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!!

Turkey Burgers by JoAnna

My sister, JoAnna, made these burgers some time last summer. They looked so good, that I asked her if I could share them with you!!
Here's her post:
"I have to brag a bit. I made these awesome turkey burgers last night. I felt like Bobby Flay would be so proud of me! I made burgers as though we were making turkey meatloaf, and instead of heating up the oven, we heated up the grill--ohhhhh. We used a french loaf as the bun and instead of lettuce, I used some yummy cilantro. Yummy to my tummy!"

BTW: This is our 100th post!! Yay for us!!

SPICED TURKEY EMPANADA

my 7 year old love helping me make this one!

1/2 pound white-meat ground turkey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon sweet chili powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 can (15 ounce) diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup green or black olives, chopped
2 tablespoon chopped pickled jalapeños (optional)
Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 pound raw frozen pizza dough, defrosted in the microwave or overnight in the fridge.

Heat oven to 400°F. Sprinkle turkey with salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Cook turkey, breaking up with a spoon, until brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, olives and jalapeños. Cover; reduce heat to low. Simmer until turkey is cooked through and tomatoes are soft, 3 to 4 minutes.

Coat a large cookie sheet with cooking spray. Cut dough into 4 equal portions. Pull dough into 4 flat disks, each 8 inches in diameter. Top each round with 1/2 cup turkey filling. Fold dough in half and fold bottom edge over top. Press closed. Transfer to cookie sheet and coat empanadas with cooking spray. Bake until dough is firm and golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store empanadas in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

kid friendly: leave jalapeno's out

budget friendly: use ground turkey with both dark and light meat

self magazine march 2008 Jennifer Iserloh