Let the countdown to AudiologyNOW! 2015 begin. San Antonio, TX here I come.

Seriously I had the greatest time ever at my ear nerd conference. Aside from the fact that I was surrounded by like-minded people who want to talk audiology anytime and all the time regardless of sleep deprivation and blood alcohol level, everything was FREE.

I think I’ve told you, eh, once or twice on this blog about how poor I am. It’s a sad state of affairs. So when someone is offering up a gigantic buffet and a massive open bar (and I mean open- not just Bud Light, red wine or white wine), I had to take advantage. One day we randomly had mojitos with lunch. Because why not?

I know you’re all waiting on the edge of your seats to hear about Smashmouth, which was amazing. I forgot how many songs they had in Shrek in the 90s. The lead singer has gone completely gray, but we were all wearing ear plugs so really we couldn’t make fun of anyone.

The following night we went to another hearing aid sponsored party at House of Blues in Downtown Disney. The Emerald City Band played and they were so good that I literally pulled out my phone during the concert to see if they do weddings.

Don’t worry, not engaged. Just out of curiosity. Unfortunately they only do “high profile” weddings, and we have yet to hit fame and fortune status with this here blog. I’ll keep dreaming.

Back to real life and real grocery bills, I’ve got a cheapity cheap dinner for you that’s juuust healthy enough to justify it as we hopefully start to move into some warmer weather.

Turkey Sloppy Joes, adapted from Ree Drummond

1 lb ground turkey (I used 93% lean, you can also use ground beef here)

1 medium sweet onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 cup ketchup

1/2 cup water

1 tbs tomato paste

1 tbs brown sugar

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

dash of Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper, to taste

4 Kaiser rolls

butter

Pour 1-2 tbs olive oil in a skillet and brown the turkey. You may have to drain out some of the water so that it actually browns and doesn’t just steam- I did.

Add the diced onion and garlic and stir, letting it cook for a few minutes until the onions get slightly translucent. Pour in the ketchup, water, tomato paste, and seasonings and stir together. Lower the heat and let everything simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Season to taste.

Toast your kaiser rolls, and throw your sloppy joe mixture on there. I served these with  baked sweet potato fries.

The turkey here isn’t dried out  at all it’s delicious and doesn’t taste healthy. I’m a believer.