Ground Turkey Casserole (Southwestern)

american-southwest-groundturkeycasserole This southwestern ground turkey casserole recipe is a fantastic mix of spices, vegetables and lean protein. It all comes together in about 30 minutes for a healthy dinner. This is not the first ground turkey casserole with rice I've made and there's a very good reason for that. Each time I come up with a new version, I'm struck by how easy it is to throw in a different combination of spices and vegetables and be rewarded with a new healthy dinner option. It doesn't hurt that my family always seems to love each turkey rice casserole. The Greek-style version got them hooked and the teriyaki version carried on the love fest. Now a southwestern casserole is added to the mix. The beauty of these turkey rice casserole recipes is that they all follow the same blueprint, making it very easy to vary the flavours depending on what's available in your kitchen. Start by cooking the ground turkey with some chopped onion, add herbs/spices and garlic, then mix in the veggies, a sauce of some sort to stop the casserole from drying out and any other extras that strike your fancy. Scoop the whole concoction into a baking dish, top with some cheese if it fits with the flavours and bake for about 20 minutes to heat through. That's it.

2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1½ tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
¾ tsp. ground paprika
½ tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
2 cups brown rice, cooked
3 oz canned diced green chiles
1 (14 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
1½ cup salsa
1 cup canned reduced sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
¾ cup corn kernels
¼ cup fresh cilantro, minced
½ cup Monterey Jack cheese, freshly grated

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4). Lightly coat an 11x7” baking dish with cooking spray.

Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet set over medium high heat. Add the ground turkey and onions. Cook, breaking up the turkey, until the turkey is just cooked through.

Add the garlic, cumin, chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute.

Remove from the heat and stir in the rice, diced green chiles, diced tomatoes, salsa, black beans, corn and cilantro. Stir to combine.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the cheese over top. Cook until heated through, about 20 minutes. Serve.

Makes 8 servings.