Cheeseburger Pasta

It's Velveeta, versus cheddar! Our Velveeta, melts much better. Cheddar's lumpy, cheddar's oily. It runs off of your plate onto to your doily!

Does anyone but me remember that jingle? It must be, oh, 15 years old by now? But it's always what pops into my head when I hear "Velveeta." I've actually never cooked with Velveeta before. I guess I've just never had cause to. But when I spotted this quick and simple recipe on my good friend Lauren's blog I decided it was time to grab some Velveeta.

Upon spotting the Velveeta on the counter when I was making dinner, Joe got super excited and told me how his dad used to buy it all the time when he was a kid and how much he'd loved it. He asked for a piece to snack on, then promptly declared it to be not nearly as good as he remembered. Isn't that always the way? But being that I had no fond childhood memories involving processed cheese, I found it to be quite tasty. And I loved it in this pasta! This was a lot like hamburger helper, but with more flavor and way less sodium and chemicals. I found myself sneaking bites of the leftovers from the pan as I was cleaning up from dinner, so it was definitely a winner. Kids are sure to love this too!

Cheeseburger Pasta

1 lb ground turkey breast
1 onion, diced
2 3/4 cups water
1/3 cup ketchup
1T mustard
2 cups elbow mac, uncooked
4 oz reduced fat Velveeta, cubed

Brown meat in a large skillet, drain.

Add water, ketchup, onion powder and mix well.

Bring to a boil and add mac. Simmer on med-low heat, covered, for 8-10 minutes (until pasta tender).

Stir in Velveeta and cook until melted, stirring occasionally.

Turkey Goulash

Charlie and Lily keep me pretty darn busy all day, so I don't have much time to peruse other food blogs like I used to. Thanks to the recent purchase of my beloved BlackBerry Curve, however, I am now able to quickly browse through my Google Reader here and there to search for new recipes. One blog that I always read is Fake Ginger. I love Amanda's recipes, her funny and honest description of things, and her ability to cook or bake something new almost daily while caring for two small children. I found this turkey goulash recipe on Amanda's blog recently and immediately printed it out. It sounded quick, hearty and tasty so I was eager to make it. I had planned to cook this during the babies' afternoon nap today, but I am in the midst of reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and decided that I would rather devote my small amount of free time to that today rather than standing over the stove. So I modified this recipe for the crockpot. I took 10 minutes to throw it together in the morning and had a hot, delicious dinner simmering away while I read. My changes are below - check out Amanda's blog for the original!

Turkey Goulash

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 pound ground turkey
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups water
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups elbow macaroni or small shells

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Saute turkey, onion, and garlic until turkey is cooked through and onion is soft. Place turkey mixture in crockpot and add water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, soy sauce, bay leaf, black pepper, and salt. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Add pasta, stir well and replace lid for 10 mintues or until pasta is tender. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Weeknight Paella

Another winner from my friend Colleen! Joe and I love paella. In fact, Joe loves basically any combination of proteins and rice. This paella uses shrimp and sausage and comes together with the help of some Mexican rice mix and peas. It's incredibly delicious and is perfect for a weeknight, just as Colleen described. I did not have any chorizo so I used turkey sausage and it was still fantastic! I look forward to having this again soon!

Weeknight Paella

2/3 cups yellow rice (Goya)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small shallot, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/2 pound chorizo, sliced
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons chicken broth
1 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1/3 cup frozen peas

Heat olive oil in large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add rice and cook until it begins to toast, about 1-2 minutes.

Add shallot and garlic and continue to saute until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add shrimp, chorizo, and broth. Cover pan tightly and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 18 minutes.

Remove lid, add parsley and peas and cook until heated through. Continue cooking uncovered until all liquid is absorbed.

Turkey-Spinach Lasagna

There are many versions of turkey-spinach lasagna floating around, but this is the one that found its way into my recipe binder. I printed this recipe a few years ago from the Cooking Light website MyRecipes.com and last night was the second time I've made the dish. Our friends Jamie and Dave were coming over for dinner and I wanted something warm and comforting for a cold November night. Plus Jamie and Dave are both fans of turkey and spinach, so I knew this would be perfect. I made a few changes to the original recipe. I used fat free ricotta in place of the cottage cheese because, while I love cottage cheese on its own I find it strange in pasta dishes. I also added some more spices - red pepper flakes to the turkey as it browned and garlic powder and oregano to the cheese and spinach mixture. I used no-boil lasagna noodles and they were perfect. The lasagna came out perfectly set, creamy and delicious. A great comfort food meal!

