Thursday, January 21, 2010


Here is one of my simple “go to” meals that I can whip up very quickly. When I was in school recently working on my bachelor’s degree I didn’t have a lot of time on my hands to cook sometimes, so I developed some go to meals that I could fix quickly with a small number of prepackaged ingredients.

Ingredients

1 lb Ground Turkey
14.5 oz French cut Green Beans
1 pkt Brown Gravy mix
1 cup pasta (your choice)
1/2 cup Shredded Carrots
1/14 cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

For Flavor (to taste)
Salt
Pepper
Seasoning Salt
Cilantro

I take a pound of ground turkey and brown it in a skillet adding seasoning to taste. I keep it simple and use salt, pepper, cilantro and Lawry’s Seasoning Salt. The seasoning may see a bit heavy but I noticed that turkey is very bland if not sufficiently seasoned. While the turkey was cooking I mixed one packet of brown gravy mix with 1/4 cup of water. This is less than the mount listed on the package. I wanted the gravy to coat the turkey but not be watery.

Once the turkey is browned I add in a 14.5oz can of french cut green beans and let them heat up in the skillet with the turkey.


Now here is where I vary sometimes. The type of pasta I add depends on what I have on hand or what I have a taste for. I have used egg noodles, elbow macaroni, bow tie or other pasta in the mix. This time I cooked 1 cup (measured before cooking) of spiral pasta according to the instructions on the box.

Then I added the pasta, shredded carrots and shredded sharp cheddar cheese to the turkey and green bean mix.

And there you go ground turkey pasta mix.


I know it’s simple but sometimes simple is the way to go.

4 comments:

Lia Chen said...

Oishii!! I love the simple yummy food ... easy to prepare, less hassle :)

Susan Yuen said...

Great idea to use the package gravy mix. I all for one pot meals, they are such great comfort foods and easy to make. Looks delicious!

Marisa Lyn said...

Thanks Lia, it is oishii. I started making this when I was still in school last year. It was something easy and quick to make which was really helpful because I had so much studying to do.

Marisa Lyn said...

Thanks Susan, I found that keeping these packaged gravys and other mixes was a lot easier and took up less space in my pantry then jars or cans. Also I can make a gravy thicker to have a sauce like in this recipe unlike with a pre-made jar or canned gravy.