Turkey Parmesan Burgers (and oven fries)

In my quest for healthier eating I have cut out a lot of red meat. We have red meat maybe once a week if that. I tend to stick to poultry and veggies (and pasta. We all know I’m a carb loader). So anytime I see a recipe for any kind of poultry burger I have to try it! These were tasty. They cooked well and are a nice basic palate to make them your own. You could spice them up with some peppers or send them over the Italian curve with some fresh basil leaves and garlic mixed in. Due to my allergies, I’m pretty careful about spices right now. Go wild with this. I served with simple oven fries made from white potatoes, olive oil and sea salt. (slice and bake in a single layer for 20 minutes on 350, flip and bake for 20 more minutes). This makes a great light summer dinner OR a healthy lunch!


Turkey Parmesan Burgers
Ingredients:
Sliced Whole Grain Bread
Parmesan cheese (about ½ cup)
Small can of Tomato Sauce
1 lb ground turkey
½ tbs olive oil
1 small finely chopped onion
Whole-milk Mozzarella cheese (thinly sliced or shredded)

Directions:
In a food processor, blend the two end pieces of bread and parmesan to form fine crumbs. Place in large plate or pie plate.

In a large bowl combine ground turkey, onion and 2 tbs tomato sauce plus ¼ tsp salt. Mix well. Shape into 5 patties and gently coat with the bread crumb mixture.

In a George Foreman Grill (or a grill pan, frying pan etc), spray with Pam and place burgers on grill. Grill for about 4 minutes or until crusty and dark brown.

Serve on toasted bread with mayonnaise, 1 tbs of tomato sauce and a thin slice or sprinkle of mozzarella.

Baked Spaghetti-the NEW way

I do not normally post every meal I make, repeats or randomness. I also do not cook fancy new recipes EVERY day of EVERY WEEK. Occasionally there will be a whole week where I rely on tried and true rotation recipes and have very few posts. (What, you really thought I cooked gourmet EVERY NIGHT? PAHLEASE..southern farm girl here...with a big garden and a full time corporate america job...I do not have time for all that).

However, every once in awhile, something mundane and boring jumps out at me. A creative use of leftovers (in my effort of not wasting food)for example that made an extremely yummy quick and easy meal. A "new" way of doing Baked Spaghetti and planning out meals that I think is worth sharing. Plus, I'm posting for Mama Bird's Whatcha Cooking Wednesdays (since I cooked absolutely NOTHING of interest last wednesday! LOL


So here goes:

Baked LeftOver Spaghetti
Ingredients:
4 cups (or so) of Leftover Homemade Tomato Soup (which was also used in the pizza so this recipe got a lot of use and none was wasted!)
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan
1/4 cup fresh grated Gruyere
1/4 cup Fresh grated American
1 cup shredded cheddar
1 fresh Mozzerella Ball (crumbled)
1 1/2lbs spaghetti noodles
1/2 pound ground turkey browned(leftover from the pizza as well)

Directions:
Boil noodles in salted water till al dente. Spread in a 9 x 13 casserole dish with about 1/4 cup pasta water (to thin out chilled soup). Pour soup (cold) over noodles and mix well. Layer cheeses and turkey over the top. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes until cheese is melted and has formed a crust.

Serve.

Surprisingly, I liked this BETTER than making regular spaghetti sauce and baking it up. This had so much more flavor and the noodles absorbed all the soup.

Creamy Pea Pasta

Creamy Pea Pasta has become one of my go to recipes. Quick lunches, easy dinners, and easy to change up. I know I make this atleast once a week, most of the time just so I can have three or four lunches prepacked and ready to grab. Steve? Yea, he's not so keen on it though he does't complain if I add some meat to his portion.

The beauty of this recipe is that its a basic cheese pasta. You can add onions and garlic and spinach and bake it in the oven for extra pizzazz or just leave it as it is for a macaroni and cheese style dish. My favorite way is with the Peas ofcourse. I love that burst of sweet green flavor and it gets that serving of veggies in!

*Pic of basic pasta without peas*

Creamy Pea Pasta
Ingredients:
1/2 box of spaghetti noodles (or one small package)
1/4 cup flour
1/2 stick of butter
2 cups green peas (frozen but thawed)
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesian
1/8 cup gruyere grated
1/2 cup cheddar grated
and I love throwing in one or two small cubes (about 3 tbs) of Velveeta for the cream factor.
2 1/4 cups milk

Directions:
Boil noodles in heavily salted water till tender.

Melt butter in sauce pan. (add onions and garlic if doing so here and cook for a minute or two). Add flour and whisk until smooth. Pour in milk slowly and stir until smooth. When milk mixture is thick enough to coat spoon, turn off heat and add cheeses. Stir until well blended. Toss in peas (and spinach or whatever else you are using at this point) into cheese mixture. Toss mixture with noodles. Serve warm.

Simple, quick and delicious! Dress it up by throwing it in gratin dishes and sprinkly with bread crumbs and baking with a side of garlic bread and fresh salad or keep it simple for weekly lunches. YUM!
*Picture with Peas and Thawed Chopped Spinach*

Healthy Soft Tacos

I'm not kidding. For Soft Taco's I don't think you can get much healthier than this. Quick, easy and easy to portion out for several meals and lunches.

Healthy Soft Tacos

Ingredients:
3 yellow straight neck squash
1 pound ground Turkey
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 can black beans
1 can diced tomatoes (drained)
1 can Ortega Green Chili's (drained)
Garlic powder
Flour tortillas

Directions:
Chop Yellow squash into 1/2-1 inche cubes. Lightly oil baking sheet. Place squash on sheet and lightly oil over cubes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes until tender and edges starting to turn brown.

While squash roasts, sprinkle oil in saute pan and saute onion for about 2 minutes. Add turkey and season with garlic powder (dash)and cook until browned. Rinse blackbeans and add to turkey mixture. Add tomatoes and green chilies. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spread mixture on warm tortilla's followed by a few pieces of the roasted squash. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream. TASTY!

For a Gluten-Free version use Corn Tortilla's!