Turkey-Spinach Lasagna

Cooking spray
1 pound ground turkey breast
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 (26-ounce) jars low-fat marinara sauce
1 (16-ounce) carton fat-free ricotta
1/4 cup egg substitute
1/4 cup (1 ounce) preshredded fresh Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
8 cooked lasagna noodles
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350°.
Coat a large skillet with cooking spray, and place over medium-high heat until hot. Add turkey, onion,red pepper flakes and garlic; cook until meat is browned, stirring to crumble. Add 5 3/4 cups marinara sauce; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
Combine ricotta cheese, egg substitute, Parmesan, parsley, pepper, garlic powder, oregano and spinach; stir well. Spread remaining marinara sauce in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 4 noodles over marinara; top with cottage cheese mixture and half of the mozzarella.


Spoon half of the turkey mixture over the mozzarella. Arrange the remaining noodles over turkey mixture. Top with remaining turkey mixture and mozzarella.
Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until cheese melts and sauce is bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Thanksgiving Meatloaf

Joe is always happy to have meatloaf for dinner, so I was happy to see this recipe for stuffed meatloaf on my friend Lauren's blog. I had originally planned on following the recipe exactly
(except I had no intention of making my own stuffing - I'm a Stove Top girl) however when dinner time rolled around I find myself not really feeling the Italian flavors of the original recipe. Instead, my mind was on Thanksgiving - all the T-Day themed Food Network I've been watching had taken it's toll, I guess. So I decided to change the recipe to incorporate some Thanksgiving flavors. I used ground turkey for the meat and topped the meatloaf with turkey gravy and cheddar cheese. Joe and I both really enjoyed this, and now we are totally ready for Thanksgiving dinner!

Thanksgiving Meatloaf

1 small onion, grated
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried parsley
2 large eggs
1/4 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2/3 cup dried bread crumbs
3/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1 lb lean ground turkey
2 cups (packed) of your favorite stuffing
1/2 cup turkey gravy, plus more for serving

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Whisk the first 7 ingredients in a large bowl to blend. Stir in 1/2 cup cheddar cheese and bread crumbs. Mix in the turkey. Pack half of the meat mixture into a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan. Spoon the stuffing over the meat in the pan, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges. Top with the remaining meat mixture, enclosing the stuffing completely and pressing firmly. Spoon the turkey gravy over the meatloaf, then sprinkle with the remaining cheddar cheese.

Bake, uncovered, until the meat loaf is firm to the touch in the center and has pulled away from the sides of the pan, about 45 minutes. Cut crosswise into slices and serve with additional gravy.

Simple Sub Supper

I'm slightly embarrassed to post this dinner since it's not really a recipe, nor did it require any real cooking, but Joe deemed it a contender in his list of top five favorite dinners so I though that earned it a spot on the blog. Last weekend Joe picked us up sandwiches at Wawa (yes, we love the convenience store's sandwiches - wanna make something of it?) for lunch and he got the seasonal special - hot turkey and gravy on a roll. He loved the sandwich and was thrilled when I told him that I could easily recreate it for him for dinner this week. So we purchased thick cut turkey at the supermarket deli and I tossed it into the crockpot with two jars of turkey gravy. It heated on high for about two hours and was ready to go! We were both amazed at how delicious the turkey turned out. It was so juicy and moist that you would never have known it was from the deli and not a slow-roasted bird. I served Joe's sandwich on a torpedo roll and made mine into two mini sandwiches using the dinner rolls I made the other night. I also put a slice of cranberry sauce on my sandwiches. Yum! This was a great dinner for essentially no work!

