Sloppy Joes

In my continuing effort to improve the quality of the food in my home, I purchased a cookbook called Deceptively Delicious. The author hides veggie and fruit puree in everyday foods in order to bump up nutritional value and maybe sneak in a few veggies that kids might not normally want to eat (squash, sweet potatoes beets). Preparing all the different purees is a little messy and reminds me of making baby food. However, so far I am quite pleased with the recipes we've sampled. A few of the recipes needed to be changed a little, but that's why I try to make the dish as close to the recipe as possible the first time: to see what changes I need to make. I tweaked the Sloppy Joes recipe a little bit, and I think you'll like it!

Ingredients:
Nonstick cooking spray
1 Tbl. olive oil
1/2 c. diced red onion
1/2 c. diced celery
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 lb. lean ground turkey or sirloin (I used ground chicken, and it was yummy)
1/2 c. sweet potato puree
1/2 c. butternut squash or red pepper puree
1/2 c. beef broth of your choice (I used more than 1/2 cup I'm sure)
1/4 c. tomato paste
1 Tbl. Worcestershire sauce (I know I used more)
1 tsp. chili powder or to taste
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
Hot dog or hamburger buns, whole wheat (I used the mini hamburger buns)

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set it over medium high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the oil. Add the celery and onion and cook until they start to soften. Add the garlic to the skillet for only the last minute or so or it will burn.

Add the meat, breaking breaking it up with a wooden spoon, and cook until no longer pink.

Add the veggie purees, beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer until nice and thick.

Spoon mixture over buns and serve.