“Mom, What’s for Dinner?”

I do not know about you, but “Mom, what’s for dinner?” has to be the most dreaded question I hear on a daily basis…Do they really expect dinner every night? Apparently so.

Let me just preface this by saying that I am not a cook, nor do I really enjoy cooking, so I tend to stick to the basics like spaghetti, tacos, soup and grilled cheese, chicken, mac and cheese, etc. But, when I don’t feel well or just don’t feel like cooking, it is extremely tempting for me to call my husband and ask him to bring take-out dinner on his way home from work.

I am trying to stop making that call often because I don’t want to teach my children bad habits like eating out all the time, therefore I try to keep some kid-friendly and easy recipes on hand that do not take a lot of time and energy to make.

Enter: Ground Turkey Sloppy Joes

As a kid, Sloppy Joes were one of my favorite meals, so I have always kept this recipe on the back-burner when I need to get something on the table but don’t have a lot of time. My children like turkey more than beef, so this is a recipe I found that they love from Country Living.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 lb. lean ground turkey or chicken

1 tbsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

1/4 c. sweet relish

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp. red wine vinegar, divided

3 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced

1/2 c. thinly sliced red onion

6 thick slices toast or split burger buns