Turkey, Black Bean and Corn Casserole

I saw the following recipe in a Campbell's Soup email and it gave me an idea to work with.  The link to the original recipe is here.  Cooking with Campbell's - Black Bean Corn Turkey Chili


Ingredients

1 c dried black beans

1 1/2 c chopped turkey

1 c chopped onion  

1 c shredded carrot

1/2 c chopped celery

1 c kernel corn

1 c chicken broth

1/2 c salsa

1 tbsp chili powder

1 can tomato soup

3/4 c grated mozzarella cheese

3/4 c grated cheddar cheese

 

I used leftover turkey breast instead of the turkey hamburger in the original recipe so that changed everything.

 

I sauteed the onion and celery before mixing it with the grated carrots and frozen corn.

I used my own dried black beans instead of canned.  I washed and sorted the beans and then soaked them overnight.  I drained them and added them to the turkey - veggie mix.

I stirred in the chicken broth and chili powder.

Next I added the condensed soup and the salsa. 

I poured it into a greased casserole dish and baked it for an hour at 350°F.

Remove from oven and sprinkle on the cheese.  First mozzarella.

Then the cheddar. 

Pop back into the oven for 10 minutes for the cheese to melt and start to bubble.

 

Serve with a side salad and enjoy!

I found the casserole very tasty but slightly runny.  I had thought I might leave out the broth next time but it was great as leftovers this way.  Often casseroles get too dry when reheated, but this one actually improved as the flavours melded together. 

You could also add in green peppers.  I'm also toying with the idea of adding rice - I think I would precook the rice first though.  It was a great way to use up leftover turkey and I will be making it again. 

Thanksgiving Laughs and Carrot Tales

Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada.  We celebrate with turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie and family get-togethers.  We hope the nice weather lasts for the last long weekend of the season.  Crisp leaves, no school, football games and more.

I love the follow clip and think about it every time I stuff a turkey.  (Even if it is Christmas clip, it gives me a laugh every Thanksgiving)

Good old Mr. Bean!  Thanks for the laughs!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 

PS   Here's a story for you.  My mom and dad came to visit earlier this year for a couple of weeks. My dad is 80 going on 25 (he can work a 25 year old under the table any day!)  He loved being out in the yard tilling and chipping food for the chickens among other things.  He was having fun tilling between the rows in the garden and in the chicken yard (especially the chicken yard!).


Here's my dad tilling for the chickens.

He liked to till in circles and watch them follow him.

Here are the girls eating in a circle.



My dad hasn't tilled for many years and it took a bit to get used to our tiller (it was more powerful than the smaller one he used to own).  Anyway, during his tilling fun, he tilled up most of my carrots as they were still fairly small.  Since he was having so much fun, I didn't say anything and waited until they were gone to plant more carrots.  Some of my original carrots survived the tilling and those were what I was using.  Yesterday I went out to dig up some of the carrots I had planted after he left.  I hadn't used them at all and they were basically forgotten all summer.  Well, they were huge!  Here are a few of the giants!



Turkey Noodle Casserole



We love turkey and all its trimmings.  I always make extra of everything because the leftovers are as good as the original meal.  We had turkey for Easter and after a number of days of leftovers there was still a goodly amount of turkey left so I made a turkey casserole.  I based my recipe on this link.  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Turkey-Tetrazzini/Detail.aspx

I find that most casseroles that contain pasta have a tendency to be too dry as the pasta soaks up the sauce.  Keeping this in mind, I adapted the above recipe.

Ingredients

1 900 gm pkg spaghetti

1/4 c butter

2/3 c sliced onion

1/3 c flour

4 c milk

1/2 tsp seasoning salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 pkg bacon

2 c shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

1 can sliced mushrooms

3 to 4 c cooked turkey cubed

1 can cream of mushroom soup mixed with 1 can of water

Cook spaghetti in salted water until cooked but still firm.  Drain and rinse in cold water.  Set aside.



Dice bacon and fry until crisp.  Drain and set aside.

Cube leftover cooked turkey.  Set aside.

Grate cheddar cheese and set aside.



Melt butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender. Blend in the flour  then gradually add milk stirring so no lumps form. Season with seasoning salt, pepper and paprika. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and add 1 cup cheese and mushroom soup mixture, stirring until cheese melts. 

Stir the drained spaghetti with the sauce.

Add the cubed turkey. 

Add mushrooms.

Add bacon.

Stir well to mix all ingredients.

Pour into a large buttered casserole dish or roaster.  (I usually use a roaster for most casseroles so there is no chance of the sauce bubbling over.)

Sprinkle on the remaining cheese.

 Cook at 350F for about 30 minutes until sauce is bubbly and cheese is melted. 

Serve with a green salad and enjoy!