So sometimes I cheat a little....Alfredo from a jar

This is not exactly what I came home to tonight. This is definately the cleaned-up version. I walked in to last night's greasy roasting pan in one side of my sink and this mornings dishes and all of our lunchbox containers in the other side. I must confess: I can't work like that. I mean, I just don't have any extra counter space to spare. Normally, I jump right in and clean things up, then start dinner, but tonight I had an inspiration. "Hey Honey! How about you wash up these dishes and then I will make dinner?" Luckily, my Hubby knows which side his bread is buttered on. He washed the dishes with minimal protestation. I helped myself to a glass of Merlot. 

I had cooked a small turkey yesterday with the plan of leftovers in mind. We had turkey, mashed red potatoes, gravy and peas for dinner, and again for our lunch today. But there was plenty of leftover turkey meat. I had put about 1-1/2 cups of turkey trimmings into a ziplock baggie last night, and that would be the basis of tonight's meal, although that SLO Veg broccoli would be the star. Tonight I made Turkey-Broccoli-Mushroom Alfredo. 

I started with one head of broccoli, cutting it in to florets. Then I decided, twice as much broccoli is better than one, so I cut up another head. I had about a half basket of mushrooms left, so I sliced  them up, along with a small end of an onion, about a quarter cup.

I felt like it was cheating a little bit because I used a store-bought Alfredo sauce. I  know, I know, I could have made it from scratch, but some times you have to go with convience and economics. A jar of Classico Alfredo was on sale 3 for $5. Yeah. Oh well. I used fresh vegies, so there is the balance. I started with a bit of onion, diced up. That went into a saute pan with some butter. I smashed and minced a small clove of garlic, too. After they wilted a bit, I stirred in the sliced mushrooms and saute it for another minute or so. The brown rice pasta went into a boiling pot of water, and after about 5 minutes I threw the broccoli into the bath. I let it cook for about 3 minutes while I poured the Alfredo sauce and the leftover turkey into my mushroom and onion mixture, added just a little bit of water (1/2 cup?) and heated it all up. 

When the pasta was al dente, I drained it in the sink and poured the noodles and broccoli into the Alfredo mixture. My pasta dishes come in so handy for nights like this: I served it in these cute bowls and topped it with some fresh Parmesan cheese. Delicious, hearty pasta dish with a fresh component. Nobody was cheated in this deal!