“but I don’t like mushrooms”…

….is how dinner prep started tonight.  The boys were helping me cook and they saw that mushrooms were part of dinner.  I told them that they actually like the flavor, just not biting into a big hunk, so I gave them the task of chopping them up (thanks to the pampered chef chopper) so little that they wouldn’t know mushrooms were in the dish.  They took that on with avengance – which just goes to show you that even when kids say they don’t like something, there may be ways to get them to see it differently. 

Dinner tonight was a “grand slam”.  (A term we use when everyone likes dinner).  I made up the recipe with some inspiration from a picadillo recipe that was given to me.  (although, it’s now nothing like picadillo)  Here’s the recipe, which I served over bow tie pasta with parmessean on top.

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey

olive oil

1 cup thinly sliced onions

2 cloves garlic

1 cup carrots – chopped

8 oz mushrooms – chopped

1/2 cup dry red wine

2 tablespoons balsalmic vinegar

2 bay leaves

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

1 14.5 oz can tomato sauce

salt & pepper to taste

sautee turkey with olive oil until cooked, drain and set aside

sautee onions in olive oil (about 1 tablespoon) until soft, add garlic and saute 1-2 minutes more.  Add carrots & mushrooms and cook until carrots are softening and mushrooms have released their juice.   Return turkey to pan, add remaining ingredients and cook, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes.  Season with salt & pepper and serve over pasta.  (don’t forget to remove bay leaves before serving!)