Recipe: Mozzarella Turkey Angel Hair Pasta

If you are staying in for Valentine's Day, this makes a wonderful special dinner for the occasion. Even as an every day dinner, it's still much cheaper than going to a restaurant.

1 lb ground turkey
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms
garlic powder
mozzarella
olive oil
butter, softened
1 box (16 oz) angel hair pasta

First, cook the ground turkey. You can substitute chicken, sausage or beef if you want. Whatever is on sale works for this one. ;)


Drain the turkey, add garlic powder and mix. Add to large-ish saucepan. Drain the tomatoes and add to saucepan.


Start the linguine, angel hair, or spaghetti (again, whatever is on sale works good, so long as it's a longer pasta)

While the pasta is boiling, saute the mushrooms in a good dose of olive oil. You can skip this step and use canned mushrooms, but fresh ends up tasting better for this one. When it's done cooking, add to the tomatoes and meat, mix it up, and cook on med-low heat.




When the pasta is done, drain, toss back into the pot, and add soft butter, mixing it in the noodles. (Yes, it adds more calories, no I don't normally butter my noodles - but trust me, it helps make the dish. If you're counting calories, you can skip it)


Start with the noodles, add the fresh mix, and top with fresh shredded mozzarella. Splurge on this one and skip the Kraft shredded cheese - use the real one from the deli. (buy it on last day marked down or at stores like Grocery Outlet to cut costs)


(I sliced a smoked mozzarella ball for ours as you can see in the photo) Serve with garlic bread or sticks, and a nice glass of wine if you drink to round out your meal.

Costs:
pasta $0.50-$1 depending on sale price
tomatoes $1-2 (FM has canned tomatoes often on sale 3/$1)
ground turkey $1.99-$2.99
fresh mushrooms $1 ($1.99 split in half for another meal)
butter $0.25
garlic powder - $0.01
olive oil $0.25
mozzarella $3 (on sale)
Total: $8 - $11, plus bread and wine