Turkey Casserole

Funny thing about turkey, if you talk to people they will say "be careful, don't let your dog eat the turkey for Thanksgiving, it will get them sick".  Well, that simply is NOT true.  As with anything, you need to consider your source.  Turkey has L-tryptophan in it  which is a natural tranquilizer.  My own vet says she tells her clients to feed their dogs turkey if they are nervous dogs. It calms them down.  There is no harm at all giving your dog turkey!  I have to say that the very first time I gave my dogs turkey, it really made them sluggish.  I fed them at 5:15ish and Daddy came home around 5:40ish and when he walked in the door, he is always greeted with wags and kisses but this time, the dogs did not budge, they just laid on the couch!   It does not really hit them that hard anymore and honestly I do not see any signs of slugishness (is that not a word)?  Anyway, for those dogs that can not eat chicken, turkey is a great alternative.  Here is the recipe I made this evening.

1 pound turkey
1 Tablespoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 pound asparagus/EVOO for coating
2 cups cubed butternut squash
3 cups cooked whole wheat couscous
1 egg
1/2 cup ricotta
2 teaspoons ground flax seed
1/2 cup sweet potato puree (I get at Trader Joes but you can use low sodium beef broth

Cook the turkey with the thyme and garlic powder and drain off the fat.











 Put in food processor to make the turkey smaller. While turkey cooking, roast the asparagus (coated in EVOO/Extra Virgin Olive Oil) in a 425 oven for 10 - 15 minutes

and micowave the butternut squash which is covered in water for 11 minutes or until soft.

 Also cook the coucus for five minutes (1 cup coucus to 2 cups water, let come to boil and take off heat for five minutes and its done!).
Put the turkey in a big mixing bowl and put the cooked asparagus and squash in the food processor.
Add the ricotta, egg, flax seed and puree to the vegetable mixture and mix all together.
Add this mixture to the turkey and add couscous and mix all up.

Put in a greased 9x13 casserole dish and bake for around 20 minutes.

When cool, you can pre measure out portions and put in sandwich bags and store in freezer until ready to use!