Rolling Towards Thanksgiving

Joe's favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. Why? Because his favorite meal is Thanksgiving dinner. Each Thanksgiving we go to my mom's house for dinner and have all the traditional foods - turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, etc. My mom calls it her "signature meal" and since Joe enjoys it so much you usually makes it for him at least one or two other times throughout the year. I'm not quite so ambitious (I've never made a whole turkey) but I do try to incorporate Joe's favorite flavors into various meals throughout the year. So when I saw these turkey and stuffing rolls on Ashlee's blog I knew they'd be a hit with Joe. Ashlee's a superstar and did these up right, making her own stuffing and gravy. Me? Well I was too busy cutting antibodies out of sugar cookie dough to have time to make stuffing and gravy, so I cheated! I made up a box of Stove Top and rolled the stuffing inside my thick-sliced deli turkey. I put the rolls in a 9 x 13" baking dish and covered them with some jarred turkey gravy, then covered it all up and baked for 15 minutes. Done! Joe really loved these and they couldn't have been easier! Be sure to see Ashlee's blog for the non-cheater version of this recipe!

Sausage and Bean Casserole

I've had this recipe from Cooking Light saved for almost a year now. I never got around to making it last winter, and once it turned warm I was waiting for a nice fall day to give it a try. When I put this on the menu for tonight, I was anticipating a nice fall day. Instead I got temperatures in the 80s. Oh well. I went ahead and made it anyway and it was worth heating up the kitchen for. This casserole is super easy to toss together and it hearty and delicious. I stirred in about 2 cups of spinach for a little extra nutrition and added some shredded pecorino romano to the breadcrumb topping. It was a perfect fall meal, even in Indian summer.

Sausage and Bean Casserole

Cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium)
1 (16-ounce) package light smoked turkey sausage (such as Hillshire Farm), cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 (16-ounce) cans cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1 bay leaf (I omitted)
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (optional)
3 (1-ounce) slices white bread (I used breadcrumbs)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (I omitted)

Preheat oven to 375°.
Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and turkey sausage to pan; sauté for 5 minutes or until browned. Add garlic, and sauté for 2 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in 2 tablespoons brown sugar, tomato paste, dried thyme, freshly ground black pepper, cannellini beans, and bay leaf. Add ground red pepper, if desired. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Place bread in a food processor, and pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1 1/2 cups.
Sprinkle breadcrumbs evenly over bean mixture, and lightly coat with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until browned. Discard bay leaf. Sprinkle with parsley.

Mmmm - cheese and spinach

Yum! This meatloaf is delicious! Just look at all that cheesy, spinachy goodness! I'm not a huge fan of beef, so I love recipes that let me use ground turkey. And what could be wrong with a meatloaf stuffed with cheese. I also happen to love spinach, so this meatloaf was the perfect meal. The recipe comes from from Nikki at Pennies on a Platter. I will definitely be making this again, but I may have to wait until a night when Joe is out - he deemed it as "too healthy tasting" thanks to the spinach.

Florentine Turkey Meatloaf

11/4 pounds ground turkey
1 cup spaghetti sauce, divided
1/2 cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 eggs (or 1 egg and 2 egg whites), slightly beaten
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (whoops - just realized I left this out!)
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed (optional)
1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
3/4 cup low-fat shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8- or 9- inch loaf pan with foil with dull side toward food. Combine ground turkey, 1/4 cup spaghetti sauce, bread crumbs, onion, eggs, Parmesan cheese and fennel seed in medium bowl.Press half of turkey mixture into foil-lined pan. Press a 1-inch indentation down center of mixture, leaving 1-inch thickness on all sides. Toss spinach and mozzarella cheese together; spoon into indentation, mounding in center. Press remaining turkey mixture evenly over top, sealing edges. Bake 45 to 50 minutes. Spoon remaining spaghetti sauce over meat loaf. Bake 15 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes.

Easiest Ever Paella

Joe is a huge fan of any combination of meats and rice (paella, jambalaya, etc.), so I wasn't surprised when he selected the Easiest Ever Paella from my new Sandra Lee cookbook for dinner tonight. Joe had given me several new cookbooks for my birthday last week, two of which were from Sandra Lee. I somehow failed to realize that this paella recipe came from her slow cooker cookbook, so when I started to make dinner at 5:00 tonight and realized that the recipe called for me to cook everything in my crockpot for 6 hours I had to improvise unless we planned to eat dinner 11:00. No worries, I easily adjusted it for the stove top and it was very delicious. I served it with some roasted asparagus and homemade challah bread and it was a great meal. Maybe next time I'll try it in the crockpot!

