Clean Eating Wednesday: Turkey Tetrazzini

I am very proud of myself for blogging everyday this week. I have decided to take a little time for myself everyday to catch up with my favorite blogs and do what I do best: blog about the cooking in my kitchen. I think back about my original reasons that I started Mom on the Run and it refocuses my thoughts. I wanted to share with other busy people that you can cook great tasty meals in a short amount of time. I also wanted to document my culinary journey in my home kitchen, while experimenting with new food products. Lastly, I wanted to commit to cook the healthiest and family friendly meals as possible. So a question to my readers:

Why did you start to blog? What were some of your inspirations?

Now back to a great recipe from one of my favorite food magazines, Clean Eating.  If you have been reading my blog for a while now, you know that I have 3/4 food magazines that I find recipes to blog about. Clean Eating just recently came out with its latest issue, so of course I needed to try the new recipes right away.  The Turkey Tetrazzini recipe immediately caught my eye because it looked so family friendly. I know what your thinking: Turkey Tetrazzini and you need to be dairy free----How is this going to work? Well my bloggy friends I have found a way!

Turkey Tetrazzini

Ingredients:

2 cups Skim Milk (I substituted with Mimic Cream- Dairy Free Alternative)

1 cup of low-sodium chicken broth

3 Sprigs fresh thyme

1/4 tsp whole peppercorns

1 bay leaf

1 slice of yellow onion

12 oz whole-wheat pasta, preferably spaghetti

Olive Oil cooking spray

1 lb boneless, skinless turkey breast, cubed

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

1 medium yellow onion. diced

1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed

1 4 oz can no-salt-added sliced mushrooms(I omitted due to my dislike of mushrooms)

2 tbsp fresh thyme, minced

1 tsp olive oil

3 tbsp whole wheat flour

2 tbsp of low fat parmesan cheese, shredded (I used Almond Cheese)

1/2 tsp paprika

Fresh ground black pepper

1/4 cup of panko

Instructions:

In a medium-sized stockpot, add milk, broth, thyme sprigs, peppercorns, bay leaf, and slice of onion.

My secret ingredient: MimicCreme (more about this product at a later date)

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn heat off, cover, and let sit for 15 minutes. Strain and set milk-stock mixture aside.

Cook Pasta accordingly to package directions. Strain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Mist with cooking spray. Sauté turkey until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.

Add carrot and diced onion, and sauté until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add peas and mushrooms, and sauté for 2 more minutes. Add minced thyme and remove from heat.

Heat a medium- size stockpot over medium-high heat. Add and stir together oil and flour to create a thick paste.

Whisk in milk-stock mixture, adding a 1/4 cup at a time so it thickens slowly.

Stir in turkey-vegetable mixture. Remove from heat and toss with cooked pasta and cheese. Season with paprika and pepper.

My new favorite food find/ingredient:

Pour pasta mixture into an 8 cup casserole dish. Top with bread crumbs and bake 30 minutes or until bread crumbs are lightly browned.

The cooked product:

This was a very good casserole dish. I paired this with a simple green bean. It was a very filling meal. My family had no idea that I used my dairy free alternatives in this dish. SUCCESS!!!

Plenty of leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I am tired and must get to bed. See you tomorrow night :)