoon filling into egg white halves. Garnish with a tiny sprig of cilantro and a little cucumber fan. Serve immediately.

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

You can use a spoon to fill the eggs, but I prefer to use a disposable pastry bag. This allows me to prepare everything ahead of time and pipe the filling in right before serving. *If sambal oelek isn’t a staple in your kitchen, you can substitute sriracha (rooster sauce). If you do this, use 1 1/2 tsp of sriracha and a pinch of sugar.

If you would like to purchase a copy of Chef Casey’s book, D’lish Deviled Eggs, click >>here<<. (Yes! This is absolutely, positively an affiliate link! If you buy 10 or 20 copies of this book, I might make enough to buy more eggs… if they are on sale.)

D’Lish Deviled Eggs {Book Review}

July 18 By Renée ♥ 4 Comments

After attending a media event at Portland’s Heathman Restaurant celebrating the launch of their new happy hour menu, I went home curious to find out more about the woman who had developed it – Chef Kathy Casey. I learned that not only is Chef Casey is a celebrated chef, entertaining expert, cookbook author and pioneer in the bar-chef movement, but she also has a love of deviled eggs that rivals my own. I decided immediately that I needed to check out her cookbook, D’lish Deviled Eggs.

D’lish Deviled Eggs is a beautifully photographed book, comprehensive in its scope. In addition to fifty-four diverse deviled egg recipes, it also includes everything from the history of deviled eggs to instructions on how to perfectly hard-boil a quail egg. (Don’t worry – it tells you how to cook a chicken egg too!) The easy-to-follow recipes range from simple and classic to fancy-schmancy varieties that include such ingredients as truffle oil and caviar. Designed for a dozen eggs, I adjusted each recipe that I made down to six eggs (12 halves) and all of them turned out just fine. I highly recommend Chef Casey’s book, for yourself or as a lovely hostess gift.

The little chick-print egg plate here is mine. (I painted it myself!) That ‘s how much I love deviled eggs.

I occasionally go overboard with things, and this was one of those times. I ended up making 48 hard-boiled eggs, from which I made six of the fifty-four recipes included in the book. Then I served them up to one of my writers groups to get some objective feedback.

Classic Picnic Style: Nothing revolutionary here, just a solid, basic deviled egg recipe that results in exactly what you expect to taste when you bite into a deviled egg. Make the filling the night before – it tastes much better after the flavors have had time to blend.

Bacon-Cheddar:* With a rich, classic, savory bite, the bacon-cheddar eggs were the overall crowd-pleasers: they will likely be one of my go-to appetizers for parties from now on. I think everyone in our group except the vegetarians liked these.

Chili-Ginger:* Of the all varieties we sampled, this was my personal favorite. With just a hint of sweet heat, these delicious little darlings are garnished with cilantro and cucumber, and are pretty enough to serve at your classiest soiree. (My cilantro had gotten a bit out-of-hand, and this was a lovely way to use the little flowers!)

Green Goddess: I really wanted to love these, but unfortunately, this turned out to be the only recipe I can’t recommend. Nearly everyone at our gathering agreed: the egg and avocado mixture was confusing to the palate and just didn’t sit well.

Beeting Heart:* Colored with a mixture of beet juice, red wine vinegar and sugar, these were delicious. In fact, one of my writer-friends (also a deviled egg lover) declared them the best deviled eggs she had ever eaten. Nevertheless, learn from my mistakes: after a late night making fillings, I decided to let the eggs soak overnight instead of staying up even later to take them out after four hours as directed. The extended pickling process resulted in a beautiful but overly tough egg. In hindsight, I think an hour would have been plenty. Prepared correctly, these magenta beauties would be absolutely stunning served at a holiday party.

Grandma’s Old-Fashioned: Based on Chef Casey’s own grandmother’s recipe for deviled eggs, this was more popular than the Classic at our party. I think it might have been the pinch of sugar and vinegar that did it.

I loved all the innovative applications, the beautiful photos, and the entertaining and holiday ideas, but the most significant take-away from Chef Casey’s book for me was Inspiration. I learned that, with practically limitless possibilities, deviled eggs can be tooled to go with nearly any menu, and provide a visually appealing, inexpensive complement to any occasion.

Especially for “Miracle Whip Families“:

One of the hardest things for me to do in the kitchen is follow a recipe to the letter. I tried – I really did. However, we are a “Miracle Whip” family (as opposed to a “Mayonnaise” family), and we tend to like just a touch of “sweet” in our deviled eggs. So about halfway through making (read: tasting) my six batches of egg filling, I switched from using only mayo (as most of Chef Casey’s recipes call for) to a combination of half mayo and half Miracle Whip. It came as no surprise that the fillings that included Miracle Whip ended up being favorites for me and Mr B. Just something to consider if you have a “Miracle Whip household” too. Note that I do not recommend substituting Miracle Whip for all the mayo – it will overpower the other ingredients and make them far too sweet.

*In the recipes discussed above, those I made with a 50/50 mixture of mayo and MW are starred.

