AN ITALIAN KIND OF NIGHT …..SI! SI! #PENNE PASTA/TURKEY BAKE

I knew I had ingredients for a spectacular dish. However, on this day, I was  a tad indecisive on what to prepare for supper. The previous evening before I ventured for work, I placed some chopped turkey on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for thawing. Thought I would whip up some curried balls.

But now on the day of reckoning, my palate and I didn’t feel like doing a repeat performance. At a quick glance on the counter, I spotted some juicy and super-red tomatoes.

Got four of them a few days ago at the produce aisle of my store for $1.99. Thought they were a fairly good bargain; so, I brought them home and placed same on the counter top. Used up one in its natural form. I chopped up same and drizzled a little olive oil and a pinch of salt/pepper to taste along with crushed garlic. This was topped on a piece of crusty warm bread. I was in heaven.

So, the remainder of my three tomatoes perched there as if to say, “What’s wrong with us? Are we chopped liver?” Immediately an idea came to my head. I decided on a homemade tomato sauce that screamed Italian. An amalgamation was in mind. Clearly, it was looking to be an Italian kind of night.

A scan of the pantry yielded quite a find. Nestled between the shell and linguine pastas was my whole grain penne pasta. On close inspection, I learned that there was enough to make my international dish.

I was in business, with all my main ingredients assembled, I went to work.

In a hot skillet, a little olive oil was drizzled and ground turkey was added. The spices and seasoning added were salt, black pepper, and dried oregano/basil. As soon as turkey took on its brown hue, chopped onion, garlic, thyme, bell peppers were added to skillet for more flavoring. This was then set aside in a bowl.

In a separate sturdy skillet, finely chopped onions,bell peppers were added to a drizzle of olive oil. These were seasoned along with salt and black pepper. It was time, I added my chopped tomatoes and four diced olives for more flavors. My sauce called for a little more tomatoes, so, once again, I raided my pantry and  found a can of diced tomatoes.

So, I let it work for me. With the sprinkle of a little dried oregano, basil and a pinch of sugar, my tomato sauce was all done.

Penne pasta was cooked in salted water in al dente form. This was then drained making sure to reserve a little water in case I needed for later. Pasta and sauce were then added to chopped turkey. I tossed in my shredded cheddar cheese and folded all the ingredients.

All ingredients were combined and placed in a greased baking dish. A sprinkle of a little more cheese, bread crumbs and olive oil were mixed. That was added on the top of Italian Penne bake and placed in a heated oven at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.

Guys, this was my Italian Penne bake. And, I was over the moon about this delicious dish.