Turkey & Cream Cheese Cannelloni

Today I decided to shop the freezer and see what I could come up with for supper.  I came across a package of ground turkey and thought about making the old standby recipes like taco salad or hamburger (turkey instead) & rice.  But nobody likes living in a food rut so I went on an exploration mission in my cupboards to see what I could come up with.

Somewhere towards the end of oblivion I found some cannelloni noodles.  I haven't made cannelloni in forever so I thought this would be a great choice!  Obviously I didn't quite this the recipe completely through because after I had already filled all the noodles I discovered that I didn't have any crushed tomatoes in the house.  Luckily I caught John before he left work so he picked up a can on the way home.  Saved by the sauce!

Turkey & Cream Cheese Cannelloni
1 box cannelloni noodles (approx. 20)
1 lb. ground turkey
1 zucchini, grated
1/2 medium onion, diced
1t coriander
1t minced garlic
3t dried basil
salt & pepper to taste
1t olive oil
8 oz. cream cheese
1 can crushed tomatoes
parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a pan over medium high heat and saute onions until soft.  Add turkey, zucchini and spices to the pan and cook until turkey is cooked through.  Drop in cream cheese and stir until cheese is completely melted.  Remove from heart and allow to cool slightly.

Spread a thin layer of crushed tomatoes over the bottom of a 9x13" baking dish.  Stuff the cannelloni with the cooled filling using a small spoon, or a makeshift sandwich bag piping bag, and layer them on top of the tomatoes.  I like to stuff the cannelloni over the sauce so if anything falls out the bottom it will land in the pan and be added to the mix.  Continue layering tomatoes and cannelloni, ending with tomatoes, until all the noodles are stuffed.  Bake at 350° for 45 minute or as directed on the cannelloni package.  Serve topped with parmesan cheese.

 

Because I had a partial box of cannelloni I had some extra filling.  If you are also in this predicament, spread the extra filling over the last layer of pasta and then cover with sauce.

Coriander is a fairly new spice in my drawer, and really I didn't know what to do with it, but the side of the jar said it could be used on chicken among other things.  I've used coriander in a few other chicken recipes since I made this one and I am officially in love.  There will forever be coriander in my spice drawer!  I found this filling to have a delicious mushroom taste to it even thought it has absolutely no mushrooms in it, which was a surprise, but a very welcome surprise!