Easiest Ever Paella

3 cups chicken broth
2 boxes Spanish rice
3 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
3 turkey sausages, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup chopped onion
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup petite frozen peas

Prepare the rice according to package directions substituting chicken broth for water. While rice cooks, spray a large skillet with cooking spray and begin cooking chicken. When chicken is halfway cooked add diced onions, peas and sausage. Add shrimp during the last few minutes of cooking and cook until just pink. Stir in the cooked rice.

Fourth of Ju-Fry!

Several years ago Joe and I gave my dad a turkey fryer for Father's Day. I think it may be the best gift I've ever given anyone - my dad has gotten endless enjoyment from it. Each year my parents host several holiday cookouts, one of which is always a turkey fry. This year we fried on the fourth and it was a lot of fun! An 18 lb turkey was on the menu this year. My dad injected it with a Cajun marinade to give it some extra flavor and keep it juicy, then the bird went into the fryer for about 45 minutes. As always, it came out perfect - moist and juicy and soooo tasty! If you've never had fried turkey, you may be surprised to learn that it's not at all greasy - in fact, it hardly soaks up any oil at all. That means you can eat twice as much of it! Along with the turkey we enjoyed corn muffins and some classic picnic sides like tortellini salad, potato salad and deviled eggs. We worked off the food with some quoits - my teammate Jamie and I showed mad skills...even if we lost. Only one year until the next turkey fry - I can't wait!

Into the fryer

And it's done!

Mmmmmm...meat

Rockin' the quoits

Joe and I :)

Dog Days of Summer

In terms of classy dinners, this Rachael Ray recipe is up there with the cheeseburger and fries casserole I made a few weeks ago. Still, this dinner was a lot of fun and very delicious! So what if it's meant for kids? Both Joe and I really enjoyed it. I used turkey kielbasa instead of hot dogs and maybe a little more dough and chili per dog than called for, but I only made us one dog each so I wanted them to be filling. I would definitely make these again, and they were a fun summer evening meal.

Chili Cheese Dogs in Beach Blankets

1 tablespoon vegetable oil or extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
3/4 pound ground beef or turkey
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
2 teaspoons dehydrated onion
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup water
1 tube pizza dough, from the dairy aisle at the grocery store
8 beef, turkey, pork or tofu dogs
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
In a small pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the meat to the pot and brown it up, 6-7 minutes. Season the meat up with chili powder, granulated garlic, dehydrated onion and a little salt and pepper. Add the tomato paste to the pot and stir it around a minute, then add the water to help loosen the tomato paste up and get it everywhere. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for five minutes, then turn the heat off. Roll the pizza dough out into a big rectangle. Cut the dough in half lengthwise with a small knife. Cut the dough into four equal pieces across so that you end up with eight small, rectangular pieces of dough. Across the center of each rectangle, place a couple of spoonfuls of chili sauce and a small handful of cheese sprinkled on top. Set the dog on the dough and wrap and roll the pizza dough around the dog like a blanket, sealing in the chili and cheese too! The nubs of each end of the dog should be peeking out. Bake in the oven 18 minutes, until golden.

Mega Turkey Nachos

I took this week off from work to just relax. I have plenty of vacation time and no actual vacation planned, so I thought it would be nice to have a week to just hang around the house, read, watch TV, etc. But I also thought I'd use some of my free time to try some new recipes. Since I am technically on vacation, and Joe is too since he's a teacher, I wanted to make some "fun" dinners this week. Luckily, the Rachael Ray newsletter landed in my inbox last week and I started browsing her recipes. I found many that I wanted to try that fell into the fun category and these Mega Turkey Nachos made it to tonight's menu. These were simple to make and very good. Both Joe and I really enjoyed them. I linked to the original recipe above, but I made several changes so my version is below. This dinner was a nice start to my week off!

