Cheesy Turkey Noodle Casserole

Plan Z Phase: This is a Z3.5 (ZReboot 3.5) recipe. This dish can be made with chicken or is a perfect way to use up leftover turkey from the holidays.

And yes, I did say noodle! A normal portion of noodles is 2 ounces. Most noodles, rice and pasta all come in around 40 grams of carbs for 2 ounces. That’s WAY too many carbs. In this recipe you’re going to use 3 ounces of pasta for SIX portions. So that’s more like 6.6 grams of carbs per person. That’s a reasonable amount to eat on occasion. Just keep an eye on the scale.

Ingredients:

  • 3 ounces of noodles, (estimate 1.5 cups uncooked) cooked and drained. It depends on which noodles you choose. I used wide egg noodles.
  • 4 – 5 cups of cooked meat chunks or shreds (turkey or chicken)
  • 2 tsp of your favorite meat rub*
  • 1 Tbl of olive oil
  • 2 Tbl of butter
  • 1 pound of fresh mushrooms (you choose your favorite)
  • 1 onion thinly sliced into half-moon shaped rings
  • ½ cup of cream
  • ¼ cup of wine (if you don’t cook with alcohol just use chicken broth)
  • 12 ounces of gruyere cheese, grated
  • paprika for dusting

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Take out your 9″ x 13″ casserole dish. Spray with butter spray. Place your cooked noodles in the bottom. The noodles will just cover the bottom of the dish. In a bowl, put in the cooked meat. Toss it with your favorite rub. Spread the meat over the noodles.

In a large sauté pan add the oil and butter. Melt and then add the mushrooms and the onion. Cook on medium high until the mushrooms just begin to brown on the edges. You want some of the mushroom liquid to cook off. Add the wine and the cream. Cook for five more minutes on a bubbly medium high to thicken the sauce just a bit. This is a sloppy casserole.

Season with grated sea salt and pepper (optional).  Pour the mushroom and onion mixture over the meat. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes to heat it all up. Take the casserole out and spread the Gruyere over the top. Bake for 20 more minutes. Take it out of the oven and sprinkle on paprika to give it a bit of color. It’s not a colorful casserole but it is warm and homey comfort food. I serve this in bowls. You can eat it while watching a movie just by holding the bowl in your hand and digging in with your fork.

Enjoy!

Cheers,

*You can make this casserole with any meat rub and change the flavorings. For example if you use a lemon pepper rub you’ll have a very Midwestern flavored casserole. But you can use a Mexican rub and make it a southwestern flavored casserole. You can use Italian seasoning and make an Italian casserole. You get the idea. Don’t be afraid to use a meat rub for beef or even fish in this dish. Just choose your favorite.