{Healthier} Crockpot Sloppy Joes

One go-to meal we enjoy during the summer is crockpot sloppy joes!  We love having these sandwiches simmering in the crockpot all day, ready to enjoy whenever we decide to come indoors.  Our favorite recipe is one from Frog Prince's Grandmother, but this time, we added a few additional veggies to fill out the sandwich.

There are 2 C of finely chopped carrots and a whole green pepper "hidden" in this dish, and we greatly enjoyed the addition!

Healthier Crockpot Sloppy Joes


2 C finely chopped carrots
1 lb. ground turkey
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium green pepper, finely diced
1 T minced onion flakes
1 1/2 C ketchup {more or less, to taste}
1 T dried mustard
2 T vinegar
2 T brown sugar


Brown the ground turkey in a large skillet until no longer pink.  Season turkey with salt and pepper while it cooks, if desired.

Place the ground turkey into the crockpot.  Top with carrots, green pepper garlic and onion. Stir.

Add the ketchup and other seasoning - stir to mix well.

Heat on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for ~4.

Serve on your favorite whole wheat hamburger bun.

Rigatoni with Stewed Veggies

Friday night Frog Prince and I were hungry.  We had intended to grill -- but the weather system that brought us a dusting of snow changed our plans.  In an effort to clean out the freezer, I pulled out some frozen spinach, and frozen browned ground Italian turkey sausage.

What started out as a quick spaghetti transitioned to a whole new creation.  I had no idea if it would be any good at all, so I hardly took any photos!

After we took one bite, we knew this recipe would be a keeper.  It's too good not to share.


Rigatoni with Stewed Veggies


1/2 box, rigatoni
1/2 lb. Italian turkey sausage, browned
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 can stewed tomatoes, undrained
8 oz. tomato sauce
1 T minced onion
~2 C spinach
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/4 C Italian shredded cheeses {parm, mozzarella, provolone}

Begin by warming the browned turkey sausage in a large skillet.  If you don't already have pre-browned turkey sausage in your freezer, brown it in the skillet at this step.  Add in minced onion while you do the browning.

Meanwhile, begin a pot of water to boil and cook the rigatoni until done.  Drain when the pasta is done.

Once warmed, add in the green bell peppers and saute until slightly tender.  Then, add in the stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, spinach, and seasonings.

Simmer for 5 minutes until the sauce thickens up.

Stir in the cooked and drained pasta.

Then, sprinkle the cheese over the top.

Serve warm.  

Linked to: Full Plate Thursday

Pizza Pockets

When Frog Prince and I were first married, I'd buy Hot Pockets for him for a quick, fast lunch.  However, we haven't had Hot Pockets in our freezer in 2+ years.  Every once and a while Frog Prince would crave one, so I added them to my list of things to make.

I'd always put them off, thinking they were much too time consuming to make.  But, I was wrong.  These went together really quickly.

I made a large batch thinking I'd stick some in the freezer, but they never made it that far.  Frog Prince and I enjoyed these for lunches and they were gone in a week.

Pizza Pockets
{makes 8, large pockets}

Dough
1 C really warm water
1 tsp. honey
1 T yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 C whole wheat flour
1 C white whole wheat flour


Filling
Turkey pepperoni (n=50)
8 oz. Tomato paste
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
Italian cheese (~1/8 C cheese/pocket)
Parmesan cheese (1 T cheese/pocket}

Prepare dough by dissolving the yeast in the warm water.  Allow this mixture to sit for ~1 minute.  Then, add in the honey, salt and olive oil.  Using your mixer, mix in the flour.  Knead about 5 minutes until smooth.  Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes while you prepare the filling ingredients.

Mix together the tomato paste with the Italian seasonings until well blended.  Set aside.

 Shred cheese, if needed, and prepare the pepperoni.

When the dough is ready, lightly flour a work surface.  Divide the dough into 8 equal portions (or more, if you'd like smaller pizza pockets).

Roll out each section of dough into a small rectangle or circle.

Then, take the seasoned tomato paste and spread it on the pizza crust.

Top with pepperoni slices and cheese.

Using a pastry brush, or your finger, carefully spread a little water along the edge of the dough.  Then, fold the dough over the filling and seal it.

Press the edges with a fork.

Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Right before baking, moisten the tops with water and the sprinkle with additional Italian seasoning, if desired.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Serve with a dipping marinara (or leftover seasoned tomato paste) or plain.

Enjoy!



This post is linked to: Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Mangia Monday, Mouthwatering Monday

Roasted Turkey and Veggie Spread

Sandwiches for lunch can get a little boring from time to time, especially when we're limited here to cold-cut sandwiches (no PB and J here!).

This sandwich was a perfect change up on our normal sandwiches.  It reminds me of the filling from our baked veggie sandwiches.  Yum.

In fact, it's so tasty, I recently whipped up another batch - a vegetarian version - to enjoy for my lunches this week while I'm on spring break.  The veggies packed in this sandwich are wonderful, you won't even miss the meat.

