Italian Turkey Burgers

I was feeling adventurous last night and decided to make up a recipe for our turkey burgers. I didn't want something same old, same old blah blah so I winged it. We were definitely rewarded! I personally would slightly reduce the Italian seasoning and add more mozzarella (I love me some cheese), but hubby thought that they were perfect!

Italian Turkey Burgers

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground turkey 

1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese

2 TBS grated parmesan

1/2 tsp Kosher salt

Olive oil for sauteing 

Directions

Heat olive oil in a skillet or grill pan over medium heat. 

Combine all ingredients (except oil) in a bowl. Form patties. Cook for about 5-7 minutes on each side. I cooked mine on each side for about 5 minutes and then put them in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes. They were perfectly cooked!

Enjoy!

Stovetop Lasagna

Hubby and my niece chowed down on this. My niece was almost finished with her plate before we made it to the table. Hubby didn't know there were veggies in it until my niece mentioned something about "salad" being in it. She had helped me make the puree and saw the spinach. We kept trying to shush her, but it eventually came out. Of course, weird faces were made after that and it tasted "different". This was all from hubby, not my 4 year old niece. Rule of thumb for the future - make the puree ahead of time and don't let hubby know! I also apologize for the picture - we started serving before I took a pic so it looks like a hot mess.

Stovetop Lasagna

adapted from The Sneaky Chef

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 50 minutes

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients

1 TBS extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup chopped onion (1/2 of a medium onion)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb ground turkey

3/4 cup Green Puree (<---Click the link for the recipe)

6 oz can tomato paste

1/4 cup oat bran 

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp basil

9 oz box of lasagna noodles, broken 

24 oz jar of pasta sauce (I like Prego traditional)

1-1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 

Directions

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, deep skillet that had a lid. Saute the onions until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic in the last few minutes of cooking. Add the turkey and cook until no longer pink.

In a bowl, combine the puree and tomato paste. It will turn an unappetizing brown color, but don't be alarmed! Add it to the skillet and mix. 

Stir in the oat bran, basil and oregano. Top the mixture with the lasagna noodles. Pour tomato sauce over the noodles. Add 2 1/2 cups of water to the pan and stir into the sauce.

Bring it to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. 

Top with cheese and cover for about 3-5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. 

Enjoy!

Chicken Parmesan

This is definitely a family favorite around here! I make this at least once a month and it is so yummy. I serve it with spaghetti and garlic bread. I'll let the picture do all the talking!

Chicken Parmesan

adapted from Food Network

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1 1/2 cups plain bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 cup flour, on a shallow plate

2 eggs, lightly beaten, in a pie plate

Jarred pasta sauce (I like Prego)

1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella

Olive oil spray

Directions 

Preheat oven to 375.

Place chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap or wax paper and pound out to 1/2" thickness using a mallet or rolling pin. 

Combine bread crumbs, 1/4 cup parmesan, oregano, basil and cayenne in a pie plate. Coat each breast in the flour, shaking off any excess flour. Dip each breast in the egg and then into the bread crumb mixture. Set coated chicken aside on a plate. 

Spray a non-stick skillet with olive oil spray and heat over medium-high heat. Cook chicken until golden on both sides.

Spread one cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a baking dish and top with chicken. Top each breast with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.

Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Enjoy!

Best. Lasagna. Ever.

Wow. Seriously this was delicious. Definitely better than Stouffer's and it might have been marginally lower in fat. I'm just pretending it was since I used part-skim mozzarella and turkey. I definitely will make this again and possibly even use the sauce for regular pasta in the future. It got two thumbs up from my picky hubby so you know it must have been good. I know the ingredient list and directions seem overwhelming, but it was actually really easy. Enjoy!

Best. Lasagna. Ever.

adapted from AllRecipes

Ingredients

1 1/4 pound sweet Italian turkey sausage (Mine were in casings and I just removed the casing)

1 pound lean ground turkey

1/2 cup minced onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

28 oz can crushed tomatoes

2 - 6 oz cans tomato paste

2 - 8 oz cans tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

2 TBS white sugar

1 1/2 tsp dried basil leaves

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp Kosher salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

3 1/2 TBS dried parsley (or 4 TBS fresh chopped parsley)

12 lasagna noodles

16 oz ricotta cheese (the good stuff like Polly-O, Sierra or Sorrento)

1 egg

3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced

Parmesan cheese (I didn't really measure this, just sprinkled it on)

Directions

In a Dutch oven, cook turkey sausage, ground turkey, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. You can do one of two things here - if you use the turkey there isn't much "juice" to drain off. I left mine in there for flavor. Now, if you use beef and sausage, you might want to drain off some of the "juice" so that you don't end up in an early grave from clogging your arteries. Just sayin.

Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, pepper, and 2 1/2 TBS parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. If you want to make this a day ahead and not be tied to the stove for 1 1/2 hours, you can follow the directions above (minus the simmering part) and then assemble the lasagna. Put it in the fridge overnight and put it on the counter to come to room temp about 1 hour before you put it in the oven.   

Put the lasagna noodles in hot tap water to soak for about 20-30 minutes. They will still be firm, but will cook up nicely in the oven without getting mushy. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, 1 TBS parsley, and 1/2 tsp Kosher salt. 

Preheat oven to 375. 

To assemble, spread 2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with half of the ricotta cheese mixture and sprinkle with Parmesan. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese. 

Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!