Turkey Noodle Casserole

Who doesn't love a good noodle casserole? This was a perfect dish for a cold, rainy day.

1 lb Ground Turkey (or ground beef)
1 can 15-ounces Tomato Sauce
8 ounces Egg Noodles
½ teaspoon Salt
Sprinkle Black Pepper
1/2 cup Light Sour Cream (I used Greek Yogurt)
1 1/4 cup Non Fat Small Curd Cottage Cheese
1/4 cup Green onions; chopped
1 cup Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown meat in a large skillet; drain then return to the pan. Add tomato sauce and salt and pepper to season. Stir, then simmer while you prepare the other ingredients.

Cook egg noodles until al dente. Drain and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the greek yogurt and cottage cheese. Season with black pepper. Add to noodles and stir. Add green onions and stir.

Spray a 8 X 11 baking dish with cooking spray. To assemble, add half of the noodles to a baking dish. Top with half the meat mixture, then sprinkle on half the grated cheddar. Repeat with noodles, meat, then a final layer of cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, or until all cheese is melted.

Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman.

Turkey and Black Bean Nachos

After a weekend of company, I found myself with a few bags of leftover tortilla chips. What to do? Make nachos! I threw this dinner together in no time. Perfect with"Thirsty Thursday"Margartia!

Tortilla chips (I had Multi-grain and lime flavored Tostitos leftover)
1 can reduced sodium black beans; drained and rinsed
1 can Ro*tel tomatoes with chilis
1 cup shredded cheddar/Monterrey Jack cheese blend
A few spoonfuls of queso dip (leftover from company and a bit of a splurge.)
1 lb. ground turkey
1 small onion; chopped
1 lime
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
Salsa and Greek Yogurt (my sour cream) to top

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large pan, saute onion till translucent. Add turkey and cook till browned. Drain; return to pan and add black beans and Ro*tel. Season with chili powder and cumin; stir until warmed through. Remove from heat and squeeze juice of 1 lime over mixture.

Arrange tortilla chips on a baking sheet lined with aluminium foil. Top with turkey mixture. Spoon queso over turkey mixture and top with shredded cheese.
Bake until cheese is melted.
Top with your favorite ingredients!

Breakfast Sausage Pizza

The revival of a classic... 

Perfect for company - holidays - or any breakfast meal. 

1 lb sausage (Bob Evan's Hot Sausage works great!)
2 cans crescent rolls (Pillsbury Recipe Creations work best because there are no seams)
2 cups frozen hash browns; thawed
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese 
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top

A cookie sheet with edges that are larger than 9 x 13 works best. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Roll crescent rolls onto cookie sheet to cover bottom; leaving small edges on top and closing all seams. Cook and drain sausage. Mix with hash browns and cheddar cheese. Spread over crescent rolls.
Mix eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Pour evenly over sausage mixture. Sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Chicken Marsala

My sweet husband bought me a new Italian Cookbook (I think it was a hint that I need to cook more Italian!) It is a great book filled with beautiful pictures - which happens to be the only way I like to read cookbooks - by the pictures. This Chicken Marsala recipe was calling out to both Chad and I. I could have eaten a lot more than I did - it was amazingly awesome! :)

1 3/4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth (14 oz)
2 Tablespoons finely chopped shallot or onion
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter; divided
10 oz mushrooms; trimmed and thinly sliced
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
2 Tablespoons olive oil; divided
1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons dry Marsala wine
2/3 cup organic heavy cream
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Cracked pepper and salt

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Bring broth to a boil in a saucepan; over high heat. Boil uncovered until reduced to about 3/4 cup; about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook shallot/onion in 3 Tablespoons butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat until golden. Add mushrooms, a pinch of salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated and mushrooms begin to brown; about 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat.
Put flour in a wide, shallow bowl. Gently pound chicken to 1/4 inch thick between 2 sheets of plastic wrap using the flat side of a meat pounder.
Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour, shaking off excess.
Heat 1 Tablespoon each of oil and butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat until foam subsides. Then saute half of the chicken, turning over once, until golden and just cooked through; about 4-6 minutes. Transfer cooked chicken to a baking sheet and put in the preheated oven to keep warm.
Wipe out the skillet and repeat with remaining chicken.
Once all the chicken is in the oven, add 1/2 cup Marsala wine to the skillet and boil over high heat, stirring up all the brown bits, about 30 seconds. Add the reduced broth, cream and mushroom mixture, then simmer until the sauce is thickened about 6-8 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and remaining 2 Tablespoons of wine.
Serve chicken with sauce.