So when looking to fill my meal plan for the week, I turned this time around to Rachael's weekly meal planner, and came up with Turkey Meat Sauce. It just happened to coincide with an ENORMOUS craving for meat sauce.
While a turkey meat sauce didn't quite fill that craving (because how could it possibly compare to a rich, restaurant prepared meal, which probably uses veal, pork, and beef?), it was quite delicious, AS I MADE IT.
I trusted Rachael, and returned the can of crushed tomatoes I'd brought up from the basement back downstairs in exchange for diced tomatoes. But then I stirred them in, and this was NOT a sauce for pasta. So I went back to my gut, and made a much more saucier sauce, with some nice chunks thanks to the diced tomatoes. I added in lots of fresh basil, a teensy bit of crushed red pepper, some Italian seasoning, another clove of garlic, and came out with a pretty tasty sauce for which I could pat myself on the back as my own sort of creation.
I enjoyed this one a LOT. E enjoyed this even more, eating at least three servings. A barely touched it (though at least he didn't call it "spicy," considering I barely added any crushed pepper!), and M said it was "Not bad" (almost six years of marriage, and I'm still not used to that dig/compliment--it totally depends on his tone of voice, which makes it even more frustrating).
Spaghetti with Spicy Turkey Meat Sauce adapted from Rachael Ray
15 30 45
Ingredients
- 1 pound whole wheat spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 pound ground turkey
- Salt and black pepper
- Two 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes
- One 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped basil
- 1T Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Directions:
- In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente; drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking water.
- Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat; add the onion and cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Increase the heat to medium-high, crumble in the turkey, season with salt and black pepper and cook until the turkey is just no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and spicesand cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 15 minutes. Stir in the parsley and cheese.
- Toss the pasta with the sauce and 1/2 cup reserved pasta cooking water, adding more water to thin the consistency, if desired. Serve immediately with more cheese.
No comments:
Post a Comment