Boy oh boy, if you liked the Greenie Casserole hot dish, then you are gonna love this one! It is such a complete meal with all the necessary protein & carbs. It was my first experience working with Tofu, guess what, it tasted great. This would be nice to take on a picnic or to really impress someone. It’s a very colorful/pretty looking pasta salad.

INGREDIENTS:

 

• 1 Box Rainbow Pasta or Whole Wheat Pasta (precooked, slightly firm). Do not over cook, if too soggy, they’ll mush up when stirring later.
• 1 block Firm Tofu (remove from container & rinse it off).
• 1-2 cups Lima Beans (frozen).
• 1 cup Garbanzo Beans (canned & rinsed thoroughly).
• 2+ Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar (*see below for more info).
• 1/4 to 1/2 bottle of ‘Paul Newman’s Own Creamy Caesar Dressing’
  (**see below for more info).

  Whatever vegetables you wish to add, I use the following:

• 1 medium Bell Pepper.
• 2 small Carrots.
• 1 medium Cucumber.
• 2 small Tomatoes.
• Spices: Italian Seasoning, Black Pepper, & Celery Salt (careful).

YOU WILL NEED A HUGE MIXING BOWL.

Preparation:
Dice up all the vegetables. I have one of those hand crank choppers, it’s a life saver!
For the more harder veggies like the bell pepper, carrots, & lima beans, I precook them slightly in the microwave (add a bit of water). Do not overcook, just cook enough keeping them slightly crisp (drain off liquid). Freeze cool them in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.

In the giant bowl, add cooled down cooked veggies & lima beans, then add all remaining veggies. Add cooled off/rinsed pasta, add tofu, & all the spices. Stir it all up. Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour, then serve. Enough to feed a small army or 2 Joe’s

* When it comes to using Balsamic Vinegar, it can be deceiving. When you first pour it in, it smells & tastes like vinegar. After you mix everything up & the dish sits for a bit, it begins to take on it’s nutty flavor (what it’s known for). You definitely want to add to taste, I happen to use quite a bit.

This is one of our favorite dishes, it really tastes like it’s all made from scratch! This recipe is quite a bit like our Turkey Pasta Pesto, with a tasty sauce twist.

Ingredients:
Turkey Links Italian Sweet Sausage (sold in a package by the fresh chicken).*
Whole Wheat Pasta ‘Penne’ (use 3/4 of the box) – I use the brand ‘Ronzini Healthy Request’.
Bertolli “Tomato & Basil’ (26 oz.) Found on the Ragu aisle. This is an excellent tasting sauce!
1 can (8 oz.) Tomato Sauce ‘No Salt’
Parmesan Cheese or Skim Milk Mozzarella slices
You will need a casserole baking dish, approx. 9” x 13”. Slightly grease the bottom & sides. I use olive oil for greasing pans

Set oven @ 350°

1.) Remove the skin from the sausage, fry it like hamburger, chopping it up as it cooks till well done. To remove the skin without any mess, I will wear a surgical glove.

2.) While turkey sausage is cooking; boil up the pasta, drain & rinse with cool water.

3.) After cooking the turkey sausage & pasta. Add the turkey to the pot of pasta, add the whole jar of Bertolli sauce, & add the can of tomato sauce. Mix well & add mixture to the casserole baking dish.

4.) Sprinkle top with parmesan cheese or add a few slices of the mozzarella.

Bake for 30-45 minutes, until top is slightly crispy. Serves 6+

*I now purchase turkey/chicken meat and the chicken Italian Sweet Sausage from stores such as Sprouts’s or Sunflower Market. It really does taste so much better, plus, it’s free of steroids & other additives.

Serves 4 to 6

With this recipe, once you get the turkey & noodles cooked, then it only takes 15 minutes to cook it up & serve.

• 1 lb. White Turkey Breast – extra lean, I use the brand ‘Jennie-O’.
• Whole Wheat Pasta (use 3/4 of the box) – I use the brand ‘Ronzini Healthy Request’.
• It’s up to you which noodle to use. For this recipe, I use either the Elbow or the Penne pasta, or I might even break up the spaghetti noodles into smalpieces.
• 2 cans (8 oz. each) Tomato Sauce ‘No Salt’
• 1 Tbsp. BasiPesto ‘Bertolli’ – find it on the Ragu spaghetti aisle. Comes in 8 oz. size. (the basipasta is high in sodium, use sparingly)
• Parmesan Cheese – sprinkle to taste.
• Optional: Garlic powder to taste.

1. In a frying pan, cook & chop up the turkey meat. If you use the very lean turkey meat, then there will be no excess oithat needs to be patted off.
2. While turkey is cooking; boil up the pasta, drain & rinse with coowater. Put pasta back into sauce pan & add ingredients.
3. Add the cooked turkey to the pasta, add the tomato sauce, pesto sauce, & parmesan cheese. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, untihot, & serve it up.