MEATY MACARONI BAKE

And Welcome back to Around the Kitchen.

A complete INDEX to all of our recipes can be found HERE

    

As you probably know, Penny and I like to visit the Friends of the

Library Book Store and look thru all the cookbooks that have been 

donated.

You can always pick up some bargains and get some good recipes.

Today's dinner comes from one of those bargains.

Tonight, we are making a Meaty Macaroni Bake.

Let's get into it.

2 lbs. Ground Beef (We used Brisket)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 Garlic Clove, minced (we used 2)

1 jar (14 ounces) spaghetti sauce (we used homemade)

1 Cup of water

1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

½ tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper (we used ½ tsp)

2 eggs, beaten

¼ Cup Vegetable oil

1 package (7 ounces) elbow macaroni (cooked and drained)

2 cans (4 ounces each) mushroom stems and piece, drained

1 CUP (4 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ Cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 Cup Soft Breadcrumbs (we used Panko)

Additional mozzarella cheese if needed (it was)

In addition, we ADDED

2 pucks of Pesto

1 TBL Italian herbs

3 Bay leaves

In a large skillet cook the beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat

until meat is no longer pink.

Drain the grease. I like to use paper towels to soak up the grease. 

Much safer

Add the spaghetti sauce, water, tomato sauce, tomato paste

Add the rest of the spices.

Bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered for about 10 minutes.

In a bowl, combine the eggs, oil, cooked macaroni, mushrooms, 

cheeses and breadcrumbs.

Spoon into a 3 qt. baking dish. 

Top with the meat mixture.

I saved some and put it into another pan for freezing.

When it cools, I'll throw it in the freeze box.

Back to the main meal 

Bake uncovered (I covered ours) for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Hey kids, what time is it?

Sprinkle with additional cheese (I put cheese on the top before 

baking)

Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. 

So, how was it you ask.

It was delicious! I could have made a better presentation, but it was late, and we were famished.

I loved what the Breadcrumbs added to the dish. It held everything together. I am also glad we added a few 'extra' spices. The pesto really made a difference.

So, I encourage you to give this a try.

You can thank me later.

That's it for this time around the kitchen. Hope to see you soon.

Be sure to visit some of my other blogs:

FRESH'S WORKSHOP  - SEE WHAT I AM BUILDING AND FIXING AROUND THE HOUSE 

BRIARWOOD - YOU CAN READ MY NOVELS

AUDIO CONSOLE - WHERE I AM BUILDING AN AUDIO MIXER

God Speed, Mother Nature

HOT TURKEY SANDWICH

 

A COMPLETE INDEX TO ALL OF OUR RECIPES CAN BE FOUND  HERE . 

Wow!!!  Has it been that long????? I am afraid it has been a while. 

So, what have I been up to???

The usual. Ham Radio, Cooking, Gardening, Woodworking, and other stuff.

I finally got the urge to cook something new and that is todays subject.

(Kinda in a hurry on this post. We have a CAT 5 Hurricane headed up our driveway.)

The boss (as in wife) and I was watching Diners Drive Inns & Dives

and we saw an interesting way of cooking Turkey.

We thought we would give it a try.

When I was a lad, we used to go to the Five and Dime

and have lunch. One of my favorites was the Hot Turkey Sandwich.

Hot and flavorful Turkey on top of bread with smashed up taters and gravy. yum yum yum. 

So, let's go into the kitchen and start creating.

What set this recipe apart is that you BOIL the turkey. 

Start with some Onions and Carrots. 

Add some Celery.

Put it all in a large pot. 

Place your Turkey on top. (We used a Turkey Breast.)

Place the Turkey Breast (take it out of the package) on top of the veggies and add some Bell's Seasoning

And some Salt and Pepper

Add water.

Bring to a boil, then lower to simmer. Cook for 1- 1 1/2 hours. Or until the breast temp is 180 degrees.

When it is done, remove from the pot and place it on a cookie sheet and cover with foil.

If you like cooked carrots, like I do, then remove them from the pot. They are right tastey......

Now you can strain the broth into a large bowl and set aside. You can also throw out the veggies. 

Now let's make the gravy.

Using a large saucepan, add a stick of butter and melt it. When melted, add some Wondra Flour. (I used about 2/3 Cup.) Start stirring to make your rough.

When it is nice and combined, start adding the strained broth one scoop at a time. Keep adding until you get the right consistency. 

Add some Turkey base 

and a bit more Bells Seasoning. I also added a bit of premade broth to augment the broth that I made.

Not you can carve up the turkey. 

On the DDD episode they put it back into the broth to heat up. (Not the gravy, the BROTH) We did not do that as I thought the hot gravy would do the trick. It did.

Serve with a side salad and mashed up taters. (And some of the cooked carrots for me.)

Looks just like the Five and Dime version. I never though you could BOIL a Turkey. Usually, we roast them in the oven, then make gravy out of the drippings. This worked out better than expected.

It tasted great and brought back a memory or two. We could have made stuffing, but we opted for the more 50's version.

And I am glad we did.

Only one issue. We had a TON of gravy left over. We had leftovers the next night, and STILL had more gravy.

I'll show you what I did with it NEXT TIME on Around the Kitchen.

God speed Mother Nature