Meat Sauce for Pasta

We've been having winter this week. Which for us means lots of rain, wind, cold, and more rain. This is another meal that's great for this kind of weather. Pretty simple comfort food for a cold, rainy night.

Meat Sauce for Pasta

2 tsp Olive Oil
1 Large Onion, Diced
1 Pound Ground Turkey
2 Cloves Garlic, Minced or Pressed
Salt and Pepper
2 tsp Dried Basil
1 tsp Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp Dried Thyme
1 28-Ounce Can Tomato Sauce
12 Ounces Button Mushrooms, Sliced
Carrot and/or Zucchini, Finely Grated (If you need to sneak veggies into your family)
Parmesan Cheese (Optional for Garnish)

Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook until beginning to caramelize, about 10 minutes. Add the ground turkey and cook, breaking up with a spatula or wooden spoon until no longer pink. If your turkey is very fatty, spoon off some of the excess fat at this point. You want about 1 Tbsp of fat left in the pan with the turkey and onions. Add the garlic and salt and pepper to taste, cook, stirring, for about one minute. Add in the dried herbs, and stir to coat the meat and onion mixture. Add the tomato sauce and the sliced mushrooms. At this point, you can add in finely grated summer squash and/or carrots if it's summer and you have an abundance. Your family will never know. Unless, of course, they happen to walk into the kitchen and find you grating a zucchini over the sauce pot. Then they will know. Then they will strongly deny the fact that you have been grating zucchini into the pasta sauce for years. But that may be a topic for another entry...Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, for at least 3o minutes; the longer the better. Serve over the pasta of your choice. Garnish with parmesan cheese as desired.

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Meatloaf

Meatloaf. Such a simple, homey dish. But for all that, it doesn't mean it can't taste good, and even be pretty healthy, to boot. I am pretty sure that every cook in the US has his or her own version. After tweaking mine for a long time, this is the one I have settled on (at least for the time being) Give it a try! I hope you like it as much as we do.

Meatloaf

This recipe makes one 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf, but I like to use the little 2.5 x 5.5 pans, and I get three of those from this recipe.

2 Slices Whole Wheat Bread
1 1/4 Pounds Ground Turkey
1 Small Onion
2 Garlic Cloves
1 Celery Stalk
1 Carrot
1/4 Cup Parsley Leaves
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Ketchup, Divided
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
Salt and Pepper
2 tsp Cider Vinegar
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar

Preheat Oven to 375

Tear the bread into pieces and put in a food processor. Pulse or Process until crumbs form, and put the crumbs in a bowl. Add the ground turkey to the breadcrumbs

Cut the onion, celery, and carrot into about 1-inch pieces. Put them in the food processor with the peeled garlic cloves and parsley leaves. Process until very finely chopped. Add the veggies to the breadcrumbs and ground turkey. Add 1/4 cup ketchup, the dijon mustard, the egg, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix up thoroughly with your hands and put into a loaf pan or pans.

Combine the remaining 1/4 cup ketchup with the cider vinegar and brown sugar and brush the mixture over your meatloaf. If you have a probe thermometer, insert it into the loaf (or one of the loaves) being careful not to touch the pan. Put the pan (or pans) on a baking sheet or a sheet of aluminum foil to catch drips. Bake in the 375 oven to an internal temperature of 160. For the smaller loaves this takes around 45 minutes. For the larger one, closer to 60 minutes. Let the meatloaf rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

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Turkey Albondigas Soup

This is one of our favorite soups. Cilantro meatballs and veggies in broth. Pretty simple, but oh so delicious. This recipe is from the Too Hot Tamales.

Turkey Albondigas Soup

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 or 4 Garlic Cloves
1 Bunch of Cilantro, leaves and stems
Salt and Pepper
1 lb Ground Turkey
1 egg
1/2 Cup Dried Bread Crumbs
4 tsp Canola Oil
1 1/2 Cups or So Leeks, Sliced and Cleaned
2 Medium Carrots, Diced
1/2 Head Green Cabbage, Thinly Sliced
2 Jalapenos, Seeded and Diced
1 14 ounce Can Diced Tomatoes, with the juice
8-10 Cups Broth
2-3 Tbsp White Vinegar

Combine the olive oil, garlic, cilantro, and a big pinch of salt in a food processor. Process until smooth. Mix the turkey, egg, and cilantro paste in a large bowl. Add the bread crumbs and mix until combined. Form into small meatballs, about the size of a walnut. Put the meatballs in the refrigerator.

Heat about 2 tsp canola oil in a large pot or dutch oven. Saute the leeks and the carrots for about 5 minutes. Add the cabbage, jalapenos, and tomatoes, and cook, stirring frequently, for another 3 minutes. Add the broth, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, 15 minutes.

In the meantime, heat 2 tsp canola oil in a nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add the chilled meatballs in batches and brown on all sides. Drain the meatballs on paper towels. When all the meatballs are browned, transfer them to the simmering broth and cook another 10 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and enjoy!

Chipotle Enchilada Casserole with Chicken or Turkey

How do I love Mexican food? I'm not going to even bother to count the ways. I love enchiladas, but I am too lazy to make them. The solution? Enchilada Casserole. Tonight I used leftover turkey (even though I told you there wouldn't be any more turkey recipes : psych!) But I normally make this recipe with chicken.

Chipotle Enchilada Casserole

for the sauce:

2 tsp Canola Oil
1/2 Onion, finely diced
1 Clove Garlic, minced or pressed
1 Tbsp Chipotle in Adobo, seeded and minced
1 tsp Mexican Oregano
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
3 Tbsp Flour
2 14 oz Cans Chicken Broth
3 tsp Corn Starch (if needed)

Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, chipotle, oregano, cumin and tomato paste. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add in the flour and stir to coat. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Slowly whisk in the first can of broth. Add the second can and stir well. Let simmer for about 10 minutes. If your sauce seems to runny (like mine did) whisk 3 tsp cornstarch with equal parts water or broth. Stir into the sauce and simmer another 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

for the Enchiladas

Preheat Oven to 375

2 cups cooked chicken or turkey, diced
4 oz. Shredded Cheese (Cheddar, Jack, whatever you have that sounds good)
3 Tbsp Minced Onion
8 Corn Tortillas, cut in half

Sliced Green Onions for Garnish

Spoon about 1/4 cup sauce in the bottom of an 8 inch square baking dish. Cover with 2 tortillas. Cover the tortillas with sauce, then sprinkle half of the turkey, cheese and minced onion. Cover with sauce and repeat the layers. End with a layer of tortillas covered with sauce and cheese. Bake until bubbly and the cheese has browned, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and garnish with sliced green onions. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before serving.