hula joes

today i had a whole plan ready. .

i was going to wake up early!

i was going to make a glorious cup of joe!

i was going to give a new banana bread recipe a whirl!

well, you see, i overslept.

then, i was out of coffee.

then, i couldn’t find the banana bread recipe on my phone.

 

so, i sat down at my computer to pull up my hopeful banana bread recipe from my email archives.. and, naturally, my internet was down.

i then proceeded to spend 90 minutes troubleshooting, lost my cool with the poor internet troubleshooting man twice + had still yet to enjoy a morsel of caffeine.

by the time the world wide web was back up and running, i no longer could be fueled by simply banana bread. kelly needed something savory. something on the brink of naughty food.

 

enter: the hula joe.

i have been toying with the idea of these hula joes for awhile now. my girl, rachael ray, whipped up this idea a few years back + i have her recipe in my notes, on three pinterest boards + even a recipe screenshot in my camera roll.

imagine my excitement when after a morning of strikeouts, i found my fridge to be stocked with every last ingredient needed to make these sliders come to reality in my ambitious kitchen!

i have posted my love for sloppy joes before. but these are a true twist on the classic.

they keep the classic things that every sloppy joe lover yearns for – the the caramelized ground meat covered in a savory tomato-based sauce. but they take ya to the islands by adding in fresh juicy pineapple, the subtle heat a jalapeno + uses a rich dual pork combo.

let’s just say that after one bite of these island-infused sliders, i was transported to a hawaiian beach with my toes in the sand listening to the sound of steel drums + my trouble-stricken morning faded into the past.

so, here i am to tell my tale.

while i may not be serving up a piping hot banana bread recipe, i just couldn’t keep the secret of these hula joes to myself! i had to run to the computer, edit my photos + share this easy one-skillet dish with you!

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you could make all sorts of swaps with this recipe to suite your needs! ground chicken instead of the ground pork! turkey bacon instead of the traditional pork bacon! the mix is also super tasty wrapped up in a crisp lettuce wrap instead of using the buns!

these would be awesome to serve at a summer gathering or festive luau party!

make the recipe in a skillet through step 5 then add the sauce, bacon + pineapple all into a slow cooker + let it hang on warm or low heat until guests are ready to eat.

setting up a build-your-own bar would lend wonderfully to these! set out the hula joes mix with lettuce wraps, buns, cheese, hot sauces + some maui onion chips for topping!

 

the hula joes store wonderfully! like most tomato sauce-based meals, they get better with time after stored in airtight container in the fridge. this would be a great dish to make ahead + reheat for the kiddios on a busy weeknight or would also make for a great lunch!

to drop cals – sub in ground chicken for the ground pork! this alone drops the calories from 494 to only 327 per serving! {without the bread}

joe is hawaiian for joe.

watch the recipe from start to finish from my snapchat story!

{follow along in real time at my username: kellymaurine}