turkey stuffed manicotti

mood: opprobrious
listening to: lorde :: glory and gore/team

instead of making excuses for not making something for a while, i'm just going to post the recipe. it's a meat-flavoured take on ricotta stuffed pasta shells, except instead of cheese stuffed into the shells, i used turkey meat.

Ingredients: 1 lb. turkey meat 1/2 yellow onion, diced i package of manicotti shells 2 tbsp. dried basil 2 tbsp. dried oregano 1 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. ground black peppercorns 1 tsp. chili powder 24 oz. spaghettic sauce 6 garlic cloves, minced 12 oz. shredded mozarella cheese 2 tbsp. olive oil

Preparation:
- pour olive oil into sauce pan and add onion. cook until slightly translucent and then remove from pan
- add turkey meat to pan and cook until meat is browned
- drain meat and add onion, garlic, basil, oregano, salt, black pepper, and chili powder
- add 1/2 of the spaghetti sauce to the meat mixture, mix thoroughly and set aside
- boil 4 quarts of water in a separate pot and add manicotti shells
- drain pot and let manicotti noodles cool
- preheat oven to 425
- in a 9x13 dish, coat with olive oil and a light layer of spaghetti sauce
- begin to pack the manicotti with the meat mixture and then place into the dish
- once dish is filled with all the stuffed shells, cover with mozarella
- put foil over dish and place in oven for 20 mins.

the ingredients in the recipe are enough for 4 people.

mexi-turkey pasta salad

mood: asphyxiated
listening to: the blood of heroes :: chains/salute to the jugger

as i've been working on different culinary masterpieces and some not-so-masterpieces, i realized that almost everything if not all of the things that i've posted here have been warm recipes. well, i decided to change things up with a recipe that could be either warm or cold, but personally... it takes a lot better cold. this is meant to be an appetizer and something to be shared by many people. it's easy, rather quick and can be adjusted to your particular fancy.

Ingredients: 16 oz. of fusilli pasta 1 tbsp, olive oil 1.25 lbs, ground turkey taco seasoning mix 24 oz. jar of salsa 8 oz. bottle of ranch dressing

1 green pepper, sliced 1 red pepper, sliced 8 green onions, chopped 4 jalapeno peppers, sliced sm. can of black olives, sliced 8 oz. of cheddar cheese

Preparation:
- in large pot, add 12 cups of water, olive oil and bring to a bowl on med-high heat; when boiling, add in fusilli and cook pasta till malleable
- in a separate pan, brown turkey meat and drain; add in taco seasoning mix; set aside and let cool
- in a large bowl, mix together salsa, ranch dressing, green onions, green/red/jalapeno peppers, cheddar cheese and olives
- when pasta is ready, drain and put pasta under cold water
- stuff cheese mixture into shells and set aside
- in large bowl or pan, mix together salsa mixture, turkey meat and pasta
- cover and place in refrigerator for an hour before serving

turkey infused sloppy joe's

mood: encouraged
listening to: snoop dogg :: sexual eruption

i decided to try my hand at an old school favorite and an american past-time. think back to your childhood and remember when you had a bad day and mom had sloppy joe's waiting for you. those messy little manifestos made my day... and of course, they were a million times better than the crap that the lunch lady used to serve in the cafeteria (see adam sandler's "lunchlady land" for further analysis). instead of going the normal route and using ground beef and mix like manwich, i wanted to see if i could concoct something just as potent and even tastier. the jury is still out, but initial results are proving positive.

Ingredients: 1 lb. ground turkey 1 red pepper, diced 1/2 yellow onion, diced 2 large garlic cloves, minced 2 in. of ginger, minced canola oil lemon juice 2 8 oz. cans of tomato sauce

1/3 bottle of barbeque sauce chili powder garam masala cajun seasoning worcestershire sauce hot sauce crushed red pepper flakes salt

Preparation:
- in small sauce pan, heat canola oil on medium heat
- add ginger and garlic and cook till slightly brown
- add onion and red pepper and cook on medium heat, sprinkle lemon juice over mixture
- in separate large pan, begin to brown turkey
- when turkey begins to brown, add in mixture from other pan and heat on medium heat
- add tomato and barbeque sauce, mix thoroughly
- add chili powder, garam masala, crushed red pepper, and worcestershire and hot sauce
- add in cajun seasoning and salt to desire and mix
- when ready, serve on hamburger bun

enjoy those childhood memories or give your children new memories to enjoy.