Barbecue Chicken Sloppy Sandwiches

Sloppy joes have been a home cook's answer to "what's for dinner" for generations. The idea is simple: brown ground meat with onion, add something tomatoey and something sweet, and spoon it onto a bun. This version uses ground chicken, which cooks quickly and takes on the smoky-sweet flavor of barbecue sauce without much fuss. Ground chicken is lean, so it can go dry if you walk away from the pan. Keep it moving, and let the onion and garlic soften right in with it so the whole skillet tastes like one thing rather than separate parts.

A small note on the vegetables. Zucchini releases a lot of water as it cooks, which is why the filling can look a little loose at first. Give it the full simmer after the tomatoes go in, and it will thicken into something you can actually hold. If you like a bit more bite, cut the zucchini into slightly larger dice and add it a minute or two later.

Leftovers are worth planning for. The filling keeps well in a covered container in the fridge for a few days, and it reheats nicely in a skillet with a splash of water. It also works over baked potatoes, stuffed into a wrap, or spooned over brown rice. Toast the buns fresh each time so they hold up.

For a side, something crisp and a little sharp cuts through the sweetness. A bowl of Crispy Chili Garlic Green Beans echoes the spice in the filling, and Skillet Succotash with Corn and Zucchini makes a summery plate without much extra work. If you want something cold and light next to the hot sandwich, a bowl of Chilled Garden Vegetable Gazpacho is a nice contrast on a warm evening.

Keep the rest of the meal simple. The sandwich carries plenty of flavor on its own, so a plain side and a glass of water or unsweetened iced tea is all it needs.