2012 Appetizing Muse Blog Archives

Turkey-Moo Preview

Posted Fri, 01/13/12

The following recipe will be included in the upcoming new cookbook for Food Fare:

Turkey-Moo Lasagna

1 LB ground turkey

1/2 LB lean ground beef

1 TBS minced garlic

2 TBS olive oil (sub with canola oil)

2 tsp. dried basil

2 tsp. dried parsley

1/2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. garlic pepper

1 tsp. hamburger seasoning salt

1/4 C fresh mushrooms, chopped

1/4 C sweet onion, diced

1 container (15 oz.) Part-Skim Ricotta Cheese

1/2 C Parmesan cheese (sub with Romano)

4 C Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (sub with Mozzarella)

2 eggs

Nonstick cooking spray

1 pkg. (9 oz.) lasagna pasta

1 can tomato sauce (1 LB or 13 oz.)

Salt & black pepper to taste

In a large skillet, add olive or canola oil and minced garlic over medium heat. Stir and simmer for a few minutes. Crumble in the ground beef, and then add 1 teaspoon each of the following: basil, parsley, hamburger seasoning salt, and salt and pepper to taste. Crumble the ground turkey on top of the beef mixture, and then add the following: 1 teaspoon each of basil, parsley, and garlic pepper; 1/2 teaspoon of paprika and salt and pepper to taste. Add diced onion and chopped mushrooms, and mix thoroughly with the ground beef and turkey mixtures. Cook twenty minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally, or until meats are completely cooked. Drain the fat from the mixture in a colander; return to skillet. Add tomato sauce and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Stir well, and reduce heat to simmer.

Spray a 13X9X3-inches deep baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 375-degrees F. Cook lasagna pasta according to package directions; drain and allow to cool before handling.

In a large bowl, mix ricotta cheese with 2 cups of shredded Monterey Jack cheese (reserving 2 cups of the Monterey Jack cheese for the top of the lasagna), 2 eggs and the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.

Spread a few ladles of the meat-sauce on the bottom of the baking dish. Layer four sheets of the lasagna noodles, then add 1/2 cup of the ricotta mixture and 1/2 cup of the meat sauce mixture, spreading evenly on top of the noodles. Repeat layers with remaining ingredients, and top with 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese. Cover dish with foil and bake for about 50 to 60 minutes, or until bubbly. Uncover and continue to cook for an additional five minutes, until cheese is thoroughly melted. Let cool before serving; food will be very hot.

Culinary Notes: The assembly of Turkey-Moo Lasagna takes some time – about two hours – but is well worth it in the end. Collectively, the ingredients needed for the dish may seem out of reach, but when using generic brands it balances against the amount of food produced.

I created the recipe seven years ago when living in Washington. While the ingredients are simple, the recipe does take some time to assemble. Have a free afternoon before attempting the dish!

As stated, the recipe will be included in the new cookbook coming from Food Fare. We are hoping for an early release next month, but it all depends on the editing process and book cover design. It might be March or April before the new collection is released.

And no, I'm not ready to reveal the theme of the new cookbook yet.

Stay tuned!

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*Turkey-Moo Lasagna was originally created by Shenanchie in April 2005.

Afternoon in the Kitchen

Friday, 04/22/05

Yesterday I had a wild hair and decided to make lasagna. I wanted to try something different - basically a dish that didn’t feature beef exclusively. There is always vegetarian lasagna, but my husband would never settle for that.

I went to Safeway to pick up a few ingredients, not sure what I really wanted. I was deciding on which lasagna noodles to buy when I saw Barilla's oven-ready variety. The pasta sheets are smaller and flat, but I was willing to try them in order to avoid dragging out another pot to boil noodles. I was a bit leery, though, because many years ago I made spaghetti in the crock pot whereby raw pasta was added. The dominant flavor of starch spoiled the dish for me and I never made it that way again.

I left Safeway without buying any meat because it's so damned expensive. I wasn't about to pay $5.23 for a pound of lean hamburger, and they didn't have any ground chicken or turkey in stock. On the way home I stopped at the little corner grocery store by my house, which has an old-fashioned butcher counter. I was able to buy a pound of ground turkey for $1.89 and a half-pound of fresh super-lean ground beef for .79 cents.

My only complaint about the no-boil lasagna noodles is the top layer came out with crunchy edges. I simply cut those away. The rest of the pasta was cooked well and I found no taste of starch, thankfully.

On the side I also steamed a big bowl of "Fiesta" vegetables, which includes broccoli flowerets, sliced carrots, little white beans, Italian green beans, dark red kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and diced red bell pepper. I added a touch of margarine and salt to the vegetables to give them an extra boost. The "Fiesta" combination is one of my favorites.

Needless to say, we had quite a feast. There is enough lasagna leftover for two or three days. The turkey-beef mix passed my husband's taste-meter with flying colors, and I have to admit I enjoyed it as well.