Speedy Sloppy Joes

One of my favorite shortcuts is using fresh salsa from the refrigerator case at the supermarket in place of chopped onions, tomatoes, and fresh herbs. Here, it's used to flavor the ground turkey in these three-bite sloppy Joes. -- Kate Merker, Associate Food Editor, Real Simple

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A juicy, drippy pleasure, the Sloppy Joe is at heart a simple combination of ground meat, tomato sauce, and bread. Still, the numerous ingredients in the canned versions (and even in some of the recipes you'd cook at home) make the dish seem more complicated than it has to be. Enter this back-to-basics adaptation -- a streamlined spin on a sandwich that some say originated in the 1920s as a bar snack. Lean turkey stands in for the cholesterol-laden beef; zesty seasoning comes courtesy of salsa -- a time-saving, less sugary alternative to the chopped vegetables and simmered ketchup called for in traditional recipes. The tastiest improvement? Warm biscuits instead of doughy buns, making this Joe well above average.

Ingredients:
1 7.5-ounce tube refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground turkey
Kosher salt and pepper
1 cup store-bought refrigerated fresh salsa

Step 1: Bake

Place the biscuits on a baking sheet and bake according to package directions.

Step 2: Cool, Slice

Let the biscuits cool before slicing each in half.

Step 3: Cook

Add the turkey to a skillet and cook, crumbling with the back of a wooden spoon, until no trace of pink remains, about 7 minutes.

Step 4: Season, Add, Cook

Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir in the salsa and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes more.

Step 5: Sandwich

Place the bottom halves of the biscuits on a plate. Top with the meat mixture and sandwich with the remaining biscuit halves.