Turkey or Chicken Tetrazzini

I had intended to make this with our leftover Thanksgiving turkey.  But we ate it all.  So I cooked some chicken breasts to shred instead!

This recipe comes from The Repository, our local newspaper.  What I loved most about it is the delicious sauce.  And by not cooking the linguine all the way, it doesn't get mushy when you bake the casserole itself.  I love mushrooms, but Chris does not.  I didn't have any, so I skipped it.

Also, this makes A LOT.  I halved the recipe and we still had lots of leftovers.  If you have a big family, leave it as is!  It serves 8.


Turkey Tetrazzini

6 tablespoons butter
1 pound mushrooms, sliced 1 inch thick
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 cup flour
3 cups milk
1 can (14 1/2-ounce) chicken broth
3/4 cup dry white wine
3 cups grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1 clove garlic, sliced
1 pound linguine, broken in half
4 cups cooked turkey meat, shredded (about 4 cups)
1 package (10-ounces) frozen peas, thawed

Preheat oven to 400.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter, add mushrooms and onions, season with salt and pepper. Sauté until tender. Remove.

For sauce:
In same saucepan, melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour, about 1 minute. Whisking constantly, gradually add milk, broth, and wine. Bring to a near boil, reduce to medium and simmer 10 minutes, whisking often. Add 2 cups Parmesan and the thyme and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook pasta half the time on package. Drain and return to pot. Fold in sauce, turkey, peas, and mushrooms. Divide between two shallow two-quart baking dishes, sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Bake until browned on top and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Notes: Top with cheddar or provolone cheese last 10 minutes or butter Italian bread, dice and spread on top.

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.

Turkey Penne with Lemon Cream Sauce

This was an easy recipe to prepare with lots and lots of flavor!  Sauteeing the vegetables leaves them crisp-tender, which really adds to this dish.  I used chicken instead of turkey and it came out just fine.

This recipe is from the August/September issue of Simple and Delicious.

Turkey Penne with Lemon Cream Sauce

2 cups uncooked penne pasta

1/2 lb turkey breast cutlets, cut into 3/4 inch pieces

3 Tbsp butter, divided

2 cups fresh broccoli florets

2 small carrots, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp flour

1 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon granules

1/2 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups half and half

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped (I used halved grape tomatoes instead)

Cook pasta according to the package directions.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet (next time I would use my Dutch oven), saute turkey in 1 Tbsp butter until no longer pink.  Remove and keep warm.

Saute broccoli and carrots in the same skillet until crisp-tender.  Add garlic.  Cook 1 minute longer.  Strin in the flour, bouillon granules, thyme, pepper and salt until well blended.  Combine half and half and lemon juice.  Gradually stir into broccoli mixture.  Bring to a boil.  Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until thickened.

Drain pasta.  Add to the skillet.  Stir in turkey and tomatoes and heat through.