Spaghetti a la Jayden

One hot, summer day, my oldest wanted to help make dinner 'for me'. He planned what he wanted to make, shopped for it, and the result was delicious! I am so pleased that he wants to learn to cook and show love through the meals we make for others.

Browning the ground turkey - most of the meals that call for ground beef anymore, we make with ground turkey. But you can use ground beef or pork, or sausage... 

Whatever sounds good to you!

Our neighbor sent some basil over that very morning. And fresh basil makes everything better!

The final product! It was delicious!

Here's our kid-friendly recipe, in case you have kids who would like to cook 'for you'!

Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

1 lb ground turkey
1 jar favorite pasta sauce
Salt & Pepper
1 bunch basil leaves, chopped
12 oz spaghetti noodles, or favorite pasta
parmesan cheese

1. Brown your seasoned ground turkey, add pasta sauce and let simmer for 20-30 minutes. My son added a special ingredient to add more flavor (he peppered the ground turkey a little more than I would have).

2. Prepare your noodles according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.

3. Plate your pasta and sauce, however you love! Top with parmesan cheese. Serve!

4. Make sure your child cleans up the dishes, too... It's not a labor of love without the clean-up!!

Blueberries, Blueberries, Blueberries!!

I don't know about you but I've got a TON of blueberries right now. My M-I-L is a gardener and boy oh boy are my kids happy (and regular), thanks to her berry-growing-skills! My garden yielded about 5 peppers, 4 radishes, and enough lettuce for two salads. Yup, I'm not saving ANY money there yet. Husband says at this rate we should break even on the investment in 2030.
Anyhoo, I digress...
Here's the yummiest blueberry bars that I renamed for the excellent buttery flavor. I used good quality (in other words: double the price) butter that is actually YELLOW!
Worth. Every. Penny.
Here ya go, try to save some for the rest of your family:


Blueberry Butter Bars

1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest and juice of one lemon
4 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch
Preheat oven to 375 & grease a 9x13 pan.
Mix together the sugar, flour, baking powder, lemon zest, & salt. Cut in the cold butter with either a pastry blender or a food processor (pulse until crumbly).
Press half into the pan.
In a separate bowl, mix together the remaj ing 1/2 C sugar, corn starch, lemon juice, & blueberries. Pour on top of the uncooked crust, then top with the rest of the crumb mixture.
Bake for 45 minutes (this took 55 in my boo-tay oven).
Enjoy!
--Elisabeth


-Courtesy to Smitten Kitchen