I have co-op electrical power with FEC. They publish and mail a monthly magazine for customers. It has good articles, but I mostly like the recipe section. A few months ago they published contest winners from the Five Ingredients or Fewer contest. I thought one especially sounded interesting and that it would be a great way to use leftover turkey. Just chop it into bite-sized pieces and skip the browning-in-a-skillet section.

I didn’t have leftover turkey, so I decided to make it with a few minor changes and additions. Below is the recipe with those changes in italics.

Mexican Pasta Bake
1/2 lb. whole-grain corkscrew pasta (1 lb.)
20 oz. lean ground turkey (1.5 lb. ground meat)
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
15-oz. can corn or Mexican corn blend, drained
3 c. chunky salsa (4 c.)
2 c. Mexican blend shredded cheese, divided (3 c. Colby-Jack Cheese)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9″x13″ casserole dish (large cast-iron skillet).
Cook the pasta in salted water until almost done, drain and reserve the pasta.

Cook the turkey (ground beef) in a skillet until thoroughly browned. Add onion, cumin, chili powder and oregano. Cook about 5 minutes. Add corn, salsa and half of the cheese. Stir to combine.

Pour into the greased casserole dish (or leave in the large skillet). Cover with foil (or large lid) and bake 35-40 minutes. During the last 10 minutes, remove the cover and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Serve garnished with jalapeños, sour cream and chopped cilantro. My version made about 8-10 servings.
For Thanksgiving, I made a yummy cranberry-onion chutney. I think it’s a terrific alternative to canned cranberry sauce.

Cranberry-Onion Chutney
4 c. onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
3 Tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. prepared horseradish
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
1-1/2 c. cranberry juice
1 lb. pkg. of fresh cranberries
1 c. golden raisins
3/4 c. sugar
1 orange, quartered and frozen

Heat oil in a Dutch oven. Add onions and cook over low heat to caramelize. When the onions start to brown, add brown sugar. Be careful as the onions brown quickly once the sugar has been added.

Add ginger, cinnamon, allspice, horseradish, vinegar and juice. Stir and cook until the cranberries pop. Add sugar and cook until the sauce thickens.

In a food processor, grate the frozen orange quarters until smaller than the size of a pea. Add to the Dutch oven and bring back to a boil.

Remove from heat and ladle the hot chutney into sterile containers and refrigerate. It should keep in the fridge for months.

It’s also fabulous on turkey sandwiches. I made a sliced turkey, Havarti cheese and cranberry-onion chutney panini sandwich. It was delish!