Mega Turkey Nachos

cooking spray
1 pound extra lean ground turkey breast
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
Red pepper
1 box frozen corn kernels (10 ounces)
1 can black beans (15 ounces), rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chicken broth
Juice and zest of 1 lime
baked tortilla chips
1 1/2 cups shredded pepper Jack or sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
salsa
sour cream

Pre-heat the oven 375ºF.Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray. Brown and crumble the ground turkey for 3-4 minutes and season with chili powder and cumin. Add green pepper and season with red pepper. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stir in corn and beans, then heat through and adjust seasoning. Stir in chicken broth and cook for 1-2 minutes more, remove from heat, then stir in lime zest and juice of the lime. Arrange a layer of chips on a baking sheet with edges, top with half of the turkey mixture and half of the cheese. Repeat once, ending with the cheese. Transfer to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted, 5-6 minutes. Top with salsa and sour cream and serve.

Cheddar-Studded Turkey Burgers

I love, love, love our grill! Everything grilled just seems to taste better. So I'm always looking for new recipes that will allow us to fire up the grill. For one reason or another I was browsing Rachael Ray's website this week and came across her arsenal of burger recipes. I printed several off, including this one for Cheddar-Studded Turkey Burgers. I made them up tonight for Joe to grill, and to quote Ms. Ray - yum-o! These were really good! They had some nice heat thanks to the spices and there was melty cheese in every bite. They were simple too, but that probably had something to do with the fact that it was on of her kid's recipes ;) I didn't have a GH ("grown-up helper" in Rachaels' world), but I did okay anyway. I didn't bother making the cilantro cream, since neither Joe or I like cilantro.

Cheddar-Studded Turkey Burgers

1/3 pounds ground turkey breast, the average weight of 1 package
1 medium red onion, half finely chopped, half diced
1/4 pound sharp cheddar cheese, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 rounded tablespoon chili powder, a healthy palmful
2 teaspoons cumin (2/3 of a palmful)
1 jalapeño or serrano pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus some for drizzling
1/2 cup sour cream
A handful of cilantro leaves, chopped

Chop and dice onion, cheddar cheese, pepper, garlic and cilantro. Pre-heat a large nonstick skillet, indoor grill pan or tabletop grill to medium-high heat. Combine ground turkey, onion, cheddar cheese, chili powder, ground cumin, jalapeño or serrano pepper, garlic, salt and pepper in a medium bowl and mix everything together with your hands. Score the meat with the side of your hand to separate into 4 equal amounts. Form mixture into four large patties no more than one inch thick.Wash your hands after handling the raw turkey. Drizzle EVOO on the patties and place patties in a hot skillet or on a hot grill with a spatula and cook 5-6 minutes on each side or until turkey is cooked through. For the cilantro cream, combine the sour cream and chopped cilantro, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Down Home

I watch a lot of shows on the Food Network, yet its rare that I'm inspired to make the meal that I see prepared. However, last weekend I was watching an episode of Down Home with the Neelys and thought "I would make every one of those recipes!" I didn't make every one, but I did make two for our dinner with friends Lauren and Pat and their son Ryan. The first was this barbecue turkey meatloaf, and I was quite pleased with the way it turned out. I did not make the barbecue sauce from scratch, as the recipe suggests, but instead used a bottle of Kansas City Barbecue Sauce. Also, rather than make up an entire batch of the Neely's barbecue seasoning, I simply added a few pinches of the paprika, sugar and onion powder. I thought this meatloaf was great - nice and moist with a tangy kick. And pretty healthy too!


BBQ Turkey Meatloaf

Pinch paprika
Pinch sugar
Pinch onion powder
1 teaspoon crab boil seasoning, (recommended: Old Bay)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups BBQ sauce, reserving 1/2 cup for the top
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped red onion
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 pounds lean ground turkey
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, mix BBQ seasoning, crab boil seasoning, soy sauce, beaten egg, 1 cup of the BBQ sauce and Worcestershire sauce.
In a saute pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil. Add onion, bell pepper, salt and pepper and garlic. Saute until tender. Remove from heat and add to wet mix.
Pour mixture into bowl with the ground turkey. Add bread crumbs and mix all together with your hands.
Transfer the meat mixture to a cookie sheet or baking pan. Using your hands, shape the meat into an oblong or rectangular shape. *Cook's Note: Alternately, you can pat the meat into a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan and pour 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce on the top of the loaf.
Bake for 35 minutes. Remove and add the reserved 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce to the top and continue to bake for 20 more minutes.