A New Take on Sloppy Joes

Foods from my childhood are comfort foods to me - Mac & Cheese, Tomato Soup,  Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.  But they're not the healthiest things on the planet, so I tend to "mix it up" a little bit.  When I was a little kid, I loved Sloppy Joe's.  My mom was a "from scratch" mom, so we're not talking about a can of Manwich thrown on a bun.  She probably made a tomato sauce, sautéed onions and any other veggie could try to sneak in there, and fresh ground beef.  And it went on something cool like a Dutch crunch roll.

So in honor of my mom's efforts, I put my own spin on Sloppy Joes: Thai Style!

I started out by sautéing some diced onion in coconut oil.  You can use olive oil if you don't have coconut oil, but I HIGHLY recommend coconut oil; adds a really nice background of flavor (and the scent reminds me of sun-filled vacations).  When they're nice and soft, create a little space in the middle of the skillet and add garlic, ginger and Serrano pepper.  I like to let those sit on the heat by themselves for a minute and then incorporate them into the onions.  Then add red curry paste (green or yellow works, too, but the red paste makes me happy and looks good), and stir that in well.

Now comes the turkey.  I like to use a half-and-half mixture of breast and thigh; it makes for a moister (Is that a word?  It looks weird.) burger, meatloaf or....sloppy Joes.  Break it up with a wooden spoon into little pieces and cook until no longer pink.
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How about some more Thai flavors?  I'm all in with coconut milk, fish sauce (just do it!) and tamari.  Tamari, if you're not familiar, is a wheat-free soy sauce.  Traditional soy sauce is about 60% wheat, so when you remove the wheat, you get a really rich, deep flavor. 

Let that simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed... depending on your particular "sloppy" factor.

Add scallions, cilantro and fresh lime sauce, and you're good to go.

 

 

I made a little slaw salad to go on top with purple cabbage, carrots, scallions, lime juice, a tiny pinch of sugar and a little cilantro.  Make this early on and let it sit to soften and develop .

 

 

I like to serve this on naam (I know it's Indian, and this is Thai, but it works!), but you can use traditional buns...I won't come to your house and check.

 

This is fast and flavorful, perfect for a quick weeknight fix.....

Thai Turkey Sloppy Joes

Serves 4-6

2 tablespoons coconut oil

½ cup diced onion

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger

2 teaspoons minced serrano pepper

¼ cup Thai Kitchen red curry paste

½ lb ground turkey breast

½ lb ground turkey thighClick to see savings

Click to see savingsClick to see1 cup coconut milk

1 tablespoon tamarik to see savings

½ teaspoons fish sauce

4 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal, divided

½ cup lime juice, divided, plus extra lime wedges for garnish

2 cups shredded purple cabbage

Click to see savi1 small carrot, cut into thin matchsticks or shredded

Click to see savings1/2 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped, divided

Pinch coconut palm sugar

Salt & pepper to taste

1 package Trader Joe’s Garlic Naan

·         Heat coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3-5 minutes.

·         Create a well in the middle of skillet and add garlic, ginger and serrano pepper.  Let stand 1 minute and then stir to combine.

·         Add curry paste and cook an additional 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

·          Add turkey, breaking into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink, about 5-8 minutes.

·         Add coconut milk, tamari and fish sauce and half of the scallions. Cook until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

·         Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine cabbage, carrot, remaining half of the scallions, ¼ cup lime juice, ¼ cup of cilantro and sugar. Toss to coat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Let stand (the longer the better).

·         Add remaining lime juice and cilantro to turkey mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste.

·         Cut naan in half across the middle and place turkey mixture on each half.  Top with cabbage slaw and serve with lime wedges.

Cook Happy!

 

 

Stuffed Zucchini.... Thai Style

I grew this little beauty! Yes, ME!  It's an 8 ball zucchini.  Not sure how big you're supposed to grow them (I'm a squash virgin); this guy is a little over 4 inches in diameter.  I was so impressed with myself and so enamoured with it that I just left him sitting on the counter for the past week, just so I could look at it and well with pride every time I walked into the kitchen.  It's like the time I fixed the GFCI outlet thingy in the kitchen (all by myself!).  I used to walk into the kitchen at night just to see the little glow of the green light.....it's the little things.

Today it was time to let the 8 ball do what it was destined to do.....feed me in a super yummy way.  I didn't want to just chop it up and put it into something...too boring.  It needs to be stuffed and baked.  First I cooked up a little brown basmati rice in coconut milk (do it!)  While that was going I sauteed onions, carrots, ginger, and a banana pepper that grew right next to the zucchini (together again).

When it was beautifully cooked, I tossed in some basil (yes, from my yard....look at me go!) and chopped tomato (not from my yard, sore subject).  I added the cooked coconut rice, a little salt and red pepper flakes (you know I like it spicy!).  Took a taste and..... yeah, the happy dance!!  So simple, so few ingredients, but such a fantastic blend of flavors.  And it makes your house smell delicious, too!!

I cut off the top third of the zucchini, and scooped out the seedy, fleshy center, then stuffed my rice mixture into it and baked it for 25 minutes.

Fortunately there was a little extra filling left over, because my mouth was watering and 25 minutes was going to be toooo long.  But 25 minutes is the perfect amount of time to cook the squash, so it's tender, but with a little bit of bite to it still, and the rice on top gets a little crispy. But cut it in half and you see all that soft, creamy filling....great textures going on here, my friends!  To make this a vegetarian entree instead of a side dish, I'll add some garbanzo beans to the filling next time (oh yes, there will be a next time!); the beans and rice combo will give you a complete protein.

What's left to say????  Dig IN!!!

Stuffed Zucchini

Serves 2 (unless you're me!)

1 8 ball zucchini, about 4-5" in diameter (or hollow out regular zucchini; filling will probably fill 4)

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/2 cup brown basmati rice

1 can coconut milk

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 serrano or jalapeno pepper, remove seeds and chop

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 carrot, shredded

1 small roma tomato, seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon chopped basil

Salt & pepper to taste

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Cut off the top third of the zucchini and scoop out the seeds and flesh from center to create a bowl. Reserve top.
• Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan and toast rice for 2-3 minutes.  Add coconut milk, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until cooked (Trader Joe's brown basmati takes about 25 minutes).
• While rice cooks, heat remaining tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium high heat.
• Add onion, pepper and ginger and cook until onions are softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add carrot, tomato and basil and remove from heat.  Season to taste with salt and pepper (maybe a little red pepper flakes??)
• Stir in the rice and fill cavity of zucchini.
• Bake 25 minutes until zucchini is softened.

Hey, look.....no cheese!

I gotta go eat that other half now....