Cheesy Turkey Pasta Bake
Have you had leftover turkey from Thanksgiving that you didn’t know what to do with? I did! I had a ton of turkey that I was so sick of eating and I was so sick of looking at. I considered throwing it out but Kenny insisted that it was the best turkey that I’ve ever made…like ever. I didn’t have the heart to chuck the bird that changed Kenny’s mind about turkey. So…last week, I browsed Pinterest for some pinspiration but I found no leftover turkey recipes that seemed appetizing to me. I went back to the drawing board and explored the refrigerator hoping for some divine inspiration. At the time, I didn’t have much to work with since we hadn’t really been grocery shopping and we were pretty much living off of leftovers. After thinking for a few minutes, I came up with something that my family thoroughly enjoyed and was a pretty good transformation of that leftover turkey. Here’s the recipe. I hope you enjoy it!
- 3 cups cooked turkey (or chicken) shredded
- 16 oz cooked rotini pasta (elbows or any other small pasta would work well)
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- salt & pepper to taste
- [br][b]Bechamel Sauce[/b]
- 5 tbsp butter
- 4 tbsp all purpose flour
- 4 cups milk
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- [b]To make the bechamel sauce:[/b]
- In a medium saucepan, heat the butter until it’s just melted.
- Whisk the flour in a tablespoon at a time to avoid lumps.
- Cook the flour and butter mixture over a medium heat until it turns a light golden color (about 5-6 minutes).
- In a separate pot, heat the milk just until it is about to boil.
- Add the hot milk to the butter/flour mixture, 1 cup at a time, whisking until it is smooth.
- Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring continuously so that the sauce does not burn.
- Remove from heat.
- Add parmesan, salt, and pepper to taste.[br]
- [b]To assemble casserole:[/b]
- In a small bowl, mix together the panko,1/2 cup of the grated parmesan, and parsley. Set aside.
- In a deep baking dish (I used one of my Pyrex dishes), spread half of the bechamel sauce on the bottom.
- Layer the shredded turkey on top of the bechamel sauce.
- Add half of the mozzarella on top of the turkey.
- Layer the pasta on top of the mozzarella cheese.
- Add the rest of the bechamel on top of the pasta.
- Add the rest of the mozzarella cheese.
- Top with the panko mixture.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the panko topping has browned.