Roasted Turkey and Veggie Spread - Inspired by Sweet Treats and More

4 oz. light cream cheese, softened
1/2 C chopped/shredded carrots
4 oz. mushrooms, chopped
1/2 C broccoli, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1 T onion flakes
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 C shredded turkey or chicken (cooked)*
1 T olive oil
Sea Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

*Optional.  Omit for a veggie variety.

Begin by chopping the veggies.  I did this by hand... but would use a food processor if I had one!!  Place the veggies on a cookie sheet, or in a glass baking dish.

Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

Toss in the turkey, and mix well.

Place the dish in an oven pre-heated to 350 degrees. Roast the veggies for 15-20 minutes, stirring at least once during that cooking time.

Pull the veggie dish out of the oven. Add in the softened cream cheese.

Stir until well coated.

Serve warm, or refrigerate to serve later as a chilled sandwich.

We enjoyed this spread with crackers, atop a slice of bread, and in a "grilled cheese" of sorts, using Havarti cheese!

Linked up to: Recipe Exchange, What's on Your Plate? What's Cooking Wednesday, Tasty Tuesday, Friday Flair

Turkey and Pepper Stew

After cooking up our whole turkey last week, I was looking for fun ways to use it up!  I saw this recipe for Turkey Stew with Peppers from Simply Recipes and quickly skimmed the ingredient list thinking it would be great for dinner.

When dinner time rolled around I read the list more carefully and discovered we did not have all the ingredients.  Who knew Hungarian Paprika wasn't a spice rack staple.  Improv time!

We love what came out of the inspiration from Simply Recipes -- thanks, Elise!

Turkey and Pepper Stew - Inspired by Simply Recipes

3 medium bell peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
8oz mushrooms, quartered
1 T minced onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 C cubed turkey, cooked
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 C chicken broth, divided
1 T lemon juice
1 1/2 T corn starch
three shakes of paprika
two shakes of rosemary
1 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Begin by sauting the mushrooms and peppers together in a large skillet.  If the mixture is too dry, add 1 T chicken broth.

When the mushrooms have released their liquid, add the paprika, minced garlic cloves and the onion flakes.

Continue cooking the veggies until liquids have absorbed.  Then, add in 1/2 C chicken broth and diced, cooked turkey.  Simmer until liquids are just about absorbed.

Add in the diced tomatoes, undrained.

Season with lemon juice, pepper, sea salt and rosemary.

Simmer until the liquids are almost gone.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining chicken broth with 1 1/2 T corn starch.  Stir until corn starch is dissolved into solution {oops, science lingo here...}, and no clumps remain.

Reduce the simmering mixture to low, and pour in the corn starch mixture.  Stir to combine and allow the corn starch to thicken the pepper dish.

Remove from the heat, and serve warm!

It would be delicious over brown rice and paired with peas.

Have you ever come to dinner time only to find you don't have the ingredients you need?  Did you improvise? Change the recipe?  I'd love to hear your solutions.



Linked to: What's on Your Plate, Feasting in Fellowship Friday, I'm Lovin' It

Italian Sausage Stromboli

This stromboli recipe is amazing!  Maybe that's just because we love the ingredients -- Italian sausage, mushrooms, spinach, garlic and cheese.  That combo is just irresistible!  It's become a new favorite at our house.

Italian Sausage Stromboli - From Cook with Sara

1/2 recipe, no-rise whole wheat pizza dough*
1/2 lb. Ground Italian Turkey Sausage
8oz. spinach, fresh or frozen
4 garlic cloves, minced
8oz mushrooms, sliced
3/4 C mozzarella cheese
2 T Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. olive oil

Begin by preparing your crust using these directions.  Shape half of the dough into a circle pizza.

 

*I make the whole dough recipe, and wrap up the other crust in plastic wrap.  Then, I pop that crust into our freezer.  I love having extra dough in the freezer.

On days when we want pizza for dinner, or another stromboli, I remove the dough from the freezer in the morning and transfer it to the fridge.  When I come home to make dinner, the dough is all ready to go!  That really works for me; no extra time making dough.

While the dough is resting, brown the ground turkey in a pan over medium heat until done.  We ended up using round Chicken sausage because that's what we had.  If you have another filling - try it!  This recipe can be versatile.

Then, chop and prepare the veggies.

Add the mushrooms and garlic to the sausage and saute until just about done.

Toss in the spinach and cover, allowing the spinach to wilt.  Then, stir to cook to your liking.

Spread the warm filling into the center of the pizza crust.

Sprinkle with the shredded mozzarella cheese.  

To fold; tuck the two side ends up first.  Then, bring the halves of the pizza up and fold them over each other.

Slice three small slits in the top of the stromboli, brush with 1 tsp. olive oil and then sprinkle with 1-2 T Parmesan cheese.  

Then, get excited - because in 20 minutes, you'll have dinner!

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned.

Allow the stromboli to sit for a few minutes before cutting and serving.  

Serve with marinara sauce for dipping, or with a salad or a heaping pile of steamed veggies.

Enjoy!

This post is liked to: Recipe Swap Thursday, URS, It's a Keeper, Tip Day, Fun with Food Friday, Your Recipe, My Kitchen, Ingredient Spotlight.