Turkey Tetrazzini/Casserole

As a continuation of my quest to find good recipes for leftover turkey, I made this.

Honestly, this was my first experience whatsoever with a "Tetrazzini" -- I just looked up the term, and even though I based this on a recipe called Turkey Tetrazzini, I don't think the name really applies here.

At any rate, this was a winner in our house! I had my doubts at first, but seriously, with pasta and cream of chicken soup, how bad could it really be?! Food snobs, please don't answer that.

Turkey "Tetrazzini" -- or we can just call it a Casserole

8 oz dry pasta of choice -- I used tri-colored rotini & I would do it again!
1 cup broccoli, steamed/boiled until tender but several minutes from mushy (or frozen broccoli, thawed)
1 cup cubed cooked turkey
1, 10.75 oz can cream of chicken soup
1 cup water
1/2 tsp chicken bouillon
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/3 cup shredded cheese of choice (I used a "fiesta mix" with cheddar, jack, ...? anyway, it worked.)
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Cook pasta per package instructions. Drain and place into 9x9 glass baking dish.
3. Arrange broccoli on top of pasta in baking dish. Add turkey on top of broccoli.
4. In a medium saucepan, combine cream of chicken soup, water, bouillon (alternately, use chicken broth in place of water & bouillon), celery, and garlic powder. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and pour as evenly as possible over pasta/broccoli/turkey.
5. Sprinkle cheese evenly on top. Lastly, sprinkle bread crumbs over the cheese.
6. Bake for 25 minutes at 350°F. Serve hot with a glass of cold milk!

"Swedish" weekend, pt. 1

For our wedding last year, Thomas' cute cousin, Sarah, was able to travel to the States from Sweden to attend. She wrote out some Swedish recipes for us that we finally tried out recently! The recipes were originally written using metric measurements, which was fine for us because Sarah also gave us some special measuring cups. Most of our readers probably do not have access to them, though, so we will share the American measurements as well.

The first in our 3-part series is a dish that a lot of people probably associate with Sweden: Swedish meatballs! These were so yummy, and although the recipe made a lot, we didn't have leftovers for very long!

Swedish Meatballs
500 g (1.1 lb) ground beef (or other meat of your choice)
1 dl (about 6 3/4 Tbsp) breadcrumbs
1 1/2 dl (about 2/3 cup) milk
1 1/2 tsk (about 1 1/2 tsp) salt
1 1/2 krm (about 1/4 tsp) pepper
1 egg
2 msk (about 2 Tbsp) chopped onions, caramelized

1. Combine milk and breadcrumbs. Let soak 10 minutes.
2. Add salt and meat, mixing carefully.
3. Add pepper, egg, and caramelized onions. Mix until well combined. Do not over-mix, or your meatballs may have a rubbery texture.
4. Form small (1 1/2") balls from the meat mixture. Fry at a medium low heat.

Easy Dinner

The other day, I needed a meal that would not take long to prepare, and that could sit in the oven for an hour or longer while I went visiting teaching. I would have a short time between work and my appointment, and by the time I finished, Thomas would be home and we'd both be hungry. Considering ingredients I had at home, I decided to make this:

Breaded Baked Chicken Breasts

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (or other chicken parts of your choice), thawed with fat etc. removed
about 1/2 cup bread crumbs (we used Italian-seasoned)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1-2 eggs, beaten
a little bit of butter

1. Mix bread crumbs and parmesan cheese in a shallow bowl.  Beat eggs in a second shallow bowl.
2. Once your chicken breasts are prepared as indicated above, dip them individually, first into the eggs, then into the bread crumb mixture. Once coated, repeat.
3. Place into small, lightly greased baking dish. For 2-3 chicken breasts, I use a glass loaf pan.
4. Put a little bit of butter on top of each chicken breast.
5. Bake at 350° for an hour, until juices run clear/chicken is no longer pinkish/translucent inside.
6. Serve chicken on its own with a healthy side (we chose green beans) or topped with your favorite marinara sauce. The first time I made this I had some leftover homemade marinara sauce that complimented the breaded chicken very well.

oxox