Turkey & Eggplant Lasagna

Lasagna is definitely one of the most classic Italian dishes and one I don't make often enough. I wanted to try my hand at creating a slightly healthier version by substituting ground beef with turkey and replacing half the amount of noodles with sliced eggplant to cut the carbs.

Makes: 10 servings

Ingredients

16 oz. lean ground turkey (cooked)
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 large eggplant, cut lengthwise into 1/3-inch slices
3 lasagna noodles (cooked)
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
 36 oz. tomato & basil pasta sauce
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup Italian breadcrumbs

Extras
9x13 baking dish
 Aluminum foil

What To Do
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil drizzled with olive oil. Place the eggplant slices in a single layer on the sheet and bake for about 20 minutes until tender.

Line the baking dish with foil to save time on dish cleanup. Pour 1 cup pasta sauce in the bottom of baking dish and layer evenly with ground turkey. Sprinkle with one-third of mozzarella cheese and top with the 3 cooked lasagna noodles side by side. Repeat with pasta sauce, ground turkey mozzarella cheese and then layer with eggplant slices. Spread remainder of pasta sauce on top, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and breadcrumbs. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 35 minutes.
 

Shortcuts: the ingredients include pre-made pasta sauce, fully cooked ground turkey, and prepared lasagna noodles cooked according to directions on the package

Remove the foil, sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese on top and bake for about 10 minutes until bubbly.
 

 

Let cool before serving and ENJOY!

Delicious Recipes for Fall

I've been trying to get back into cooking "new-to-me" dishes on Sundays when I have time to get all the ingredients from the grocery store and plan accordingly. I made my first Fall-inspired recipe - eggplant parm lasagna - over the weekend and since then I've been searching for more recipes to add to my dinner menu:

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup

  

Shredded Chicken Parmesan Sandwich

Sweet Potato with Goat Cheese, Cranberries & Balsamic Glaze

New Orleans Gumbo

Firecracker Chicken Meatballs

Pan Seared Cod in White Wine Tomato Basil Sauce

Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

Pumpkin French Toast Casserole

Pumpkin Cheesecake Shooters

What's on your menu for Fall?

Easy Pumpkin Soup

Soup season is upon us and one of my favorites since childhood has been pumpkin or butternut squash soup. I randomly bought a whole pumpkin so I was able to a make a few recipes with it including the Turkey and Pumpkin Chili recipe I posted a couple weeks ago. Pumpkin soup is really easy to whip together and only requires a few basic and inexpensive ingredients.

Ingredients

4 cups chicken stock
1/2 Medium white onion
2 tbsp minced garlic
4 cups fresh cubed pumpkin
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Ground black pepper, to taste
2 tsp curry powder (optional)
1 tsp ground nutmeg
Bacon crumbles, optional

What To Do:

Bring chicken stock, 1/2 inch cubed pumpkin, chopped onion, and garlic to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes uncovered or until pumpkin is cooked through fully. Use a blender or food processor to puree the soup carefully. Return puree soup to pot on medium heat and add whipping cream, black pepper, curry powder, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil and then simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes. Garnish with bacon crumbles, peppercorns or fresh parsley.

Enjoy!

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Fall Ground Turkey and Pumpkin Chili

Chili is not the prettiest food but it was very tasty and a great warm meal for Fall that also goes a long way. This recipe was adapted from Trader Joe's Turkey Chili with Pumpkin recipe. The original recipe calls for 2 cans of Pumpkin but I had some fresh pumpkin at home that I wanted to incorporate it into the recipe so I used only 1 can of pumpkin.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 White Onion, diced

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1.5 lbs Ground Turkey

1 can Diced & No Salt Added Tomatoes

 2 cans 100% pure Pumpkin or
4-5 cups cubed fresh Pumpkin

1 can Kidney Beans, drained

1/2 can Whole Kernel Corn, drained

1 Orange Bell Pepper, diced

Ground Black Pepper (to taste)

Cayenne Pepper (to taste)

Optional Toppings:

Sour Cream

Shredded Cheddar Cheese

What To Do:

If you are using fresh pumpkin, preheat oven to 400 degrees F and bake the cubed pumpkin on a greased baking sheet for 25 minutes. Heat olive oil in a skillet and saute diced bell pepper and onion for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add in garlic and cook for only 1-2 minutes before adding the ground turkey. Cook turkey mixture until browned, approximately 8 minutes.

Transfer turkey mixture to a large pot and stir in pumpkin, kidney beans, corn, diced tomatoes along with black pepper and cayenne to taste. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. I added 1/2 cup water since the consistency seemed thick. Cook for 20 minutes on low stirring occasionally.

Garnish with toppings of your choice. I used light sour cream.

Enjoy!

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