Turkey Spaghetti Pie

I wasn’t going to blog tonight, but I feel I must share with you these two recipes I made today – Turkey Spaghetti Pie and the most amazing chocolate chip cookie recipe.

I took a day off because it’s fall break for schools in Minnesota, and I really wanted to spent the day with my 8-year-old at home. You know – because I figure in just a few short years, he won’t want to spend much time with his mom at all on fall break.

We were busy — flu shots, haircut, groceries, piano practice, homework, decorating the front porch for Halloween … all were checked off the list today. Plus I even got a short run in for me. (My mind wasn’t totally with me on this particular run, but I was out there so I figure that counts for something, right?)

Anyway, tonight I made turkey spaghetti pie for dinner (or is it supper? I think it’s supper for those of us who grew up on farms), which I happen to love. The boys in my house? Not so much. My husband, Teacher Man, doesn’t necessarily dislike it, but spaghetti in general is not really his thing, so this is a compromise he makes for me. The 8-year-old — well, God forbid, he’d like anything that looks remotely like meat, cheese and sauce all mixed together. (Unless it’s sausage pizza from Domino’s.) Honestly, that kid wants all his food groups separated and not touching. He would prefer eating plain spaghetti than adding meat and spaghetti sauce. Although he was probably thankful that for once I didn’t make him eat vegetables.

Okay, I’ll stop venting about that.

But I thought the spaghetti pie was excellent, so I’m going to share the recipe. And for dessert – well, let’s just say no one complained.

These, I kid you not, are the finest chocolate chip cookies you will ever eat. When I found this recipe on Pinterest (of course – I mean, where else these days?), I found the gold standard for chocolate chip cookies. Nothing else comes even remotely close – and I have many friends and coworkers who will back me up on this. Even my 8-year-old (who is not a big sweets guy – seriously) could go on continuous feed with these. He even begs for them for breakfast – which of course, being the mom who is bound and determined to feed her son good-for-him, healthy food for breakfast, usually doesn’t agree to that blasphemy. Okay, well, maybe once in awhile.  (I think my occasional weakness harkens back to when my Grandma Anderson let me have chocolate frosted donuts and Strawberry Crush for breakfast once or twice a year. Yes, you read that correctly. I did say Strawberry Crush – in one of those old-fashioned tall glass bottles. Definitely fodder for another blog post some other time.)

Oh and did I mention wine?  Both recipes taste very good with wine.

Turkey Spaghetti Pie

• 6 ounces spaghetti, cooked and rinsed (I used whole wheat spaghetti)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup sour cream (or substitute cottage cheese, if you prefer)
• 1 pound ground turkey, cooked and drained (I used Jennie-O Turkey Store Italian-seasoned ground turkey)
• 8 ounces of your favorite spaghetti sauce
• 1 cup grated Mozzarella cheese

Combine the spaghetti with the eggs and Parmesan cheese in a large bowl. Pour the mixture into a greased 9-inch pie pan and press up the sides.

Cover the spaghetti with sour cream (or cottage cheese) and top with the ground turkey and spaghetti sauce. Sprinkle with the Mozzarella cheese. (Note: I combine the ground turkey and spaghetti sauce together before putting into the pie pan.)

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until golden.

Finest Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

(recipe courtesy of the New York Times)

• 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour*
• 1-2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour*
• 1-1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 2-1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
• 1-1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1-1/4 pounds chocolate chips
• * Note: I definitely use the cake and bread flours (vs. all-purpose flour) – I think this makes a huge difference

Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside.

Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy – about 5 minutes.

Add eggs. Stir in vanilla. Reduce to low speed and add dry ingredients slowly, mixing until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Refrigerate** dough for at least 2-3 hours (and up to 24-36 hours, if you want).

** Note: I don’t think you’d have to refrigerate the dough, but this is what the original recipe calls for and I usually follow this step for at least 2 hours or so as I think it makes the dough easy to handle.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes and then be prepared to cry with joy when you bite into one of these bad boys!