BBQ Turkey Joes

I've always had sloppy joes from a canned mix...and didn't like it. Then I came across a homemade version, and discovered how good they could be. Except my new recipe wasn't compatible with my diet program (and if I'm going to splurge on points, it's going to be on chocolate!) So I came across this recipe, and I think it's a yummy alternative.

Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 15 min

-1 pound lean ground turkey
-1/2 medium bell pepper(s), chopped
-1/2 medium sweet red pepper(s), chopped
-1/2 medium onion(s), chopped
-1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
-1 cup barbecue sauce (BullsEye Sweet & Sticky is yummy)
-4 medium whole wheat hamburger roll(s), sliced in half

Instructions

Brown turkey in a nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain off liquid. Add peppers and onion and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Add barbecue sauce and cayenne pepper; heat thoroughly, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes. Top bottom half of buns with turkey mixture; cover with top half of bun and serve.

Hamburger Soup

I know, you're thinking "how is this healthy"? Not only is it healthy, it's delicious!

Cook: 1 1/4 hours

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

- 1.5 lbs lean ground beef

- 1 medium onion, chopped

- 1 can 28 oz. diced tomatoes, undrained

- 3 cans low sodium beef broth

- 1 cup water

- 4 celery ribs, thinly sliced

- 4 large carrots, thinly sliced

- 10 whole peppercorns

- 1 teaspoon dried thyme

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1/2 cup quick-cooking barley***

- 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

Instructions:

In a large saucepan (a Dutch oven is great if you have one), cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomatoes, broth, and water. Add celery and carrots.

Place peppercorns on a double thickness of cheesecloth**; bring up corners of cloth and tie with kitchen string to form a bag. Add to beef mixture.

Stir in thyme and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 45 minutes or until vegetables are tender.Return to a boil. Stir in barley. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until barley is tender. Remove from the heat; stir in parsley. Let stand for 5 minutes. Discard spice bag.

***I couldn't find quick cooking barley at my store. Instead, I soaked regular barley in the beef broth the night before. It cooked up perfect that way, and the regular barley is really inexpensive, an added bonus!

***I realized half way through making this that I was out of cheesecloth. I let the peppercorns float on the top, and pulled them out towards the end. This was more than a little time consuming. Next time, I'll put fresh cracked pepper in, and skip it.