Back In Action-Ground Turkey Noodle Bake

I actually have a week full of meals planned for the first time in I don't even know how long. I'm not sure if this is an excuse or not, but I was in a 4-wheeling accident about 3 days after my second to last post. After that I didn't do much cooking for a while. I do have a few pictures of meals that I made over the last 3 months, but not much! The accident combined with end of the school year and a very busy summer and I have been slacking in the cooking department. Last night I cooked Sunday Dinner one of the few times in the last 4 years I have had to cook on Sunday. We live a few miles from my in-laws and they make us dinner almost every Sunday. It was Fast Sunday so I wanted something quick and easy. We have 1:00 church so I made this up before going to church and then just had to throw it in the oven when we got home and made up a quick salad with lettuce, tomato, and cucumber from this weeks basket. It was SO delicious!

Ingredients
4 cups uncooked wide egg noodles
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 pound ground pork or turkey
1 garlic clove
1 medium onion, chopped
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/3 cup BASIC SAUCE MIX
1 1/4 cup water
4 oz reduced fat cream cheese
1 cup shreaded mozzarella cheese (or more realistically I put 2 cups)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375*. Cook noodles with asparagus acording to package directions (al dente), drain and set aside. In same pot combine basic sauce mix, water and cream cheese. Bring to a low simmer until thickened. Add noodle mix back in and toss. Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook ground meat with onion and garlic, drain and return to skillet. Stir in tomato sauce and italian seasoning. Bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes. In a 9X13 baking dish layer noodle mixture, meat mixture, and top with cheese. Bake 25-30 or until hot and cheese is melted.

Notes: I assembled this before hand and refrigerated it then increased cook time to 40-50 minutes.

Instead of basic sauce mix you can use 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup.

Sunday Pork Roast (Yes I made this on a Tuesday!)

Growing up I don't remember my parents cooking many things, I am an only child and honestly it was easier for the 3 of us to eat out, especially with 2 working parents. The few things that I remember my parents making either came from a box or a jar, with the exception of a Sunday Roast. This recipe is actually not my parents recipe (which is a good standby): Pork Roast, water, onion soup mix, potatoes and carrots. For today's roast I wanted to use more fresh ingredients from my basket.

1 boneless pork roast (I used a butt because it comes already tied!)

Salt and Pepper to taste

4 garlic cloves, pressed

4 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped

1 lemon, cut into thin slices

3/4 cup water

1 tablespoon chicken boullion (or one cube)

2-3 pounds potatoes

5-6 carrots

1 bunch asparagus

2 tablespoons flour

Disolve boulion in warm water. Place roast in crock pot, rub with salt, pepper, garlic, and rosemary. (If roast is not tied, tie with twine) Tuck lemon slices around roast. Pour chicken broth into the bottom of the crock pot. Cook on low 7 hours or high 2 hours. At this point place chopped potatoes and carrots into the crock pot. Cook on high 1 hour. Stir in chopped asparagus. Cook an aditional 30 minutes, or until veggies are tender. Take Roast and veggies out of crock pot. Let stand 10 minutes then slice pork before serving. Discard twine and lemon slices. Transfer juices to small sauce pan, mix flour with about 1 cup cold water. Add flour mixture to sauce pan and cook until thickened for gravy.

Yummy Shells and Asparagus

Wow! That pretty much sums up tonight's dinner. I promise you this dish is worthy of being served at any Italian Restaurant. I used the original recipe found at Favorite Family Recipes and modified it.
1 pkg. medium shells pasta
1/2 c. (1 cube) butter (the real stuff)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz sliced mushrooms
3/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1-2 chicken bouillon (I use 2 tsp. boulion powder)
1 (12oz) can evaporated milk
salt & and pepper to taste
1 bunch asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 c. bacon, crumbled
1/4 c. chopped pistacios (or to taste)
Parsley, to taste
Parmesan cheese, to taste

Boil bow tie pasta in salted water until al dente. Do NOT over cook.
In wok or heavy skillet melt butter. Add minced garlic, mushrooms and asparagus saute a minute or so.
Add Parmesan Cheese and bouillon. When the bouillon is dissolved, slowly stir in heavy cream and salt & pepper. Bring to a boil stirring frequently until thickend slightly. Add cooked pasta, crumbled bacon, toasted pistacios, and parsley and toss together. Serve immediately, sprinkle with additional Parmesean cheese to taste.

15 Asparagus Recipes for your 15 lbs of Asparagus!

For this Saturday if you are getting a case of Asparagus here are a few recipes that I thought looked delicious to try out!

Oven Roasted Asparagus

Asparagus Hollandaise Puff

Asparagus Omelet

Chicken and Asparagus Risotto

Fast 'n Fresh Fritatta

Roasted Asparagus with Balsalmic Brown Butter

Chinese Chicken Salad

Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp, Asparagus, and basil

Asparagus and Chicken Enchiladas

Cream of Asparagus Soup

Anniversary Bowtie and Asparagus Pasta

Balsalmic Chicken Asparagus

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Asparagus, and Green Beans

Pasta with Mushrooms and Asparagus in a Pesto Sauce

Asparagus, Mushroom and Ham Quiche with a Potato Crust

Creamy Pasta with Spring Vegetables

This recipe had such great flavor! I love the fresh basil and roasted veggies. This recipe was adapted from a recipe in The Pampered Chef Main Dishes cookbook, which is now out of print. Most recipes that I make in my home I go off of an idea and then add or take away things until it's what I want. I doubled the recipe, with a big family that's a must, plus that way I could use the whole can of evaporated milk.
8 oz. thin fresh asparagus spears, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
8 oz. baby portobello mushrooms, quartered
1 large bell pepper, cut into 1 in pieces
1 yellow squash, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 tsp. salt (I like course sea salt)
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, snipped
8 oz. penne pasta (I use whole wheat)
3/4 cup fat free evaporated milk (could use heavy whipping cream or regular evaporated milk)
2 oz fresh parmesan cheese grated

Preheat oven to 425*. Chop up veggies and place in a large bowl. Add olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Toss gently. Spread out on a cookie sheet with sides. Roast 18-20 minutes until veggies are tender. (if you like crisp veggies only roast 10-12 min). Cook fat free evaporated milk in a small sauce pan over medium low heat until slightly thickened. Add in parmesan cheese and stir until incorporated. When veggies are done, return to large bowl, top with sauce and basil and toss together. Top with additional black pepper and parmesan cheese as desired.

yeild-4 servings, calories per serving: 120

notes: Tonight I made this vegetarian style, but it would be great with grilled chicken breasts cubed and tossed in. Also, I used veggies that I had on hand, it's easy to add or take away veggies in a meal like this to suit it to your tastes!