Veggie and Turkey Rotini Bake

turkey, veggie, rotini pasta bake

I love pasta. I make some or other pasta atleast once a week if not more. I like pasta because it is easy to make, I can load it up with a ton of veggies and it is very fulling at the same time. 90 percent of the time, I make it with veggies alone. But today, I added in some ground turkey along with the vegetables. For this recipe, it is faster if you are a multitasker with the stove. One burner for the pasta, one for the veggies and the other for the turkey.

Software
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• 3 cups garden rotini pasta
• 1/2 lb lean ground turkey
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 large green pepper, chopped
• 1 small zucchini, chopped
• 10 button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1 tsp dried italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• red pepper flakes, to taste
  
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3-4 green onions, finely chopped to garnish
  

Hardware
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• one small skillet
• one pan to cook the sauce
• one saucepan to cook the pasta
• 3 qt oven proof dish
  

Method
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• Boil water in the saucepan for the pasta, cook until al dente. Drain, set aside.
• Meanwhile, heat the pan for the pasta sauce to medium heat, add 1 tbsp of the olive oil, add in the onion, fry for a couple of minutes, then add in the garlic.
• Once the onions are translucent, add the peppers and the zucchini, the salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, italian seasoning and the basil.
• After the peppers and zucchini are a little soft, add in the mushrooms.
• After a minute or so, add the pasta sauce. Heat through. Turn off the heat.
  
• Put the skillet on medium heat, add in the other tbsp of olive oil, and add the ground turkey to the pan. Break the turkey with a spoon and cook until well cooked through (about 4-5 min).
  
• Combine the pasta, the veggie sauce and the turkey. Put this mixture in the 3 qt. dish and top it with the cheese.
  
• Bake in a 350 degrees oven for 10 min.
• Serve while hot.