gourmet hamburger helper

One time Amy went out of town and bequeathed me a ball of mozzarella, which I diced up and threw into my pasta. It made all of the difference. In fact, it reminded me of hamburger helper, even though I'm not sure if I've ever eaten that.

Since that incident was before this blog's time, I decided to remake it. Here are the ingredients:

- 1 bag/box pasta (I used Trader Joe's tricolor vegetable radiatore)
- olive oil
- 3/4 lb ground turkey
- spices such as garlic, Italian seasoning, roasted red pepper flakes, cayenne, salt, pepper, etc. (I also used Trader Joe's 21 seasoning salute)
- 1 jar pasta sauce
- 8 oz diced mozzarella

While pasta is boiling, sautee the ground turkey with spices. Pour in the pasta sauce and let simmer. When pasta is done, add it in along with the mozzarella.



This meltiness, more so than shredded cheese, is what makes the difference.



Feel free to bake with a crust (a la the earlier macaroni and cheese post) if desired. Otherwise eat at will.

As a side note, I get excited whenever something tastes like a more gussied-up version of something that's mass-produced and familiar. In this case it was hamburger helper, but it could be anything. Leave a note if you know a recipe that fits this!