In 1963, the Dallas Texans of the American Football League relocated to Missouri and became the Kansas City Chiefs. That first year, their inaugural season, our grandfather purchased season tickets. Those seats have remained in our family for now 53 years.

We at G@H zealously follow our hometown team. We wear the gear. We fly the flag. We’ve spent many a Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium and even more Mondays without a voice. We yell. We’re yellers. Whether from the stands or at the television.

On the day of this post, our Chiefs played the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte. The early returns looked glum. The Chiefs fell down 17 to 0. “Man,” we thought, “This stinks. We’re going to need something to eat. And, it’s going to need to make us feel better.” If ever there was a moment for comfort food, this was it.

Taking stock of the contents of our cupboards, inspiration hit. What conjures warm memories? What brings good cheer? What feels like autumn? What can we make with ground turkey, diced tomatoes and onion? Sloppy joes. Slop, sloppy joes.

These sloppy joes did just the trick. Not only did our spirits elevate but miraculously so did the performance of our Chiefs. They scored 20 unanswered points and kicked a game-winning field goal. This Sunday took a 160-degree turn in the positive direction.

Turkey Sloppy Joes

Ingredients

• One pound of ground turkey
• One yellow onion, diced
• One red bell pepper, chopped
• Four cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup of brown sugar
• Two tablespoons of ground mustard
• Two tablespoons of red wine vinegar
• Two tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
• One 14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes
• One 12-ounce can of tomato paste
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• Red pepper flakes, to taste
• Tobacco sauce, to taste

Directions

Season ground turkey with salt and pepper. In a cast iron skillet, brown turkey. Drain and set aside. In the same skillet, on medium high heat, sauté onions and bell pepper for three minutes. Add garlic, and continue sautéing until onion becomes translucent. Stir in brown sugar, ground mustard, red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce until sugar dissolves. Mix in browned turkey, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Add salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and Tobacco sauce. Turn burner to low, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes. It’s done when it reaches your desired consistency, i.e., the perfect amount of sloppy.

Serve on a toasted bun with sliced pickles.