Turkey & Kale Whole Wheat Pasta Bake

I mentioned in my most recent monthly recap that I've been having to make a lot of quick and easy meals lately, often just throwing together whatever I can find in my fridge or pantry.  This sometimes means that my meal is missing a key component though, like a protein or vegetables.

But when I know I have a busy week ahead and I actually take the time to make sure I have something more substantial but also healthful around to eat, this turkey and vegetable pasta bake is usually my go-to meal!

This easy pasta dish is made by tossing together some whole wheat pasta, sauteed veggies (including onion, mushrooms, and kale) and seasonings, lean ground turkey, canned tomatoes, and just enough cheese, then baking it in the oven, which is the most time consuming (but hands-off) part. 

You end up with a well-balanced meal with plenty of whole grains, fiber, protein, and nutrients, that's hearty and filling!  I've reduced the amount of cheese that I used when I first made this dish (so it has much less than many baked pasta dishes) and find there's still plenty of cheese to satisfy me.  And if you're vegetarian, I think you could easily throw in some black beans or chickpeas instead of the turkey for added protein.

I love that this is a baked pasta because I can just cover the dish with saran wrap and throw it in the fridge, then I can easily cut out a square of pasta to throw in a container for lunch the rest of the days of the week.  The pictures I took here were right after this pasta came out of the oven; it does firm up afterwards.

I've made this many times already and I'm sure I'll make it many more times until I get sick of it :)  If you have any great go-to meals to have around for busy weeks, feel free to share as I'm finding I need them more and more!

Turkey & Kale Whole Wheat Pasta Bake

Adapted from ifoodreal

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 (375g or 13oz) box of whole wheat penne, rotini, or fusilli

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 lb lean ground turkey

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 cups sliced white or cremini mushrooms

4 cups (packed) chopped kale

1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes  (I don’t use the whole can; maybe around 3 cups) OR 1 jar of your favourite pasta sauce (I've used this one)

1 (14oz) can diced tomatoes (I usually use a seasoned variety)

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta to al dente, according to times on package directions.  I’ve used penne, rotini, and fusilli for this before and all work fine.  Drain when finished.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add turkey, season lightly with salt and pepper, and use a wooden spoon to break it up as you cook, letting cook until evenly browned (around 5 minutes).  Remove turkey and set aside in a bowl.  Using the same saucepan, add your garlic and onion and cook until slightly softened for a few minutes.  You can add a small amount of oil to the pan first if needed.  Add mushrooms and continue to cook until mushrooms are browned, another 5-7 minutes.  Add the kale and cook until wilted, stirring often.  Add the cans of tomatoes, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, a pinch each of salt and pepper or to taste, along with the turkey and the cooked pasta to the pan.  Stir and let cook over low-medium heat for a few minutes.  Add half of the mozzarella cheese (1 cup) and all of the parmesan cheese and stir.

Spray a 9x13 glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Pour the pasta mixture into the pan and top with remaining mozzarella cheese (1 cup).  Cover with aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for another 3-5 minutes.  Remove from oven and let sit for at least 5 minutes before serving (this is important!).

*Note: If you want to use spinach instead of kale, use about a 5oz container of baby spinach and stir in to the mixture when you add the turkey and pasta.

Arugula Pasta Salad with Chickpeas, Veggies, and Goat Cheese

As I mentioned in my last post for this mandarin quinoa salad (which is already my most popular recipe this year – note to self: keep posting quinoa recipes!), I’ve been trying out lots of different exercise classes this term in an effort to stay active.  Last Wednesday I tried my first AquaZumba class, which was the first time I’ve taken a class in the water since my swimming lessons days as a kid.  It was kind of what I expected in that our beautiful instructor looked unfairly cool doing all her dance moves at the side of the pool while I likely looked like a floundering sea monster attempting to keep up in the water, but it was also better than I expected in that I actually had a lot of fun (and loved the fact that I could exercise without sweating)!

The success of AquaZumba has now given me the courage to try out Aqua Fit, which I’m guessing won’t be nearly as much fun.  I’m slightly dreading the idea that it might involve treading water, which I haven’t done since swimming lessons because I hated it so much.  I could never seem to keep my head above water, and the swimming instructor would always tell us our homework while we were treading water at the end of class and I would panic because my ears would be underwater so I couldn’t hear what they were saying.  But now that I'm older (and already have failing joints), I'm hoping my body will be a little more appreciative that I'm letting it work out in the water and won't fail me when it comes to the treading water part!

