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.

Beef and Mushroom Tacos with Avocado Salad

This recipe had me at 'Avocado Salad'. I love all things avocado and Mexican! It was so good. Chad said it tasted like a taco crossed with a Philly cheese steak. What a great way to describe it. YUM! 

I found this recipe in Everyday with Rachael Ray. 

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion; chopped
2 jalapeno chiles; stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
Salt and pepper
2 avocados; cubed
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (1 1/2 limes)
8 ounces sliced white mushrooms
3 cloves garlic' thinly sliced
Flour tortillas

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the beef, half the onion and jalapenos; season with salt and pepper. Cook until the beef is browned and onions are softened. Transfer to a bowl; reserve the skillet.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the remaining onion, avocados and lime juice; season with salt and pepper.

In the reserved skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and garlic; season with salt and pepper and cook until golden. Stir in the beef mixture and warm through.
Prepare the tortillas to your liking and stuff with beef mixture topped with avocado salad.

Arroz Congri (Cuban Rice and Black Beans)

Last weekend my family and I went to one of our new favorite restaurants, Reds on the River. I ordered their special Ropa Vieja (which is essentially braised beef over rice with black beans.) Their version of the dish was topped with a poached egg. YUM! It was soooo good! Maybe I will attempt to recreate it one day. Anyways, I saw this recipe for Cuban rice and beans and it sounded good and easy enough for me to try. I am glad I did! It was healthy and flavorful. LOVED IT! 

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 green pepper; chopped

1 red pepper; chopped

1 small onion; chopped

2 cloves garlic; minced

1 cup uncooked long grain rice

1 - 15 ounce can black beans - don't drain

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 bay leaf

Salt and pepper to taste

Rotisserie Chicken; shredded

Avocado; chopped

In a medium sized pot, heat oil on medium heat. Add onions, peppers and garlic. Saute until soft; about 5 minutes. 

Add rice, beans, water, cumin, bay leaf and salt and pepper.

Simmer on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the rice absorbs most of the liquid and just barely skims the top of the rice.

Cover reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes (don't peak- the steam is what cooks the rice.) After 20 minutes, shut off the flame and let sit covered for another 5 minutes. 

Top with chicken and avocado. 

Recipe adapted from here.

Three Bean Chili

Another Abs cookbook recipe - "Three Amigos Chili". Quick, flavorful and healthy! We topped the chili with crushed, baked tortilla chips, reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend and a spoonful of Greek yogurt (sour cream substitute). 

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion; diced
1 lb ground turkey
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with jalapenos
1 can (10.5 oz) chickpeas; rinsed and drained
1 can (10.5 oz) black beans; rinsed and drained
1 can (10.5 oz) kidney beans; rinsed and drained
1 can (14 oz) low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (I used about 1/16 teaspoon)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 3-5 minutes. Add the turkey and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until browned; drain (if desired).
Add the tomatoes with juice, beans, broth and spices. Stir and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.