Recipe of the Week: Turkey Marinara
Recipe of the Week: Turkey Marinara
Here are a few versions of a quick one-pot no fuss meal for when you come home from work and the last thing you want to do is cook. Keep some of these staples in your cupboard, fridge and freezer for these occasions.
The photo of this recipe includes “zucchini noodles” click here for the recipe. These are a delicious and nutritious way to add a little pizazz to your meal. We’ve used these noodles in other Go Figure recipes in the past. They are a wonderful addition to any dish!
– 1 jar of store-bought marinara sauce: look at the label to get the cleanest one, without added sugar, and with low carb and sugar grams. You will only use a small quantity of this per serving, usually about ½ cup. If you want to take a bit more time, you can use canned tomato sauce and add your own seasonings, which typically costs less.
– A variety of quick-cooking veggies: onion, celery, spinach, kale, zucchini.
– A variety of turkey meat: ground turkey, sweet Italian sausage, hot Italian sausage, turkey links. Each of these will give your dish a somewhat different flavor. (Here’s a tip with the larger sausages: run a paring knife lightly down the length of the sausage. This will open the “skin” on the sausage, which you then remove. Take the meat inside and break up in pan to cook. It will cook much faster this way.)
– Fresh or grated parmesan
Sauté the firmer veggies in some olive oil. After they’ve been cooking for a few minutes add whichever meat you’re going to use. When meat and veggies are almost cooked, add sauce and leafy vegetables and heat together for a few more minutes. Serve and put a light dusting of parmesan on individual servings for a yummy, easy Italian dinner.
Cross-utilization is a great way to keep your grocery bills down. Plan your meals and food purchases so that you use up your ingredients in multiple meals so it doesn’t go to waste. With this recipe, if you buy a jar of marinara, plan a couple meals, several days apart, plus leftovers for lunch, that use the sauce in it. That way you can use it before it goes bad. You can also make extra the first time around and freeze it for completely prep-free meals.
Cheryl MacDonald Copyright 2013
