A Favorite Family Dinner
What do I look for in a good family favorite?
simple to prepare
nutritious and delicious
can be personalized
can be made ahead of time
creates leftovers
can be frozen for future use
How does this recipe measure up?
super simple ingredients - you can actually just use whatever ingredients you have in your fridge - for example, veggies you want to use up or even frozen veggies if you don’t have fresh. There’s not a lot of chopping or prepping involved.
it’s healthy - it has a great balance of protein, fat and carbs and it’s a family favorite because it’s flavorful and tasty even though it’s healthy!
very customizable - you can make this recipe vegetarian or switch up the protein from ground turkey to ground chicken or even beef. You can use whatever veggies you have on hand. You can also swap the rice for quiona or another complex carb. I typically don’t do dairy, so I will do cheese on top of 2/3 of the casserole for the family and that way I can still enjoy my portion(s) sans dairy!
I can prep this dinner days ahead of time and pop it in the oven that day if I have a busy day. The only thing that requires pre-cooking is the turkey, onions and the rice. I combine the turkey and onions to sautee together and I use a rice cooker so my rice always comes out fluffy and I don’t have worry about it burning or not cooking all the way.
I love leftovers for lunch so I always make extras of this meal so I can enjoy it the next day. The girls will often take it to school in a thermos too.
This casserole is one of my all time favorite freezer meals. I usually make a double batch and put one in the freezer for another day. It thaws and reheats just fine!