One of the nice things about water classes is that they make you super tired at the end of the night, giving you a good night’s sleep.  They also make you super hungry, which is where having a big batch of this pasta salad in the fridge comes in handy!

This is just an easy vegetarian dish that’s kind of like a salad, kind of like pasta, kind of like pasta salad, and kind of like pasta with salad.  With whole wheat pasta for fibre, lots of veggies for nutrients, chickpeas for protein, and some goat cheese for richness, it’s a well-balanced dish that makes for great lunches (or post water workout meals) throughout the week! 

Arugula Pasta Salad with Chickpeas, Veggies, Olives, and Goat Cheese

Loosely based on a recipe from Cooking Light

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

375g box of whole wheat penne

8 oz green beans, ends trimmed

1 pound halved cherry tomatoes, divided

4 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Salt & pepper

2 tablespoons minced shallots

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 cup pitted sliced kalamata olives

1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese

1 (540mL) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

3 cups packed arugula

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. 

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, toss green beans and half the cherry tomatoes with 1 tablespoon oil and season with salt and pepper.  Spread in an even layer on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.

Prepare the dressing by whisking the remaining 3 tablespoons oil with the shallots, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, basil, and honey in a small bowl.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Combine cooked pasta, roasted vegetables, remaining fresh cherry tomatoes, olives, goat cheese, and chickpeas in a large bowl.  Mix in the arugula.  Add dressing and toss to coat.  Serve warm or chill for a cold pasta salad (though I preferred it warm).  Season with additional salt and pepper and top with additional goat cheese if desired.

*Note – the pictures are missing the additional fresh cherry tomatoes; I forgot to add them until after

Pasta with Chicken & Broccoli in a Mushroom White Wine Sauce

When I was looking through my hundreds of bookmarked recipes for a comforting, easy meal to make for dinner one night, I came across this pasta with roasted garlic, white cheddar, and wine sauce on Annie's Eats and it fit the bill perfectly. Most normal people would have made the recipe as written, because it looked pretty amazing. But because I can't seem to follow a recipe for the life of me, my brain immediately started whirring with ideas to change things up a little, and this is what I came up with!

Instead of making a butter-flour based sauce with chicken broth and a bit of white wine, I decided to use equal parts wine and broth, and I switched to a mushroom broth (and threw in some onions and mushrooms) so the sauce would have lots of flavour. I eliminated the butter because the cheese made the sauce thick and rich enough. I kept in the roasted garlic but added a bit of Dijon mustard for an extra kick. Finally, I threw in some sundried tomatoes for added flavour and texture.

Everything was so flavourful and combined into an amazing meal that tasted rich but was still reasonably healthy by my standards. The best part was the sauce, which you can't really see in the pictures because it absorbed into the ingredients pretty well, but it had such a deep flavour that really made the dish. It may seem like a lot of work to make this, but if you prepare a few things ahead of time, like the roasted garlic and chicken, then it's pretty easy to throw together. And of course, you can easily make it vegetarian by leaving out the chicken as there's plenty else going on in this pasta!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend! Mine will be filled mostly with school work and housework, but I'm hoping to get out to enjoy the sun a bit - it's been gorgeous here lately!

Pasta with Chicken & Broccoli in a Mushroom White Wine Sauce

Adapted from a recipe originally from Good Things Catered (no longer active) and seen on Annie’s Eats

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

2 heads of garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 large chicken breast

1 lb penne pasta (whole wheat or regular)

1 head of broccoli, chopped into florets

1 small onion, diced

8 oz pre-sliced white or crimini mushrooms, roughly chopped

1 cup dry white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)

1 cup mushroom stock (I made this from a bouillon cube, but if you can’t find it, you could substitute chicken stock)

1-1/2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon flour

Ground black pepper

1/2 cup diced sundried tomatoes (rehydrated if necessary)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Cut the ends off the two heads of garlic so that the cloves are exposed.  Drizzle the exposed cloves with a teaspoon of olive oil, then wrap the heads with aluminum foil and place on a baking sheet.  Roast in the preheated oven for about 1 hour.  Unwrap and let cool, then squeeze the garlic out of the skin and mash into a paste.  Mix the Dijon mustard into the garlic paste.  Set aside.

Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook chicken breast in the skillet for about 5-6 minutes per side, until cooked through.  Remove from heat and let rest a few minutes before slicing into small pieces. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook for length of time specified on package.  Set chopped broccoli in a steamer basket over the boiling water and cover.  Steam for about 3 minutes until crisp-tender, then remove from heat.  When pasta is finished cooking, drain and set aside.

