Noodle and Spinach Casserole

Ok, I’m guilty, I have put off coming into the computer room to write. It is hot and our air conditoner broke, once again, and I don’t do anything but sit in front of the fan and eat 100 calorie packaged cookies. So in a single day, I consume about 1000 calories, but in 100 increments….so when most people are enjoying the summer and getting out and exercising and enjoying the sun, I am sitting inside, with the fan on my face, snacking on packaged cookies ,while in a recliner, which tells me that I have totally reached “ole geizer” age, oh yes, also, putting the timer on the microwave to let me know when Wheel of Fortune comes on.

Our kids came over last Wednesday night and when Wheel Of Fortune came on and we ask them to “let’s make a game of it and see who gets the puzzles first”, they all looked at us like we had lost our minds. Their response, “OM Gosh, you actually watch this? Don’t you relize that that makes you old?” They were ready to put us in a nursing home, but we beat them with our canes and they finally settled down. So…back to this recipe. I have been cleaning out magazines from the 1980’s that Randy tells me that I have got to get rid of ever since the day when he brought me one of the Southern Living Magazines and said, “Trixie (that is his pet name for me)…let’s try this new restaurant that says that they have the best fried catfish in town. It is even written up in this Southern Living.” When I took the magazine from him to look at which restaurant he was talking about, I looked at the front cover and discovered he was leafing through one from 1987…..so, hence the clean out. We called and that restaurant didn’t have a working number. So upon looking for the recipes in each magazine before throwing out, I came across this one that I had tried back in 2006 and remembered loving it. (Yes, I can still remember that far back). Here it is. It is simple, fast and delicious, and most importantly, it is semi-healthy (at least it doesn’t have a stick of butter floating on top.)

1 (8oz) package wide egg noodles

1 1/2 pound ground turkey

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teas each salt and pepper

1 (26 oz) jar spaghetti sauce

1 teas italian seasoning

1 (10 0z) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 teas garlic salt

1 1/2 cups shredded parmesan cheese

Cook noodles according to package, drain and set aside.

Cook turkey and next 3 ingredients in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring until done and crumbly. Drain if needed and stir in spgahetti sauce and seasonings. Combine spinach and next 4 ingredients. Fold in noodles and spoon mixture into a greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with half of parmesan cheese. Top evenly with turkey mixture and remaining parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 min or until bubbly and golden.