Fall is a great time for this hearty, great-tasting dish. Serve with your favorite vegetables or salad and enjoy!
Ingredients:
- approximately half of a 1 lb box of uncooked pasta of your choice (spaghetti, penne, bowtie, etc.--they will all work great!)
- 1/4 c butter (1/2 stick)
- 1/4 c flour
- 2-3 cloves of garlic (minced)
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 3 c chicken/turkey broth (homemade or store-bought)
- 2 c milk
- ~1 1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
- 3-4 c cooked, chopped turkey or chicken
- Optional: 3/4 c chopped fresh mushrooms
- Topping: 2 TBSP butter (melted), 1 c bread crumbs or crushed crackers, and 1/3 c grated Parmesan cheese. Mix together.
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly spray a 9x13" baking dish with canola/vegetable oil.
- Prepare pasta according to package directions but reduce cooking time by 2-3 minutes. Drain and place in prepared baking dish. Add the cooked, cubed turkey/chicken (and mushrooms, if adding); gently mix in with the pasta.
- In a medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter over low-medium heat. Once melted, add the minced garlic and cook for ~ 1 minute. Add the flour and whisk together. Cook for ~ 1 minute, or until bubbly. Gradually stir in the turkey/chicken stock and milk. Increase heat to medium and heat/stir until the mixture begins to bubble. Remove from heat and add in the freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Add parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste. (if using homemade, unsalted stock, you will probably need ~2 to 3 tsp of salt; it may seem too salty, but keep in mind that it will be seasoning plain pasta and meat).
- Pour the sauce over the noodles and turkey/chicken.
- Spread the crumb topping evenly over the noodle-meat-sauce mixture.
- Bake for ~25 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.