At the same time, heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add chopped onion and mushrooms and cook until soft, stirring often, about 5-7 minutes.  Add the roasted garlic paste and stir for about a minute.  Add the white wine and mushroom broth and bring to a boil.  Let simmer until reduced by about half, about 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in the cheddar cheese until melted.  Add the flour and whisk the mixture over low heat, until thickened slightly.  Season generously with pepper.

Combine the pasta, chicken, broccoli, sundried tomatoes, and sauce in a large pot.  Heat briefly over low heat if not warm enough.  Serve warm.

Spicy Tuna Pasta & a GIVEAWAY!

I never make New Year's resolutions, but this year I did make a few cooking and blog goals for the year (like going through my massive stack of food magazines and either throwing them out or actually cooking the recipes in them!). One of my blog goals was to try to post more easy, weeknight meals, which I feel like my blog doesn't have enough of. I think I usually assume people wouldn't like recipes that appear too simple, but in reality, that's what the majority of working/busy people need, right?

This pasta dish is one of those recipes that proves that simple recipes (with the right ingredients) often make for the best meals. Homemade pasta sauces always taste so much better than the storebought kind, and this sauce couldn't be easier, with the standard onions, garlic, diced tomatoes, and crushed tomatoes; but the addition of antipasto really boosts the flavour. Adding in some tuna for protein keeps the dish quick and easy, and a sprinkle of fresh parsley at the end keeps it fresh and flavourful. Ryan and I both loved this pasta and can't wait to eat our big batch of leftovers over the next couple days!

If you make this recipe, you can enter a contest to win a $50 gift certificate! Here's how:

The recipe can be found over at Aurora Importing's site here. Like the delicious pea risotto I made a couple weeks ago, this recipe is part of Aurora Recipideo contest. Each month, they feature a different recipe made easy with the use of a short video to show how it's made. Then you can make the recipe yourself at home, take a picture, and enter it to win a $50.00 gift certificate to My Italian Cantina, an online store where you can purchase a variety of Italian and European products. This month's Recipideo for this spicy tuna pasta (along with the contest details) can be found here. Keep in mind that you can add your own personal flair to the dish to make it your own! I changed a few things with my dish, like using a lot more antipasto, and adding some hot sauce and red pepper flakes for extra spice since the antipasto I used was on the sweet side.

BONUS Giveaway to win the products featured in this recipe:

Not only can you all enter Aurora's Recipideo contest for the chance to win the $50.00 gift certificate, but the generous folks over at Aurora have also been kind enough to offer one lucky reader the chance to win the products featured in this recipe! One randomly selected winner will be sent the following products (all of which can also be purchased from My Italian Cantina), worth over $20 total. You can use them make this spicy tuna pasta or your own creative dish!

1 jar Allessia La Bomba Antipasto Spread
1 jar Allessia Tuna in Olive Oil
1 can Aurora Diced Tomatoes
1 bottle Aurora Tomato Puree
1 package Amato Penne rigate
1 box Aurora Sea Salt

How to Enter:

Each person has two chances to enter the giveaway to win these products. You can do one or both of the following for up to two entries:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me what's your favourite Italian dish (either to make or eat!)

And/Or, for an extra entry:

2. "Like" my facebook page, then come back and leave a separate comment on this post telling me you liked it (or, if you already like it, leave a comment saying that!). If you "like" it but don't come back here to leave me a comment saying you did, it won't count as an entry! (Literally all you have to write is "I liked your facebook page"!)

If you don't have a blog or account anywhere, don't worry, you can still enter! When posting your comment, select the "Name/URL" option for "comment as", fill in your name, and leave the URL field blank. Easy peasy!

Rules/Details:

This giveaway is open only to those with Canadian shipping addresses (sorry, American and international friends, I hope to have more giveaways in the future that will include you!) Americans are still welcome to enter the Recipideo contest though, so you're not left out!

The contest closes Thursday, January 12 at midnight EST, when I will use a random number generator to select the winning comment. I will post the winner's name on the blog Friday morning and the winner will have 24 hours to contact me with their shipping information. So be sure to check back here on Friday the 13th to see if you won, and use the buttons on the sidebar to subscribe to my blog feed so you don't forget! Good luck!

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UPDATE:
The giveaway is now closed.  The winner has been announced here.  Thanks again to all those who entered!
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