Sloppy Joes sans Canwich

Sometimes I make something and am horribly disappointed in it, yet Mr. Monkey will insist that it's not as bad as I think it is.  This recipe started out as something else all together.  I made the original, and thought the whole thing tasted too sweet and was disgusting.  Mr. Monkey said it was fine if you didn't eat the cornbread part.  Indeed, the Jiffy cornbread was too cake-like, and the recipe wanted way too much of it.  The meat part wasn't bad though, and thus we decided to try it again as a sloppy joe sandwich.

It was awesome... though I did put a bit too much spice in.  I'll put the recipe up as I made it, but be aware that it will be spicy, and you might want to make adjustments.  I would recommend cutting out the cayenne and/or jalapeno peppers.

The "sans Canwich" part of the name is a play on the name of a certain canned sloppy joe mix.  You don't need that stuff to make a great sandwich!

Sloppy Joes sans Canwich

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 22 oz ground turkey (or 1 lb of your favorite ground meat)
• 3 cloves garlic - minced
• 2 green onions - sliced
• 1 medium red or orange bell pepper - chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper - chopped 
• 1 cayenne pepper - chopped 
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 1/2 ground cumin
• 3/4 tbsp sriracha (Rooster) sauce
• 1/2 tbsp chipotle Tabasco sauce 
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp liquid smoke (optional)

Directions:

1. Add olive oil to a large pan and warm over medium heat.  Add ground turkey and brown.
2. When turkey is brown and broken up into smaller pieces, add the garlic, peppers, green onion, salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, hot sauces, and liquid smoke.
3. Simmer until peppers are tender.
4. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and tomato sauce until combined.  Lower the heat and allow to simmer until it's hot all the way through and is thickened.
5. Serve over your favorite bread or buns!

Serves 4