Turkey Joes

When the man and I first started dating, all I can say is HOLY ANXIETY when it came time for me to cook for him. I believe it was a combination of relationship jitters, my constant need for perfection in a dish, oh and the fact that by trade he is a chef. Bingo! It has taken some time to change my interpretation of his "suggestions" into something other than criticism. If I wanted to completely humiliate myself I would explain to you the scenario of what our kitchen rants would sound like. Ok, you've twisted my arm, I will share. Just because it makes me laugh at how ridiculous it sounds.

Me: "Can you taste this to see if it needs anything?"

Him: "Ok." As he takes a spoon and smacks his palate together a few times, waving his hand in the air as if some mystery man was going to come down and poop the answer into his head.

Me: Annoyed. "Well?"

Him: "Maybe just some more salt and pepper."

Me: Throws towel onto counter. "You know what, you can just cook for yourself from now on."

The End.

Really? No.....REALLY???

I can honestly say that I am no longer a complete A word when asking for suggestions. I love cooking with him and know that his sense of taste is a little more complex than mine. I have a habit of eating random combinations together that he most certainly would not try. That's for another post though.

So the point of the somewhat long introduction in this post was to elude to how Melissa's Turkey Joes came to exist. It was the first dish I made for him a few years ago, when I finally just didn't care what he thought and created a simple yet very delicious meal, that he asks for ALL the time.


Turkey Joes a la Melissa
Ingredients
2 lbs ground turkey
1 1/2-2 cups onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, minced (ribs and seeds removed)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp ground mustard
1 tbsp chili powder
3 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp spicy montreal steak seasoning
2 tsp garlic powder
4 cups tomato sauce
4 tbsp tomato paste
Lil bit of olive oil
Black pepper to your liking

Saute onions and peppers in "lil bit of olive oil" until tender.

Add ground turkey and montreal steak seasoning, brown meat. Add remaining seasonings, then worcestershire sauce and vinegar.

Stir to combine all ingredients, then add your tomato sauce and paste. Let simmer together for 15 to 20 minutes to allow all flavors to combine.

Serve on your favorite bread or however you like.

Disregard awful photography. It tastes MUCH better than it looks!

I've made this and placed it on a salad before. I pretty much will put anything on a salad. Except tomatoes. Yuck.

The man and I cut the recipe in half today so we wouldn't have as many leftovers. This recipes makes a good amount, definitely more than enough to feed a family of four. Unless I'm feeding my dogs turkey joes, we are only a family of two at the moment.  I'm pretty sure it has made the family happy though because this is what I am left with.

Hope everyone enjoyed their St. Patty's Day!!