Sloppy Joes With What?!!!

Last night, I was all set to make turkey sloppy joes for dinner. When I went to the fridge I realized I didn't have any celery or green pepper. I did have a medium-sized bunch of kale that I bought to make kale chips.

Yes, I totally put the entire bunch of kale into the sloppy joe mixture and served it to my family. What happened next was pretty crazy.

The kids ate it up and made no mention that it tasted different (which it really didn't, in my opinion). Not the prettiest looking suckers but they were tasty and loaded up with kale.

My son had two servings and told me, "Mom, I'm going to town on them!". And my daughter made up a song about sloppy joes. I would have to say it was an extremely successful dinner.

Sloppy Joes With Kale

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs. canola or olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped small 
• 1 medium-size bunch of kale; washed, dried, trimmed of tough stalks; use the leafy parts only
• 2 tsp chopped garlic
• 1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef or turkey
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup ketchup-style chili sauce
• 1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 Tbs. cider vinegar
• 2 Tbs. firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 6 buns of your choice (hamburger,kaiser,etc.), split

Directions:

Put your kale into a food processor or mini-chopper. Pulse until chopped fine.

Heat oil in a large non-stick pan over medium heat.

Add the onion and chopped kale. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, about 5 minutes.

Add the meat and garlic, increase the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring and breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until it is no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup water, the tomato sauce, chili sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, for about 15-20 minutes or until sauce thickens.

Toast the buns. Place the bottom halves of the buns, cut side up, on warmed individual plates and top with the beef mixture, dividing it equally. Cover with the bun tops and serve immediately. Makes 6 sandwiches. Try some sliced cheese on top!

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