Don't get me wrong, I love cooking.  But I've been SO uninspired in the kitchen for dinners lately. Maybe it's because we have had quite a few bouts of flu going around our house.  Or because I spend most of my days creating fun recipes for my job.  Some nights, by the time 5:00 hits, I'm just staring at the fridge, hoping for a cooked meal to pop out at me.  I wish! Can't I have a magical twitch to my nose like Samantha on Bewitched?!

Last night, I had ground turkey but no ideas what to do with it.  I wanted a burger, but it was still partially frozen.  I remembered seeing something on Rachael Ray once about a cheeseburger casserole and I just went with it.  

The verdict? EVERYONE loved it.  It tastes just like McDonald's double cheeseburgers. We don't do much McD's, but those double cheeseburgers are hard to resist...especially after a nasty post-wedding hangover! (We had quite a few weddings this summer...I learned the hard way)

Served with some of our favorite tots and green beans, this was a tasty meal that hit the table in about 30 minutes! 

Turkey Cheeseburger Casserole

Here's what you need:

• 1 package of Jennie-O lean ground turkey (about 1.25 lbs)
• 2 cups of elbow noodles, cooked al dente (about 5-6 minutes)
• 2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup relish
• 2 pickle spears, chopped (more or less to taste)
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 
• 1/4 teaspoon each- onion & garlic powder
• 2 cups cheddar cheese 
• Optional: chopped bacon (I put it on half of ours)

1. Preheat oven to 400. 
2. In a large pan, brown ground turkey for 4-5 minutes.  Add onions, mustard, Worcestershire, onion and garlic powder.  Brown until turkey is completely cooked. Do not drain.
3. Add pickles, relish, tomatoes, tomato paste. Once thoroughly heated, slowly pour in noodles. Stir.
4. Pour into casserole dish and top with cheese (and optional bacon).  Bake 15 minutes, until cheese is melted and drool-worthy.
   
    

What's your go-to meal when you're in a cooking rut?

Simple Soups: Pasta Fagioli + Cheesy Garlic Bread Dippers!

Let's just face it: fall is here.  Once Starbucks starts serving Pumpkin Spiced Lattes, you might as well bust out your scarves and boots.  I'm really not against cooler weather.  Since I love to cook, this whole summer thing is really putting a damper on my style.  Even with the air on, I have to try to limit the oven time or else we will be sweating all night.

This soup is comforting, yet super healthy too.  If you love the Olive Garden version, this will be your BFF.  It freezes well, too!  While this soup is amazing, the dippers are one of the best ideas I've ever had.  Ricky has literally asked for these 5 times since I've first made the soup.  I didn't want to turn on the oven to toast my bread, but the girls were tired of plain grilled cheese.  Enter: cheesy garlic bread dippers.  If you went to college in a place with a Toppers, these taste EXACTLY like Toppers sticks.  (I can thank those Toppers Tuesdays for my Freshman 15...).

Here's what you'll need:

For the Soup: 

• 1 package Jennie-O lean ground turkey (93%)
• 2 tablespoons EVOO
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 celery sticks, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can diced tomatoes (15 oz)- I like the basil/Italian style
• 1 can tomato sauce (16 oz) OR 2 cups jarred marinara
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon each: Italian seasoning, Dried Basil, Oregano
• 1 sprig of fresh thyme OR 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• Salt & Pepper to taste
•  1.5 cups ditalini pasta
• Extras: Parmesan cheese & pesto for toppers 

For the Cheesy Garlic Bread Dippers:

• 6-8" flour tortillas
• Mozzarella Cheese- 2 cups
• Garlic Powder
• Italian Seasoning 

Let's COOK! 

1.  Cook pasta, set aside.
2. In a large soup pot, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add ground turkey and brown for 4-5 minutes.  Add Italian seasoning, dried basil, oregano and thyme.  Cook for 1-2 more minutes.
3. Add all veggies and garlic. Cook until soft, 3-4 minutes.  Add extra EVOO if needed.
4. Toss in beans, tomato sauce and diced tomatoes.  Turn to low heat and bubble for 20 minutes.  Add more seasoning, as needed.  I like to add a dollop of pesto and cheese before serving.
5. Heat a frying pan over medium heat.  Spray with Pam and add one tortilla.  Drizzle lightly with EVOO. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, garlic powder and Italian seasoning.  
6. After browning for 1-2 minutes, fold in half and continue to brown until all cheese is melted.  Warning: these are addicting--make extras!
7. Ladle soup into bowls and top with pasta.  I like to keep it separate so the noodles don't get soggy for leftovers later. 

Craving more soup to use those garlic bread dippers in?  Here's more Simple Soups!

• Italian Sausage + Lentil Soup
• Roasted Tomato + Red Pepper 
• Chicken & Dumpling Soup  
• Broccoli Cheddar  
• Loaded Baked Potato

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Cook Once, Eat Twice: Lasagna Shells

Some weeks are busier than others.  I like having a stocked freezer to fall back on when there isn't much time to think about preparing dinner. 

This veggie filled, meat sauce is a perfect freezer food.  By adding the veggies, you can make a huge pot of sauce with only 1 pound of lean ground beef.  Money saver!  This sauce is also perfect with ground turkey.

You can make two large batches of these lasagna shells and freeze one, or just freeze the sauce alone.  We tend to eat pasta once a week, so I used the rest of our sauce the other day. 

Stuffed in these shells is a spinach-cheese sauce and it's topped with the meat sauce, just like a lasagna.  I only use 1 cup of shredded cheese on top to save some calories.  After this rough winter, I need to get back on track!

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 box of large shells, cooked 4-5 minutes until very firm al dente (only cook half of the box if you plan to freeze the other half of the sauce)
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  

For the sauce:

• 2 cups of chopped veggies. I used 1/2 cup each, chopped: carrots, green pepper, mushroom and zucchini.
• 1 pound lean ground beef (93/7)
• Optional: 2 Italian sausage links
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jar pasta sauce
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• Salt and Pepper to taste

For the filling:

• 1 box frozen spinach, defrosted and drained well
• 1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese
• 1 tablespoon pesto
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
• 2 teaspoons Parmesan cheese
• 1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg

1. In a large sauce pot, brown and drain meat over medium heat.  Set aside.
2. Circle the pan with olive oil (about 1 teaspoon) and add veggies, onion and garlic.  Cook 3-4 minutes at medium high.  Return meat to pan.
3. Add tomato paste and Italian Seasoning.  Heat for 1 minute.  Add jar of sauce, saving 1/4 cup for bottom of shells pan.   Allow to bubble on low heat while making shells.
4. Preheat oven at 375.
5. In a medium bowl, mix spinach filling ingredients.  Set aside.  
6. Pour reserved 1/4 cup pasta sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan.  Set up a shell filling station: shells, spinach bowl, sauce then pan.  Makes it easier!
7. Put 1 teaspoon spinach mixture in bottom of a shell, top with 1 teaspoon of meat sauce.  Place in pan.  Repeat until pan is full.  Top with more sauce and mozzarella cheese.
8. Bake covered for 20 minutes.  Uncover and bake for 5 more minutes.

I like to serve this with a simple Italian salad and garlic bread for dipping.  For the salad, use your favorite greens with veggies, peperoni and Caesar croutons.  So simple, yet the flavors are bold!

My girls love any pasta dish, but this got a huge thumbs up with Gabby.  I don't make special salads for the kids, I just give them what we're having.  If they don't like the olives or something, I let them put them to the side once they've actually tried the food.

What's your favorite easy freezer meal?