Baked Spaghetti…yum! I love this dish. It’s so easy to prepare and makes great left overs. It’s even better when served with a dash of Salty Dog Story telling. Do you remember them from camp? Suzy in the first bunk would start the story with, “once upon a time in a magical forest..”, then Jill would go next with, “there was a baby bear swimming in the water with his best friend, Joe the flying fish…”. And the story goes from there. Eventually it would get very silly and a lot of laughter would be heard before being told it was lights out.
Well, it’s time to reinstate the best type of story telling along with a little baked spaghetti to warm the belly. FYI – I like to use healthier ingredients like whole wheat pasta and turkey
To good food and great stories!
1 lb ground turkey
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 28-ounce can diced peeled tomatoes
3 cups freshly cooked whole wheat spaghetti
10 cups pre-cut spinach, frozen or fresh
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, cubed
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces) and a little extra for the top of the dish
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use Pam to lighlty coat a glass lasagna dish.
In a medium-hot skillet add olive oil and ground turkey and onion. Cook turkey until thoroughly cooked and turkey is in tiny pieces, stirring often. When turkey is almost completely cooked, add spinach. Stir frequently and cook until spinach is soft. Place in a bowl on counter. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside on counter.
In a large bowl combine spaghetti, turkey mixture and remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Place evenly in lasagna dish. Sprinkle more parmesan cheese on top if desired.
Place in oven on middle rack. Cook for 30 – 40 minutes or until ingredients are baked.
While meal is cooking, play a little Salty Dog Story. You start the story and then everyone playing gets a chance to add a line. Once you add your line the next person goes and so on. Here are a few starters to get you going.
* Once upon a time in an underwater city there was a flower with magical powers that could…
* One day Beatrice the bear was flying over the tallest mountain when she saw…
* A fish was dancing on a lily pad when in the sky he spotted…
* Petunia, the 7 foot child was reading at the library when she fell asleep and starting dreaming of…
To great imaginations!
Filed under: Dream - BB #3, For Families and Kids, Play - BB#7 | Tagged: family dinner, healthy family meals, healthy family recipes, healthy kids food, imagination, parenting, quick easy recipes, unleash kids imagination
