Asian Lettuce Wraps

1T olive oil
1lb ground turkey
Salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 T soy sauce
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated fine (micro plane is great)
1 cup cooked rice (add more rice if you want it to stretch further; I did about 2 cups)
3 green onions, sliced
1 head lettuce of your choice
Heat oil. Add turkey, season with salt and pepper. Once cooked, remove from pan, set aside. To pan add onion and bell, cook 3-4 mins till softening, then add garlic for a minute or two.(May need a little more oil). Add hoisin, soy, ginger and the cooked turkey. Add cooked rice and green onion, heat through. Serve warm in lettuce leaves with a sprinkle of soy sauce! This is a great dish you can feel good about eating!!

Tuscan Bean Soup

This is adapted from Pinterest. Full of veggie goodness and hearty for a cold night. I added the potatoes and ground turkey, but you can omit the turkey for a vegetarian version!
2-3 T olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2-3 carrots, peeled and diced
2-3 stalks celery, diced
2 small zucchini, diced
1 yellow zucchini, diced
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp fresh rosemary roughly chopped or 1/2 tsp dried
1 qt broth
2 cans white beans, rinsed and drained (i like great northern)
1 can no-salt diced tomatoes, juice and all
2 cups kale, ribs removed and chopped
3 small potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 T sugar
1 T white wine vinegar
1 lb lean ground turkey, season with garlic salt, cook and drain, set aside

In dutch oven or large heavy pot, heat oil over med heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, zucchinis. Cook 8-10 mins.Add garlic and herbs, cook another minute. Add broth, tomatoes, and beans. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and add kale and potatoes. Cover and simmer 15 minutes till tender. Meanwhile you can cook your ground turkey and set aside till the end. At this point you can use a hand blender or regular one and blend partially leaving half unblended for texture. Add salt, pepper, sugar and vinegar. Add cooked turkey and heat through. Serve with shaved parmesan on top and some good crusty bread to dip!
*you may need more broth while potatoes cook, just eye ball it. I ended up using about another can's worth.

Greek Pastitsio

If you are craving Olive Garden, but dont have the money or want to wait an hour for a table, make this dish!! So good and less fattening too. (From http://www.melskitchencafe.com/)

12oz penne pasta
1 lb. ground turkey
1 onion, chopped fine
3-5 garlic cloves (3 good size was plenty!)minced or pressed
3/4 tsp salt
pepper
2 T flour
2 cups milk
8oz reduced fat cream cheese
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 can petite diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup mozzarella, grated
2 T fresh parsley, chopped
Heat broiler. Grease 9x13 baking dish. Cook pasta. In large skillet, cook turkey, onion and salt&pepper. Add garlic, sprinkle in flour. Add cream cheese and let melt in a little. Whisk in milk, nutmeg and tomatoes. Simmer 5 minutes. Add pasta. Pour into 9x13 and sprinkle with mozzarella. Broil 3-5 minutes till top is brown and bubbly. Remove and sprinkle with parsley. Serve. *I made bread sticks using rhodes dough and brushed with butter, then sprinkled garlic powder and parmesan. so good!

Virginia's baked spaghetti

This is amazingly comforting and ooey gooey cheesy...perfect for a cold blustery day- shame it was 97 degrees out when i made this!!! Make it tonight.

16oz pkg spaghetti noodles, cooked and drained
2 (24oz) jars prego spaghetti sauce
2 lbs ground beef or turkey, cooked and drained
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup parmesan
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
12oz can evaporated milk
3 cups shredded cheddar (medium or sharp)
Combine cooked noodles, cooked meat, and spaghetti sauce in a large bowl or pot. Set aside. Melt butter in saucepan, add flour, parmesan, salt and garlic powder, whisking till smooth and bubbly. Add canned milk and 1 cup cheddar, stir till thickened and smooth. Pour half the noodle mixture into a greased 9x13. pour all of the cheese sauce over. Then add other half noodles, then remaining 2 cups cheddar over top. Bake for 30 mins till hot and bubbly at 350.
This serves 12, so it makes lots and awesome leftovers!

Biggest Loser Mini Turkey Meat Loaves

The Biggest Loser was so good this season! Our family was hooked. The show introduced this recipe and I went online to try and find it. Here it is with some changes made to my liking. It's so good and packed full of healthy stuff!

2 lbs ground turkey
1 lg. onion, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and grated
3/4 c oats
3 egg whites
salt and pepper

Topping:
1/2 c ketchup
2 T brown sugar (can use splenda or raw sugar)
2 t lemon juice

-Mix top portion of ingredients in bowl until thoroughly combined.
-Spray muffin tins and put 1/3 c mixture into each well (or just to the top).
-Bake at 350 for 20 minutes for standard size muffin cups.
-Meanwhile, combine topping ingredients in small bowl and set aside.
-Remove meat loaves from oven and spoon topping over each meat loaf. Return meat loaf to the oven and continue to bake for an additional 10 minutes.
-Let meat loaf stand for 5 minutes before serving.
-Makes about 15 mini loaves.

Artichoke Stuffed Shells

You know how you can sometimes look at a recipe and just tell that it's going to be yummy by the list of ingredients? Well that's how I felt about his recipe, and sure enough it was excellent! A keeper! I couldn't find frozen artichokes so I used canned-NOT marinated, but in salt water. Christian had fun helping me stuff the shells. It was great! (they don't photo very well though! Ü)

1 (12 oz) box jumbo pasta shells
3 T olive oil
1 med. onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 t kosher salt, plus 1/2 t
1/4 t fresh ground pepper, plus 1/4 t
1 (8-10 oz) pkg. frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and coarsely chopped
1 (15 oz) ricotta cheese
3/4 c fresh parmesan
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 c fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 T fresh parsley, chopped
1 (26 oz) jar marinara or spaghetti sauce
1 1/2 c grated mozarella

-Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook shells according to package.

-Meanwhile, in large skillet over med-high heat add oil, onions, and garlic. Cook until onions are soft and starting to brown. Add ground turkey, 1/2 t salt, and 1/4 t pepper and continue to cook until done. Add artichoke hearts and stir to combine. Remove from heat and cool.

-In large bowl combine the cooled turkey mixture, ricotta, parmesan, eggs, basil, parsley, and the remaining salt and pepper. Mix well.

-To stuff shells, cover bottom of 9X13 dish with pasta sauce (about a cup). Stuff shells well with turkey mixture and place in rows in dish. Drizzle with remaining pasta sauce and top with mozarella.

-Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes or until cheese is beginning to brown.

-Makes about 24 shells.