Whole Wheat Lasagna with Ground Turkey

I grew up with my mom making the best Italian food.  Sauces from scratch and no measurements, all by hand.  Kids always in the kitchen helping and tasting as food was being made.  The tradition continues with my own take on lasagna.  My sister and the girls all in the kitchen stealing tastes and chatting as I cooked.  A perfect way to spend an afternoon!  I doubled the recipe to freeze a lasagna for the crazy hectic day that is in our future and will be made a little better by some warm comfort food.

Whole Wheat Lasagna with Ground Turkey

Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) package of whole wheat lasagna noodles
1 (16 ounce) package of ground turkey
1 1/3 cups cottage cheese
3/4 cup (6 ounces) cream cheese softened
2/3 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste (2-3 grinds for us)
4 garlic cloves chopped
2 large eggs
1 jar of pasta sauce (26 ounces), we use a basil sauce
olive oil for oiling the pan
1 cup of shredded cheese

Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Oil 13 x 9 inch pan.  Set aside 1/2 cup pasta sauce
2. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions.
3. Brown and crumble ground turkey over medium heat until completely cooked.  Add pasta sauce to the turkey except for the 1/2 cup set aside.  Simmer covered over low heat until warmed then turn off and uncover.  
4. In a large bowl thoroughly combine the cottage cheese, cream cheese and ricotta.  Stir in the parmesan, salt, pepper, garlic and eggs until combined.
5. Spread 1/2 cup reserved pasta sauce in the bottom of oiled pan.  Place 3 noodles over the sauce.  Top with 1/2 of the cheese mixture and 1/3 of the meat sauce.  Place 3 more noodles over the sauce.  Top with 1/2 of the cheese mixture and 1/3 of the meat sauce.  End with three noodles and top with remaining 1/3 meat sauce.  Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella.  
6. Cover pan with foil and cook for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and cook 10 minutes.  If you want a a nice bubbly top with bits of brown broil for 1-3 minutes watching that it does not over cook!  Let it sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

Three Bean Turkey Chili in Slow Cooker

What did you hear early this morning?  I heard three little girl voices exclaiming:  Snow!!!  Snow!!!  First I thought, brrr and then chili of course, but I had errands and school pickups today.  I know people leave pots simmering but I can't do that if I'm not at home.  I don't even like the coffee pot to be in on mode even though it has an automatic shut off!  Slow cooker to the rescue again.  This chili is simple, healthy and has a nice smokey flavor thanks to the chipotle chili powder.  And as all chili lovers know this will taste even better the next day so be happy to have those left overs.

Ingredients

1/2 cup diced onion
1 lb ground turkey
2 cans of tomato sauce (15 ounce)
2 cans diced tomatos (15 ounce)
1 - 2 cups of chicken broth
1 can kidney beans (15 ounce) drained
1 can black beans (15 ounce) drained
1 can northern beans (15 ounce) drained
1 jalapeño minced (add two if you like it spicier)
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder, sprinkle for meat
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

Recipe

1. Cook onion in pan over medium heat until slightly browned.  Add ground turkey.  Sprinkle chili powder over meat to season.  Cook until meat is done and no longer pink, stirring to crumble
2. Add meat mixture and all other ingredients to slow cooker.  Add more spice and jalapeño for spicier chili.  Add 1 cup broth for thicker chili and 2 cups for a more soupy chili.  You can always add after it cooks awhile too.  
3. Cook for 6-8 hours on low.  Or you can cook an hour and high and 1-2 hours on low.  The longer you cook the better the taste.  Serve chili with cheese to garnish if you wish

Turkey Noodle Soup

I make soup all the time.  I love soup and find that we almost always have the ingredients to make up a batch on those cold dreary days when you want something hearty but also good for you!  This is also another great way to use up chicken or turkey leftovers.  I can't help but serve it with a nice warm from the oven crusty bread.  

Ingredients

thyme, dried parsley, salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
8 cups chicken stock or broth
3 large carrots
4 large celery stalks
4 medium parsnips
1 cup uncooked noodles (I like the amish brand)
1 - 2 cups of cooked turkey or chicken, dark or light

Recipe

1. Melt butter or margarine over medium heat in a large stock pot.
2. Add carrots, celery and parsnips and cook on medium for 5 minutes.
3. Add stock/broth and bring to a boil.  Add Noodles and bring back to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to medium simmer and add chicken/turkey.  
5. Simmer until the noodles are done.  Around 12 minutes for the amish brand.
6. Add seasonings (salt/pepper/thyme/parsley)
7. Soup is ready to be served!  Just allow to cool some before eating to avoid those burned tongues

Easy Crockpot Turkey Tenderloin

Doing my grocery shopping I ran across a "manager's special" markdown.  If you haven't checked these out they are items that fastly approaching the sell-by date.  I like to pick up meats that are marked down and pop them in the freezer or cook them in the next few days.  So I took my $5 turkey tenderloins and made an easy slow cooker meal.  After a day of errands and playing the meal was ready to go.  And it makes your house smell delicious!

Ingredients

• Turkey Tenderloins
• Carrots
• Celery
• Red Potatoes
• White Onions
• Garlic
• Chicken Stock
• Sea Salt
• Pepper

Recipe

1. Chop  Carrots, Celery, Red Potatoes into bite size pieces.  You'll want around 1 - 2 cups of each.  The amount doesn't have to be exact.  Add to slow cooker.
2. Dice the onion and mince the garlic.  Add to slow cooker.
3. Add some chicken stock.  If you just want to steam the veggies add around 1/2 a cup.  If you want a soupy broth to dip bread in add more.  
4. Place the Turkey Tenderloins on top of the veggies in the slow cooker.  Season meat and veggies with sea salt and pepper to taste.
5. Cook on high for one hour.  Cook 5-7 hours on low.  The total time depends on the thickness of your tenderloins.  I tend to buy thicker pieces and they generally are done after 6 hours on low.