National Sloppy Joe Day - Recipe Video

This is the leanest Sloppy Joe you will ever eat. On this auspicious day in celebration of National Sloppy Joe Day, I have my version that is for the diet-conscious who uses ground chicken or turkey. And ground poultry seems to be a buck cheaper than ground beef these days.

Sloppy Joes are typically made with ground beef, and depending on the fat content, you will have a gallon of grease after browning the beef. So, not only is my homemade poultry Sloppy Joe Burger delicious, but it also fits into almost any dietary regimen.

I found a package on sale!

Hi, I am The 99 Cent Chef, and I am a tightwad. I seldom cook with ground beef anymore. Since I created this blog in 2007, I've weaned myself off this artery-clogging but oh-so-tasty protein and learned to love ground poultry. 

The kind I use is mechanically separated and typically found in the frozen deli case. It's more watery than fresh ground chicken (or turkey), but I've found that it firms up fine during baking or sauteing. Of course, use your favorite local ground turkey or chicken, mechanically separated or not.

My Ground Chicken Sloppy Joe Burger is loaded with flavor, using sauteed fresh veggies, pungent chili powder, ground cumin, and brown sugar -- all in a thick sauce of tomato and ketchup. 

Upon the first bite of my homemade Sloppy Joe, you will flashback to your childhood: when Mom put the steaming meaty bowl of goodness on the dinner table, and you piled on the sloppy mess between a bun -- then dribbled it all over your fingers, while staining the front of your tee shirt, as you scarfed it all down as fast as you could.

I used a pound of ground chicken for this recipe, so the end result will easily and cheaply feed your hungry brood -- just make sure to lay out extra napkins. Prices have increased since I originally made the recipe 10 years ago. I find ground turkey more often than chicken these days.

Condiments like Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and chili powder still show up cheaply.

You could conveniently buy a couple of cans of Sloppy Joe sauce, but you will still have to fry up some meat, so you might as well go the extra step and make my much more delicious homemade Poultry Sloppy Joe. 

And like two of my earlier video recipes, Beanie Weenies, and Chicken Stroganoff, I used stop motion animation -- it makes following cooking directions so much more fun!

Poultry Sloppy Joe's - Video

Play it here. The video runs 3 minutes 18 seconds. 

To view or embed from YouTube, click here.

Ingredients (about 6 - 8 servings, depending on how sloppy you like it!)

• 1 pound of ground chicken, turkey, or beef - I used packages of cheaper, frozen (and thawed) mechanically separated, ground chicken.
• 1 whole small onion - chopped
• 1 stalk of celery (optional) - chopped
• 1/2 bell pepper - green, red, or yellow, chopped.
• 1 tablespoon of garlic - chopped, from a jar or fresh.
• 1 can of tomato sauce (about 15 oz.) - okay to use crushed, whole, or chopped tomatoes. Just break apart into smaller chunks when sauteing.
• 1/4 cup of ketchup
• 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tablespoon of brown sugar - or your favorite sweetener (may need less, depending on sweetener potency).
• 1 tablespoon of chili powder
• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin (optional)
• 2 tablespoons of oil - 1 tbsp. for sauteing chicken, and 1 tbsp. oil for sauteing veggies.
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve on hamburger buns

Directions
In a large pan or pot, add a teaspoon of oil over medium heat, then add ground chicken. I spread out the chicken to cover the bottom of the pan and just sit back and let one side brown. You don't need to brown both sides. It should take about 7-10 minutes. 

Turn over meat and break apart into bite-sized pieces -- like you would for a spaghetti meat sauce. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add another teaspoon of oil to the pan. You can add chopped celery, bell pepper, onion, and garlic to the same pan -- or you could have been sauteing the veggies, at the same time as the chicken, in another pan -- it's up to you. Stir and cook veggies for about 5-10 minutes, until onions begin to turn light brown and caramelize.

When veggies are done, add cooked ground chicken. Pour in a can of tomato sauce and a 1/4 cup of ketchup, and mix well.

The final additions are the seasonings, including Worcestershire Sauce, ground cumin, and chile powder, brown sugar, salt, and pepper to taste. Mix the Poultry Sloppy Joe sauce well.

Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 - 15 minutes. Check during the last five minutes and stir. You want a thick chili consistency -- not too watery. Uncover and let sit a couple of minutes, and the sauce will thicken even more.

