Quick Turkey Bolognese with Spaghetti Squash - Everyday Food

Prepare the Squash

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. With a small sharp knife, prick squash all over. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until tender when pierced with knife, about 1 hour 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. When cool enough to handle, halve lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Scrape squash with a fork to remove flesh in long strands.

Ingredients

• 3 bacon slices, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced small
• 1 large carrot, diced small
• 2 small celery stalks, diced small
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound ground turkey breast or chicken breast
• 2 cups crushed tomatoes (from a 28-ounce can)
• Red-pepper flakes (optional)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 6 cups of roasted spaghetti squash
• Grated Parmesan, for serving

Directions

1. In a large nonstick skillet, cook bacon over medium until crisp, 8 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Add 1 tablespoon oil to skillet. Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic and cook until vegetables are tender, 15 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add 1 tablespoon oil and turkey to skillet and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until almost cooked through, 5 minutes. Add bacon, vegetables, tomatoes, and pinch of red-pepper flakes, if using, to skillet and bring to a simmer; cook until turkey is cooked through and sauce is thickened, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over spaghetti squash and sprinkle with Parmesan.
   
   
   The challenge this week was to use more of what we already had in the fridge - ground turkey and the left over sauce from last week. The rolls in the picture also needed to be used. I only bought the spaghetti squash, carrots, and celery. This dish was really easy to prepare and the squash is a great substitute for real spaghetti; the magazine said you save about 250 calories. 
   I did make some changes. Since I had red sauce left over from last week used that instead of buying the tomatoes again; I also didn't add onions because there was plenty in the sauce.  Other than that I followed the recipe. The sauce went perfectly with the squash, which soaked up the flavor. 
   I really love the Everyday Food magazine; you pick it up at the check out line. They have shopping lists organized and in season vegetables; everything I have made from there has been yummy!  The issue this is from is currently out - next week I'm hoping to make some of the super bowl food ideas.
   
   
   GO PATRIOTS!! :)  
   

Red Sauce - Emeril Lagasse, Chicken Parm - Everyday Food

My hiatus is over :)

Basic Red Sauce - Emeril (foodnetwork.com)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3/4 cup chopped yellow onions (1 medium yellow onion)
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic (2 cloves of garlic)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 4 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Directions

In a medium, heavy pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, salt, basil, oregano and black pepper, and cook, stirring, until soft, 5 minutes.

Place the tomatoes in a large bowl and squeeze to break into small pieces. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, and sugar to the pot and stir well. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
Lower the heat to medium-low, and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally with a heavy wooden spoon.


Chicken Parm- Everyday Food

Ingredients

• 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (3 whole breasts, split down the middle)
• 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced thin

Directions

1. Working on a large surface covered in baking parchment or plastic wrap, lay down the chicken breasts. Using a sharp slicing knife, cut each piece in half horizontally through the middle.
2. In a large prep pan or dish, combine the bread crumbs and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese. Spread out to cover the whole bottom of the pan. Lay down as many chicken breasts as will fit on the mixture. Sprinkle salt and pepper over each piece and turn over, completely coating with the bread-crumb mixture. Repeat the process with the remaining pieces of chicken.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl in 2 tablespoons of olive oil to coat the pan. Add the chicken breasts in one layer and cook until golden, about 3 minutes on each side. Remove and repeat the process for the remaining chicken, adding a little oil to the pan as needed.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Spoon some tomato sauce into a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish to cover. Layer in the chicken pieces and top with mozzarella slices. Spoon over about 1 1/4 cups more sauce, and sprinkle on the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Bake until golden and bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Let rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.

I decided, for some reason, I needed to learn how to make red sauce. I think what I liked most about making it was that I knew exactly what was in it and it tasted really fresh. I substituted dry basil for fresh, I should have added more. I also would add more garlic; I also really love the taste of basil and garlic. This sauce is really simple, there aren't any crazy flavors but I would definitely recommend it.

I haven't made chicken parm in forever. I figured if I was making sauce, I should make a whole dish! The breading in this recipe is really light; I don't like my chicken heavily breaded and this breading is just enough to cover and flavor the chicken. If you prefer a heavier breading, use the flouring technique of: chicken in flour, dip in egg, and then place in bread crumbs. I served it with spaghetti but really you could use any pasta.

Sunday Dinners are back! Happy cooking :)

 

Mac & Cheese - My Mom

Pasta:
2cups of dried elbow macaroni
Sauce:
1/4 cup of butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups of milk
4 ounces (half a package) of cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard
1 package of yellow cheddar cheese; half shredded half cubed
1 package of white cheddar cheese; half shredded half cubed
salt, eyeball it
pepper, eyeball it
Topping:
1 cup of bread crumbs, i use the Italian seasoned
2 tablespoons of butter

Heat the oven to 400*. Cook the macaroni according to its directions.
While that is going on, melt the 1/4 cup of butter in a saucepan until sizzlng, stir in flour. Cook over medium heat, stir until the flour is smooth and bubbly in the butter. Add milk, mustard, salt and pepper. Add cream cheese (i like to cube it to make it easier to melt). When the cream cheese has melted, add the white and yellow shredded cheese. Stir until melted.
Add cheese cubes to the cooked and drained macaroni. Add sauce and stir together. Pour into a baking pan/casserole ungreased.
Add crumb topping (which is stirred in a small bowl). Bake for about 20mins/until golden brown.

Homemade Mac & Cheese is the best. I used to make this all the time for my roommates in college, they used to plan other meal items around this. My mom modified this from another recipe and its definitely hard to stop eating. With it being so cold, it was great to have comfort food :) 
My only suggestion is to not use deli cheese. I use Cabot, deli cheese seems to be really salty and it gives it a weird taste. I always use a little less salt or pepper because someone can always add more.