If you would like to purchase a copy of Chef Casey’s book, D’lish Deviled Eggs, click >>here<<. (Yes! This is absolutely, positively an affiliate link! If you buy 10 or 20 copies of this book, I might make enough to buy more eggs… if they are on sale.)

Check out my version of Chef Casey’s Ginger-Chili Deviled Eggs.

Egg Week #2

Greek Turkey Burgers & Raddish Kids {Sponsored}

March 28 By Renée ♥ 9 Comments

Kitchen. Table. Family.

There are a multitude of reasons to cook with your kids. Teaching kids to cook – and cooking with them – is an empowering experience. Being capable in the kitchen gives kids (and the adults they grow into) self-confidence and a sense of independence. Kids who cook are more informed about nutrition and healthy choices. Kids are more likely to eat something new if they have a hand in preparing it. What’s more, the skills a child gains in the kitchen reach far beyond the kitchen door.

But some things are much easier said than done, and that’s where Raddish comes in. Raddish is a subscription service that delivers a themed box filled with culinary adventures to your door every month.

Each Raddish (Rad-Dish – get it!?!) Box includes everything you need for at least three separate kitchen adventures except the ingredients:

3 family friendly recipe guides carefully designed so that even non-readers can take part.
1 culinary skill card
2 creative activities with all the necessary materials, aimed at getting your family sitting, talking, and eating together. Activities range from science experiments and art projects to oral histories and foodie games.
Your shopping list, which is also emailed to you the week your box ships.
A Table Talk card deck for facilitating mealtime converstion.
An adorable Raddish patch to be ironed-on to your Raddish apron (which comes free which comes free with a 3, 6, or 12-month subscription)

When our Raddish Box arrived this February, the first thing that hit me when I opened it was the careful attention to detail and the clear intentions of each component. On top was our Raddish apron. Crisp white and embroidered with the Raddish logo, it was well-constructed, made of the heavy, easy-to-wash fabric, and sized to fit a wide range of kiddos.

By day, I am a certified teacher, and I was immediately impressed with the educational value of our Raddish Box: cooking lessons are designed to incorporate math, science, nutrition, reading and vocabulary, and geography and culture. Each element was well thought out, and the kit as a whole provided enough activities for at least three complete family activities/cooking experiences. I liked the clean, sharp-looking, laminated peripherals, the kid-friendly food choices and the intelligent integration of activities.
I had four kids on hand to test-drive it (ages 3, 6, and two 13-year olds) and I was surprised that even the older kids really seemed to enjoy and appreciate the experience. Our Raddish Box arrived in February and was themed to coincide with the Winter Olympics. We started by making Olympic Torch Cupcakes. The recipe was easy to follow, and I loved that the kids were learning that cake doesn’t always come out of a box.

While the cupcakes were in the oven, we made Greek Turkey burgers and then the kids made Olympic medals with the included craft supplies.

I was a little concerned that our picky eaters might not want give them a try – what with all the weird feta cheese and all – but even our 6-year old “Selective” Susie” gobbled hers up with a smile.
After the cupcakes cooled, we made the frosting and everyone took a turn at frosting cupcakes.

In short, I loved our Raddish Box. Clearly, the philosophy that drives Raddish appears at the heart of every element: they believe that two of the greatest gifts you can give your children are a love and appreciation of good food, and a childhood enjoyed at the family table. Our day with Raddish almost made me wish I still had young kiddos at home. (As the mother of five, I can’t believe I actually had to “borrow” children for this review!) If I did, I definitely would be ordering a subscription.

If you’d like to learn more about Raddish, visit their website. Subscriptions are as low as $20 a month.

We all loved these burgers – they were flavorful and moist without being the least bit greasy.

Greek Turkey Burgers

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time20 mins

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Ingredients

For Tzadiki Sauce:
1 cucumber
1 small container plain Greek yogurt
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 Tbls lemon juice
1 Tbls Olive oil
For Burgers:
20 ounces ground turkey
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 cup feta cheese
For Serving:
6 hamburger buns*
lettuce leaves
tomato slices
red onion slices

Instructions

Grate cucumber, and then squeeze and drain in colander.
To make tzadiki sauce, conbine grated cucmber with the remaining Tzadiki ingredients: yogurt,salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil. Set aside.
For burgers, combine ground turkey, seasonings and feta in a medium bowl and mix (with your hands!).
Divide turkey mixture into six even balls and flatten. Using wet hands to do this makes the job much easier!
Fry burgers in a medium skillet over medium heat, or grill on barbeque.
Assemble burgers on bun with tzadiki, lettuce, tomato, onion. Enjoy!

Notes

(The ingredients list for this recipe is courtesy of Raddish. Instructions are unique to The Good Hearted Woman.)

Conveniently, prepackaged ground turkey comes in 20 ounce packages! I used Jennie-O Lean Italian Seasoned Ground Turkey. I really liked the extra boost of flavor that the seasoned ground turkey gave the burgers.

*The recipe in the Raddish Kit indicated that this makes four (huge) burgers or eight sliders. We split the difference and made six very generous, normal-sized burger with this recipe.

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

Disclosure: The product provided for the review was free of charge from the company. All photos and opinions are my own. For more information, please refer to my disclosure policy.