Italian Stew

The other night I threw this together and didn't even follow a recipe.  It was more like a 'what will I do with all these extra veggies' sort of thing.  And I was kinda craving pasketti too.  So this was a nice amalgamation of flavors and textures and fridge cleaning (?!?)  Now that's something you won't see on Top Chef...  

By the way, is anyone jazzed for the new season?  'Cause I'm not really....and that's sad.  I liked it better when it was young, hungry, trying to get started chefs, rather than established, already have their own restaurants, already a professional kind of chefs.  Season 3 is my most favorite season (luv me some Howie!) and I still have one episode on my DVR that I can't part with.  It's the episode where they cook for the Elks Lodge and make healthier versions of grandma's cooking, like tuna casserole, meatloaf and fried chicken. 

Oh well, back to the show.  Go through your fridge and see what veggies you have hanging out that need a good home and you can throw together this dish.  The hardest part about making this was getting Bubba out of the kitchen so he didn't see me chopping up the eggplant I was sneaking into enhancing the dish with.  And of course, he loved it and thought it was great.

Italian Stew
makes 6-8 servings

olive oil
1 1/4 lb ground turkey 1 onion, diced
1 large zucchini, cubed
1 small eggplant, cubed
1/2 head cauliflower, cubed
32 oz (2 lbs) marinara sauce
Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses

Cook the ground turkey in a little olive oil, drain if needed and set aside.

Chop all the veggies into about the same sized pieces for even cooking.  If you are trying to be sneaky then peel them so people can't tell what they are.

In same pan,  add some more olive oil and all of the veggies.  Saute on medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the veggies are starting to soften.

Add the meat and the sauce into the veggies and mix thoroughly.  Cover and let simmer for another 10 minutes or so.  Season to taste with garlic, salt and pepper as you like.

Scoop into bowls and top with cheeses.  Eat a warm hearty dinner and giggle silently behind your hand as your family eats veggies they don't care for and have no clue.