Sloppy Joes

(with Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash or Red Pepper)

 Serves 8

! table spoon olive oil
½ cup chopped red onion
½ cup chopped celery
2 cloves garlic
1 lb. lean ground turkey or beef
½ cup sweet potato puree } (pre-cooked and pureed in blender or food processor)
½ cup butternut squash or red pepper puree} cooked and pureed
raw, finely chopped carrots (optional)
½ cup reduced-fat sodium beef broth
¼ cup tomato paste
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon chili powder, or to taste
½ teaspoon salt
pepper to taste
8 whole-grain hamburger or hot-dog buns

Heat skillet to hot over medium-high heat, add the oil.  Add the onion, celery, and garlic, and cook until the onion starts to soften (not brown), 3 to 4 minutes.

Add the meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, and cook until no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes.

Add the vegetable puree, raw chopped carrot, beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, salt, and pepper; Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the liquid is reduced by about one-half, 15 to 20 minutes.

Spoon the mixture over buns and serve.

This recipe is adapted from the cook book ‘Deceptively Delicious’ by Jessica Seinfeld