Get out the hamburger buns and load them up -- but don't forget the extra napkins!

National Sloppy Joe Day - Recipe Video

This is the leanest Sloppy Joe you will ever eat. On this auspicious day in celebration of National Sloppy Joe Day, I have my version that is for the diet-conscious who uses ground chicken or turkey. And ground poultry seems to be a buck cheaper than ground beef these days.

Sloppy Joes are typically made with ground beef, and depending on the fat content, you will have a gallon of grease after browning the beef. So, not only is my homemade poultry Sloppy Joe Burger delicious, but it also fits into almost any dietary regimen.

I found a package on sale!

Hi, I am The 99 Cent Chef, and I am a tightwad. I seldom cook with ground beef anymore. Since I created this blog in 2007, I've weaned myself off this artery-clogging but oh-so-tasty protein and learned to love ground poultry. 

The kind I use is mechanically separated and typically found in the frozen deli case. It's more watery than fresh ground chicken (or turkey), but I've found that it firms up fine during baking or sauteing. Of course, use your favorite local ground turkey or chicken, mechanically separated or not.

My Ground Chicken Sloppy Joe Burger is loaded with flavor, using sauteed fresh veggies, pungent chili powder, ground cumin, and brown sugar -- all in a thick sauce of tomato and ketchup. 

Upon the first bite of my homemade Sloppy Joe, you will flashback to your childhood: when Mom put the steaming meaty bowl of goodness on the dinner table, and you piled on the sloppy mess between a bun -- then dribbled it all over your fingers, while staining the front of your tee shirt, as you scarfed it all down as fast as you could.

I used a pound of ground chicken for this recipe, so the end result will easily and cheaply feed your hungry brood -- just make sure to lay out extra napkins. Prices have increased since I originally made the recipe 10 years ago.

Condiments like Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and chili powder still show up cheaply.

You could conveniently buy a couple of cans of Sloppy Joe sauce, but you will still have to fry up some meat, so you might as well go the extra step and make my much more delicious homemade Poultry Sloppy Joe. 

And like two of my earlier video recipes, Beanie Weenies, and Chicken Stroganoff, I used stop motion animation -- it makes following cooking directions so much more fun!

Poultry Sloppy Joe's - Video

Play it here. The video runs 3 minutes 18 seconds. 

To view or embed from YouTube, click here.

Ingredients (about 6 - 8 servings, depending on how sloppy you like it!)

• 1 pound of ground chicken, turkey, or beef - I used packages of cheaper, frozen (and thawed) mechanically separated, ground chicken.
• 1 whole small onion - chopped
• 1 stalk of celery (optional) - chopped
• 1/2 bell pepper - green, red, or yellow, chopped.
• 1 tablespoon of garlic - chopped, from a jar or fresh.
• 1 can of tomato sauce (about 15 oz.) - okay to use crushed, whole, or chopped tomatoes. Just break apart into smaller chunks when sauteing.
• 1/4 cup of ketchup
• 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tablespoon of brown sugar - or your favorite sweetener (may need less, depending on sweetener potency).
• 1 tablespoon of chili powder
• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin (optional)
• 2 tablespoons of oil - 1 tbsp. for sauteing chicken, and 1 tbsp. oil for sauteing veggies.
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve on hamburger buns

Directions
In a large pan or pot, add a teaspoon of oil over medium heat, then add ground chicken. I spread out the chicken to cover the bottom of the pan and just sit back and let one side brown. You don't need to brown both sides. It should take about 7-10 minutes. 

Turn over meat and break apart into bite-sized pieces -- like you would for a spaghetti meat sauce. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add another teaspoon of oil to the pan. You can add chopped celery, bell pepper, onion, and garlic to the same pan -- or you could have been sauteing the veggies, at the same time as the chicken, in another pan -- it's up to you. Stir and cook veggies for about 5-10 minutes, until onions begin to turn light brown and caramelize.

When veggies are done, add cooked ground chicken. Pour in a can of tomato sauce and a 1/4 cup of ketchup, and mix well.

The final additions are the seasonings, including Worcestershire Sauce, ground cumin, and chile powder, brown sugar, salt, and pepper to taste. Mix the Poultry Sloppy Joe sauce well.

Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 - 15 minutes. Check during the last five minutes and stir. You want a thick chili consistency -- not too watery. Uncover and let sit a couple of minutes, and the sauce will thicken even more.

Get out the hamburger buns and load them up -- but don't forget the extra napkins!

National Sloppy Joe Day - Recipe Video

 This is the leanest Sloppy Joe you will ever eat. On this auspicious day in celebration of National Sloppy Joe Day, I have my version that is for the diet-conscious who uses ground chicken or turkey. And ground poultry seems to be a buck cheaper than ground beef these days.

Sloppy Joes are typically made with ground beef, and depending on the fat content, you will have a gallon of grease after browning the beef. So, not only is my homemade poultry Sloppy Joe Burger delicious, but it also fits into almost any dietary regimen.

I found a package on sale!

Hi, I am The 99 Cent Chef, and I am a tightwad. I seldom cook with ground beef anymore. Since I created this blog in 2007, I've weaned myself off this artery-clogging but oh-so-tasty protein and learned to love ground poultry. 

The kind I use is mechanically separated and typically found in the frozen deli case. It's more watery than fresh ground chicken (or turkey), but I've found that it firms up fine during baking or sauteing. Of course, use your favorite local ground turkey or chicken, mechanically separated or not.

My Ground Chicken Sloppy Joe Burger is loaded with flavor, using sauteed fresh veggies, pungent chili powder, ground cumin, and brown sugar -- all in a thick sauce of tomato and ketchup. 

Upon the first bite of my homemade Sloppy Joe, you will flashback to your childhood: when Mom put the steaming meaty bowl of goodness on the dinner table, and you piled on the sloppy mess between a bun -- then dribbled it all over your fingers, while staining the front of your tee shirt, as you scarfed it all down as fast as you could.

I used a pound of ground chicken for this recipe, so the end result will easily and cheaply feed your hungry brood -- just make sure to lay out extra napkins. Prices have increased since I originally made the recipe 10 years ago.

Condiments like Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and chili powder still show up cheaply.

You could conveniently buy a couple of cans of Sloppy Joe sauce, but you will still have to fry up some meat, so you might as well go the extra step and make my much more delicious homemade Poultry Sloppy Joe. 

And like two of my earlier video recipes, Beanie Weenies, and Chicken Stroganoff, I used stop motion animation -- it makes following cooking directions so much more fun!

Poultry Sloppy Joe's - Video

Play it here. The video runs 3 minutes 18 seconds. 

To view or embed from YouTube, click here.

Ingredients (about 6 - 8 servings, depending on how sloppy you like it!)

• 1 pound of ground chicken, turkey, or beef - I used packages of cheaper, frozen (and thawed,) mechanically separated ground chicken.
• 1 whole small onion - chopped
• 1 stalk of celery (optional) - chopped
• 1/2 bell pepper - green, red, or yellow, chopped.
• 1 tablespoon of garlic - chopped, from a jar or fresh.
• 1 can of tomato sauce (about 15 oz.) - okay to use crushed, whole, or chopped tomatoes. Just break apart into smaller chunks when sauteing.
• 1/4 cup of ketchup
• 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tablespoon of brown sugar - or your favorite sweetener (may need less, depending on sweetener potency).
• 1 tablespoon of chili powder
• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin (optional)
• 2 tablespoons of oil - 1 tbsp. for sauteing chicken, and 1 tbsp. oil for sauteing veggies.
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve on hamburger buns

Directions
In a large pan or pot, add a teaspoon of oil over medium heat, then add ground chicken. I spread out the chicken to cover the bottom of the pan and just sit back and let one side brown. You don't need to brown both sides. It should take about 7-10 minutes. 

Turn over meat and break apart into bite-sized pieces -- like you would for a spaghetti meat sauce. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add another teaspoon of oil to the pan. You can add chopped celery, bell pepper, onion, and garlic to the same pan -- or you could have been sauteing the veggies, at the same time as the chicken, in another pan -- it's up to you. Stir and cook veggies for about 5-10 minutes, until onions begin to turn light brown and caramelize.

When veggies are done, add cooked ground chicken. Pour in a can of tomato sauce, and a 1/4 cup of ketchup, and mix well.

The final additions are the seasonings, including Worcestershire Sauce, ground cumin and chile powder, brown sugar, salt, and pepper to taste. Mix the Poultry Sloppy Joe sauce well.

Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 - 15 minutes. Check during the last five minutes and stir. You want a thick chili consistency -- not too watery. Uncover and let sit for a couple of minutes, and the sauce will thicken even more.

Get out the hamburger buns and load them up -- but don't forget the extra napkins!

National Sloppy Joe Day - Recipe Video

This is the leanest Sloppy Joe you will ever eat. On this auspicious day in celebration of National Sloppy Joe Day, I have my version that is for the diet-conscious who uses ground chicken or turkey. And ground poultry seems to be a buck cheaper than ground beef these days.

Sloppy Joe's are typically made with ground beef, and depending on the fat content, you will have a gallon of grease after browning the beef. So, not only is my homemade poultry Sloppy Joe Burger delicious, but it fits into almost any dietary regimen.

I found a package on sale!

Hi, I am The 99 Cent Chef and I am a tightwad. I seldom cook with ground beef anymore. Since I created this blog in 2007, I've weaned myself off this artery-clogging but oh-so-tasty protein and learned to love ground poultry. 

The kind I use is mechanically separated and typically found in the frozen deli case. It's more watery than fresh ground chicken (or turkey,) but I've found that it firms up fine during baking or sauteing. Of course, use your favorite local ground turkey or chicken, mechanically separated or not.

My Ground Chicken Sloppy Joe Burger is loaded with flavor, using sauteed fresh veggies, pungent chili powder, ground cumin, and brown sugar -- all in a thick sauce of tomato and ketchup. 

Upon the first bite of my homemade Sloppy Joe, you will flashback to your childhood: when Mom put the steaming meaty bowl of goodness on the dinner table, and you piled on the sloppy mess between a bun -- then dribbled it all over your fingers, while staining the front of your tee shirt, as you scarfed it all down as fast as you could.

I used a pound of ground chicken for this recipe, so the end result will easily, and cheaply, feed your hungry brood -- just make sure to lay out extra napkins. Prices have increased since I originally made the recipe 10 years ago.

Condiments like Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and chili powder still show up cheaply.

You could conveniently buy a couple of cans of Sloppy Joe sauce, but you will still have to fry up some meat, so you might as well go the extra step and make my much more delicious homemade Poultry Sloppy Joe. 

And like two of my earlier video recipes, Beanie Weenies, and Chicken Stroganoff, I used stop motion animation -- it makes following cooking directions so much more fun!

Poultry Sloppy Joe's - Video

Play it here. The video runs 3 minutes 18 seconds. 

To view or embed from YouTube, click here.

Ingredients (about 6 - 8 servings, depending on how sloppy you like it!)

• 1 pound of ground chicken, turkey, or beef - I used packages of cheaper, frozen (and thawed,) mechanically separated, ground chicken.
• 1 whole small onion - chopped
• 1 stalk of celery (optional) - chopped
• 1/2 bell pepper - green, red or yellow, chopped.
• 1 tablespoon of garlic - chopped, from a jar or fresh.
• 1 can of tomato sauce (about 15 oz.) - okay to use crushed, whole, or chopped tomatoes. Just break apart into smaller chunks when sauteing.
• 1/4 cup of ketchup
• 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tablespoon of brown sugar - or your favorite sweetener (may need less, depending on sweetener potency.)
• 1 tablespoon of chili powder
• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin (optional)
• 2 tablespoons of oil - 1 tbsp. for sauteing chicken, and 1 tbsp. oil for sauteing veggies.
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve on hamburger buns

Directions
In a large pan or pot, add a teaspoon of oil over medium heat, then add ground chicken. I spread out the chicken to cover the bottom of the pan and just sit back and let one side brown. You don't need to brown both sides. It should take about 7-10 minutes. 

Turn over meat and break apart into bite-sized pieces -- like you would for a spaghetti meat sauce. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add another teaspoon of oil to the pan. You can add chopped celery, bell pepper, onion, and garlic to the same pan -- or you could have been sauteing the veggies, at the same time as the chicken, in another pan -- it's up to you. Stir and cook veggies for about 5-10 minutes, until onions begin to turn light brown and caramelize.

When veggies are done, add cooked ground chicken. Pour in a can of tomato sauce, and a 1/4 cup of ketchup, and mix well.

