Sauerkraut and Tortellini

That's what we've been eating this week.  I went to the grocery store early this week and spent a small fortune, but my goal was not to return there until hopefully after the holidays.  Well obviously, I'll need to go for fresh produce but no big shopping.  I've only cooked twice this week with Ben being gone every night practicing for the musical and we had turkey day leftovers to munch on for a couple of days.  Anywho, I thought I would share the 2 recipes we have enjoyed this week. 

The first one is a tomato artichoke pasta.  We have a tried and true tomato artichoke pasta but when I saw this recipe on Our Best Bites, I couldn't resist giving it a try.  The best part of the recipe calls for fresh pasta, and we made it better buy using cheese tortellini from Buitoni.  You can get a $1 off any Buitoni item by clicking here.

Tomato Artichoke Pasta
recipe by Our Best Bites

Extra virgin olive oil

5-6 cloves garlic, pressed

1 can diced tomatoes

3 oz. tomato paste

3 oz. white cooking wine or chicken broth

1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/2 C chopped green onions

6-7 oz. marinated artichoke hearts, chopped

1 package fresh pasta (or 1 lb. dried)

In a large saucepan, heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to boiling. When oil is hot, add garlic, green onions, and artichoke hearts. Saute until garlic is fragrant. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, wine or chicken broth, salt, and pepper. Heat through and toss with cooked pasta.

I recommend using 2 cans of diced tomatoes.  We used the Hunt's kind with italian seasoning and that helped give it extra flavor.  And of course, I'm always in favor of using white wine instead of chicken stock.  It really gives depth to the flavor.  We also used a 6 oz. can of tomato paste, this helped thicken up the sauce since we used 2 cans of the diced tomatoes. 


The next recipe sounds a little odd.  I was unsure about it since I am not a huge fan of saurkraut but I thought we give it a try.  I found this recipe in the Spring when I was still working for the nursing school at USM and one of the professors was throwing away a bunch of magazines.  During a slow day (which was pretty much everyday)  I flipped through them and came across this one.  This recipe makes a TON.  It is definitely one to make when you want leftovers for a couple of days, and it reheats very well. 

Turkey Gyro Pitas
1 lb. ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can Sauerkraut, drained & rinsed
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
salt & pepper to taste

Sauce
2/3 sour cream
3 Tbsp. Mayo
2 Tbsp. Ranch
1 half tomato, chopped
1/2 cucumber, chopped
Pita bread
Lettuce

In a large skillet, cook the turkey, onion, sauerkraut, and brown sugar until meat is no longer pink.  Drain.  While meat is cooking combine sour cream, mayo, and ranch.  Add tomatoes and cucumber to the sauce.  Preheat oven to 350.  Place pita bread on a baking sheet and place in oven for 7-8 minutes until warm.  Stuff pitas with meat, sauce, & lettuce. 

I thought this recipe sounded very interesting and I was totally unsure about it when I first read it but we really like it and it's a hearty meal.  Now, if your someone who doesn't really like the taste of ground turkey and usually only eats it when its in Chili or something that really masks the taste, I wouldn't recommend it.  Our tastebuds have become adapted to its unique flavor so we don't mind it.
 
One last thing, here's the link to the photos of Kinsley from her photo shoot at Ramblin' Rose Photography in Memphis a few weeks ago.  We had a blast doing them and the pictures are gorgeous.  Click on proofing at the bottom and the password is Kinsley.  I'm  having so much trouble deciding which ones to purchase.  Please help!

Happy Weekend!!