(Red) Meatless Monday's - Turkey Manicotti

Welcome to my second week of (Red) Meatless Monday. To find out what that's all about click HERE.

I originally got the idea for this recipe on the Internet but after much 'tweaking' and getting distracted by the Cardinals game...it became my own. P.S. Nice job Warner & Fitz!

Ingredients

1/4 cup bulgur*

2/3 cup boiling water

3/4 pound lean ground turkey

1 1/2 cups small curd (fat free) cottage cheese

1/4 c fresh basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

3 cloves minced garlic

14 uncooked manicotti shells
1 (28 ounce) jar meatless spaghetti sauce
2 handfuls sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup water
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup parmessan cheese
-top w/ sliced olives if desired

Directions
1.Place the bulgur in a bowl; stir in boiling water. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Drain and squeeze dry.
2.In a nonstick skillet, cook turkey over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add the cottage cheese, basil, oregano, salt, pepper and bulgur; mix well. Stuff into uncooked manicotti shells. Arrange in a baking dish coated with Pam.
3.Combine spaghetti sauce and water and mushrooms; pour over shells. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until shells are tender and sauce is bubbly. Uncover; sprinkle with mozzarella & parmessan cheese.
Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Notes: *If you've never purchased bulgur before, it's usually in the cereal, rice or organic food aisle. It's yummy and super healthy. Also,if you've never cooked w/ ground turkey before...you'll love it! It's such a healthy alternative. I think I even have my older brother Jeff hooked.
It's located next to the ground beef.

Tip: A great tip I learned from Jen @ Balancing Beauty & Bedlam is to cook meat in bulk. It helps save time and for those of us who don't enjoy meat...it saves us from having to do it often. Just cook it all in a big pan, separate into zip locks and season it in the zip locks for quick use later; taco seasoning, Italian etc. Then stick it in the freezer and you've got that part done for quick and easy dinner prep.

If you'd like to link up...go ahead, just remember my only rule...no RED meat!

Now wish me luck, I've got a crazy week ahead...homeschool prep, potty training & I'm trying my hand at square foot gardening. EEK!