Southern Cravings

There are few foods I ever crave. I'm not a huge chocolate fan nor do I have a big sweet tooth. But I could drink several glasses of sweet tea every single day. It isn't good enough if it doesn't taste like sugar with a little bit of water. But I have yet to find sweet tea worth my time. So I figured maybe I could do it myself. 

So to go along with my sweet tea craving, I decided to make BBQ sandwiches with coleslaw. A real southern meal. Since we had been eating tons of chicken these past few weeks, I switched it up and made it with ground turkey but it's super easy to do chicken. Just poach chicken and shred before mixing it with the BBQ sauce.
(Recipe for Poached Chicken following Sweet Tea recipe) 

Southern Sweet Tea Recipe

Makes about 2 Liters

4 Lipton Iced Tea Family Size Bags 

9 cups of water 

1 1/2 cups sugar 

1/2 tsp of baking soda 

(DO NOT skip this ingredient - it makes all the difference) 

Boil water. Take 2 cups of boiled water to put into pitcher. Place the iced tea bags in the water and cover. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Once the time is up, take out the tea bags. 

Add baking soda, sugar, and the rest of the cold water (6-8 cups depending on your preference for sweetness) and stir. Let it sit in the fridge to cool or pour a glass with some ice. ENJOY! 

Poached Chicken Recipe For Crock Pot:
 Depending on your recipe, place frozen chicken into enough water (or chicken broth) to cover the chicken. Add chopped celery, onions, and/or carrots (optional). Add salt and pepper and I usually add some garlic powder, parsley, and another spice on hand. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.

Spicy BBQ Sandwiches with Cole Slaw

Spicy BBQ Ground Turkey

Serves 4

1 lb of ground turkey
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 gloves of chopped garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon pepper
hamburger buns

Cole Slaw

Serves 4 

1 head of cabbage
2 large carrots
1/4 cup chopped green onions
(or you can buy a bag of cabbage mix)
  1/4 cup light mayonnaise

1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp light sour cream
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp honey
  1/2 tsp celery salt
Sea salt and pepper, to taste

To make the Spicy BBQ sauce, place the ingredients above (minus the turkey and buns) in a saucepan over medium heat. Allow it to simmer while stirring occasionally for 10 minutes as the sugar will begin to dissolve.
In a large skillet, place the ground turkey over medium-high heat. Once the meat is no longer pink, add about 1/2 cup of the BBQ mixture. Cook for additional 3-5 minutes. 

To make the cole slaw, chop the the cabbage, carrots, and green onions and toss together in a bowl.
In a smaller bowl, combine the vinegar, lemon juice, mayonnaise, sour cream, Dijon, sugar, honey, celery salt, sea salt, and pepper. Whisk together until well combined. 

Add to the cabbage mix and toss until evenly coated. 

For best results, toast the hamburger buns. Put the ground turkey on the bottom with cole slaw over it. Add about 1 tbsp of the leftover BBQ sauce on the top.

I love this meal! The first time I made it was for my family for lunch right before my undergrad graduation from UF.  I have changed it up since then but it is still delicious.

Oh and for dessert, if your sweet tea wasn't enough, St. Patrick's Day sugar cookies :)