The final additions are the seasonings, including Worcestershire Sauce, ground cumin and chile powder, brown sugar, salt, and pepper to taste. Mix the Poultry Sloppy Joe sauce well.

Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 - 15 minutes. Check during the last five minutes and stir. You want a thick chili consistency -- not too watery. Uncover and let sit a couple of minutes, and the sauce will thicken even more.

Get out the hamburger buns and load them up -- but don't forget the extra napkins!

Best Cheap$kate Food Finds of 2022

It's back to basics in this roundup of my Best Cheap$kate Food Finds of 2022. That doesn't mean you won't find a few outrageously one-of-a-kind cheap deals that I crow about. It's just this year prices have reached record heights for my regular finds. So go ahead and read 'em and reap (the savings, that is!).

My goto 99c only Store and Dollar Tree have raised prices all around. Dollar Tree prices are now at $1.25 for rock bottom. And the 99c only Store has fewer 99-cent deals that I've grown to depend on -- good luck finding small containers of mushrooms or fresh berries for one dollar, they are now in the $1.99 range. 

Click on any photo to see larger.

But I shouldn't complain as there are still plenty of deals to be had, just not as many. So read on and check out what I came across in 2022. 

My neighborhood Latin market, Superior Grocers, is where I get most of my veggies for less than a dollar per pound, and still a great deal. 

My chain grocer, Ralphs, sells Collard Greens for 99 cents per bunch. And that includes mustard and turnip. I have been adding greens to more of my recipes including Gumbo, Jambalaya, and Black-eyed Peas. 

I go to Dollar Tree for frozen bags of vegetables in a Stir Fry. I like the frozen Peas & Carrots combo.

My Latin market has dried beans and so does Dollar Tree. I get Pinto Beans for a Mexican-style Beans recipe and Great Northern White Beans for a chicken and sausage French Cassoulet.

The 99c only Store has small boxes of cooked organic beans and they are low in sodium. I would add some to fill out a fresh salad or mash them for my famous Huevos Rancheros recipe. Don't know how much longer they will be carried. As I've said many times, you should shop impulsively there as these deals do not hang around very long.

I can still get Deli Meat for a buck every once in a while. I've found you can freeze deli meat and cheese, so get plenty of it when you see it on sale. With these finds, I can make Deli Sandwiches cheaper than Subway.

I prefer Almond or Oat Milk in my breakfast cereal and regular Milk in my coffee. 

I haven't seen eggs at Dollar Tree lately, maybe they will come back? I do find 4-slice packages of Bacon and small packages of Breakfast Sausage, though. That's enough for Country Gravy with Sausage.

Meat is expensive these days, but I still can get Chicken legs for 99 cents per pound. Just this past Thanksgiving and Christmas whole Turkey was still on sale for way less than a buck a pound. I always get a Turkey to semi-defrost and break down (like in my animated GIF below) for later use in Gumbo, Jambalaya, Soup, or roasted Turkey Breast. I hardly ever finish a whole Turkey so I have leftover recipes you can look up here.

I get small tins and packs of Fish for around a buck apiece. Just add the fish to cooked pasta for a quick entree. Frozen small packs of Shrimp are enough for a Stir Fry with veggies and rice. I make a cheap$kate Salmon Spread (schmear) with packs of Salmon.

I often have a can of Fish or Smoked Oysters with crackers and Olives while parked in front of the TV. 

Pasta and cans and jars of Pasta Sauce are plentiful and still cheap. Check out some of my Pasta Entrees here.

Corn and flour Tortillas for Tacos and Burritos are still good deals.

Can't get Hamburger cheaply like I used to, but individual 5.3-ounce Beef Patties with Buns make appearances at my local Dollar Tree. You can still get Hot Dogs and Buns, along with Condiments, too. Here is a link to my favorite Hot Dog Recipes. 

Well, let's get to the wild finds of the year. I couldn't believe it when I saw such good quality Turkey Bacon. I bought enough to freeze for later, too. And I made a yummy Turkey BLT.

I like a bar of chocolate so I was all over this organic Hershey Bar. There are always plenty of desserts and sweets that show up for the right price.

A Beer Cheese Dip? Sounds good to me.

Organics...you bet!

Meatballs are always welcome in my freezer.

Cauliflower is the new rice.

Keep checking back for my great cheap$kate finds in the new year.

Happy hunting in 2023!