Turkey Sloppy Joe Skillet Pizza

Sloppy joes are definitely a childhood favorite meal. They were meaty, messy, and tasty. They had that great contrasting sweet and salty combo that I still enjoy to this day. So when I came across this recipe from The Hopeless Housewife, I loved the idea of a twist on my old family favorite with a current family favorite... 2 recipes smashed into one creating the Turkey Sloppy Joe Skillet Pizza. 

My own twist limits some of the sugar and increases the veggies....aka my normal idea when I approach almost any recipe. Since this delicious cheesy meaty pizza is something you do with a fork - you won't need tons of napkins to clean up either. I did have to cut up my sons pizza since it was hard for him to get through it. Otherwise I got two thumbs up from everyone. 

Turkey Sloppy Skillet Joe Pizza 

cooking + prep + cooking + baking + cooling time:

 25-30 minutes

serves 3-6 people  

(my 4 yr old at 1 slice plus some veggies on the side)

9 Ingredients:

One half a package or a halved recipe of whole wheat pizza dough. I make several batches of pizza dough at a time and store in the freezer. Whole wheat dough from the store is good too. 

1.25 lb package of lean turkey breast

1 tsp dried onion

1 Tbs brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 red pepper, finely diced

2 cloves of garlic chopped finely

2 cups of your favorite pasta or pizza sauce (homemade: freezer staple red sauce - click here) or store bought. It has no sugar in it and tons of pureed veggies like squash zucchini and tomatoes. (much better than the typical ketchup & worcestershire sauce combo)

2 cups of shredded cheese - I used 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella and then a 1/2 cup of marbled cheddar & Jack. Going to use a smoked cheese next time just change things up. Pick any good melting cheese. Pepperjack cheese would be a good spicy alternative.

Optional pizza toppings: dried parsley, grated/shredded parmesan cheese, dry red pepper flakes 

Directions:

1. Pull your pizza dough out of the fridge and let it warm up and rest. Grab two skillets - one oven safe one. While that is happening start the pizza topping in a large skillet.

2. To make the sloppy Joe pizza topping brown the ground turkey with the garlic, onion, and red pepper. 5 minutes. Break any large pieces think pizza topping.  

3.  Add in the red pizza/pasta sauce and brown sugar. Mine was frozen straight from the freezer but still worked just fine. It was defrosted quickly and the whole sauce was red, delicious, and thick. 7 minutes. 

4. While the sauce is thickening up, stir it occasionally, and preheat the broiler to 500 degrees. Add some oil if needed to your oven safe skillet. I used used my trusty old cast iron for this. 

5. Roll out your pizza dough to the size of the bottom of your skillet and proceed to cook the dough over medium, watching it carefully so it doesn't burn for about 5-7 minutes and then flipping it for another 2 minutes. I burned my the first one I tried. It reminded me of making flat bread. Should be lightly browned but cooked thru.

6. Top the crust with the meaty topping. It should cover it completely by at least an inch. Top the sloppy joe mixture with all that great shredded cheese. 

7. Broil the pizza for about 1 minute with the oven door cracked so you can keep an eye on it. You know its done when the cheese is melted and looks amazing. You can serve it immediately but I found it to be easier to cut and eat if you wait 5-8 minutes to let it cool a bit. 

8. Slice it with a pizza wheel and grab some forks to dig in. 

Enjoy pizza night in a new way and sloppy joes with a little less sugar and carbs than the original.  

From my kitchen to yours!

Stephanie