Penne with Turky & Broccolini

Tonight's dinner is courtesy EveryDay with Rachael Ray (April 2012).  Another time I would cut back on the crushed red pepper as it was a bit spicy for us.  We couldn't find the broccolini at the store so we went with the tip and used broccoli crowns instead.  Definitely easy to throw together and cooks up quickly.

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound penne
• 1/4 cup EVOO
• 1 bunch broccolini (9 oz.) tough ends trimmed, stalks, and florets chopped into 1-inch pieces
• Salt and pepper
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 pound ground turkey, preferably dark meat

Tip If you can't find broccolini, use broccoli florets instead.

Tip ...roasted red peppers. Slice 4 oz. drained jarred peppers into thin strips and mix into the pasta along with the broccolini.

Directions

1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the penne until al dente, 11 to 13 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, add 2 tbsp. EVOO over medium-high heat. Add the broccolini and season with salt and pepper. Stir in 2 tbsp. water, cover and cook until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
3. Lower the heat to medium, add the remaining EVOO and the onion and cook until soft, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Push the onion to the side of the pan, increase the heat to medium-high and crumble in the turkey; season. Cook, stirring, until the meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the pasta, broccolini and three-quarters of the reserved pasta water to the turkey; toss well. Add the remaining pasta water if needed to thin the sauce.

Meatloaf & Potato Pileup

I saw this recipe in an issue of EveryDay with Rachael Ray, and then saw her make it on her show one morning. The video on the show's website wasn't available for a little while, but she verbally says that you can use any combination of meat that you want, as well as saying that they gilded the lily by adding the pesto. So, I halved the recipe, using a medium onion, one beet (halving that would've been a pain, and what to do with the rest?), and a pound of ground beef, and completely skipped the pesto. I messed up when reading the instructions for the cheese sauce, so my cheese didn't melt in the way that it should have. And I probably didn't get the beet wrung out well enough, as there was beet juice in the bottom of my casserole dish. It was a significant amount of work and dirtied a lot of dishes! Tasty overall, but probably not one we'll add to regular repertoire (although the boyfriend might have like it better had I gotten the cheese sauce done the right way!), especially considering the amount of work it took.

Ingredients

• 3 pounds baking potatoes, scrubbed and sliced crosswise 1/8-inch thick
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, quartered, one quarter finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 1/2 cups half-and-half, warmed
• 6 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded
• Salt and pepper
• 2 carrots, peeled and quartered
• 1 small beet, peeled and quartered
• 2 eggs

• 1/2 cup marinara sauce
• 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 1 pound ground dark meat turkey
• 1 pound ground beef chuck
• 1 cup basil leaves
• 1/2 cup EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Yields: 8

Preparation

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375°F.

In a large pot filled halfway with boiling, lightly salted water, cook the potatoes for 3 minutes. Drain and spread them out evenly on a paper-towel-lined baking sheet to cool.

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring, until softened, 3 minutes. Whisk in the flour for 2 minutes, then pour in half-and-half and bring to a boil, whisking constantly; cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Let cool.

Using a food processor, chop the remaining onion and the carrots. Transfer to a bowl. Add the beets to the processor and chop. Transfer to a kitchen towel, wrap and squeeze out any excess moisture.

Whisk the eggs, marinara, breadcrumbs, 1 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper into the carrot mixture. Crumble in the turkey, beef and beets, and mix well. Transfer to a 9x13” oval casserole, pressing into an even layer. Top with the potatoes and cheese sauce.

Place the casserole on a baking sheet and bake until the edges are bubbly and top is browned, about 40 minutes. Cover with foil and continue cooking until a meat thermometer placed in the center of the loaf registers 175°F, about 20-25 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes before serving.

Purée basil, EVOO, lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Serve with the meatloaf.