Kylie and her best friend, Kendra, are at our house working on homework this afternoon.

Both in college, they have so much to do, and study together often. Sometimes it’s at the local Starbucks, sometimes at Kendra’s house, and today they are studying at our house. Kylie and Kendra met freshman year in high school and have been wonderful friends. I adore Kendra as well and think her parents are the coolest. Neil and Marcina, I bet you wish you were here tonight for sloppy joe’s! I’ll think of something fabulous to make for dinner when we finally get together for our game night.

Kendra is a singer and a fabulous one at that! She has one of the most beautiful voices I’ve heard. If you’d like to hear Kendra sing, feel free to check her out on iTunes and Spotify. You can find her under Kendra Checketts. You, too, will be mesmerized when you hear Kendra’s beautiful voice. Just a few minutes ago, Kylie and Kendra were listening to music and Kylie mentioned that was Kendra singing her new, unreleased song. I was blown away. She has quite the talent! I can’t wait to see her in concert one day. I already asked if I could sit in the front row … front and center. I told her I’d be the crazy lady cheering like mad. We actually did watch Kendra perform at a local establishment in San Diego several months ago. It was such a fun night and Kylie was extremely proud of her friend, singing beautifully in front of so many people.

I asked Kylie if Kendra would like to have dinner with us. I know it can be boring as an only child sitting at the dinner table with just your parents, so knew Kylie would love to have Kendra stay for supper. Figuring I should make something a couple college kids would enjoy, as well as Dennis and I, I decided on ground turkey sloppy joes.

To make the sloppy joes, I started by sautéing onion, celery and carrots in olive oil until they were starting to soften. (I did add a pinch of kosher salt and a pinch of pepper to the onion mixture for flavor.) Then, I added the minced garlic and let it cook for 45 seconds.

Next, the ground turkey was added to the skillet, along with a teaspoon of kosher salt and a half teaspoon of pepper. I cooked the turkey until it was browned and crumbly, stirring often. Once the meat was cooked, I added the tomato paste, ketchup, yellow mustard and brown sugar. A secret ingredient I learned to add from my mom, was a jar of chopped pimientos, drained. It is a fabulous ingredient to add to the sloppy joes, giving just the right hint of unexpected flavor.

Trader Joe’s sells White Truffle Potato Chips. If you like truffle flavoring, definitely buy these. They are really good! I served our sloppy joes with these chips and a pickle spear. Simple, but so good.

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 pounds ground turkey
• 3/4 cup onion, diced
• 3/4 cup celery, diced
• 3/4 cup carrots, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• small jar pimientos
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
• 4 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

1. Sauté onion, celery and carrots in olive oil until softened. Add garlic and cook 45 seconds.
2. Add ground turkey and cook until browned and crumbly, stirring often. Stir pimientos into turkey and add ketchup, mustard, tomato paste and brown sugar. Combine and let simmer for 15-20 minutes, until sauce has thickened.
3. To serve, spoon onto bun.

Enjoy!

Until next time, Kris