Turkey Lasagna Cupcakes Recipe

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I thought I'd share a family favorite with y'all.  These "healthy" turkey lasagna cupcakes make great appetizers and they are also a wonderful way to monitor your food portions.  

Let's get started!

This recipe makes 30 Turkey Lasagna Cupcakes (serves 6-8)

Ingredients:   

• Cupcake tins for 30 (I use two of the 12ct trays and one of the 6ct)
• Cooking Spray (to coat the cupcake tins)
• 1 package of round won ton wrappers (if you can't find round, then you'll have to trim down the square won ton wrappers to make them round)
• 2lbs of ground turkey
• Morton's Nature's Seasons (you can substitute this with salt and pepper)
• 24.5oz Mezetta Napa Valley Bistro Homestyle Marinara Sauce (or your favorite brand)
• 16oz Skim (or low fat) Ricotta Cheese
• 1/2lb of 2% Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• Grated Parmesan Cheese

*Use your regular utensils to measure out the ingredients.*

Instructions:

• To start, spray your tins with your cooking spray and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Begin your layers by pressing your won ton wrapper into the bottom of your tin.  If you have the square wrappers, you can use a round drinking glass as a template to make the round shape.
• Cook your ground turkey until completely done. Season with Morton's season all or salt and pepper.

• While your turkey is cooking start layering your cheeses in your tins...half a spoonful of grated parmesan, ricotta and a sprinkle of the shredded mozzarella. 

• Once the ground turkey if fully cooked, you can add a teaspoon on top of the cheese layers and then top it with a spoonful of marinara sauce and repeat the layering process. 

• After you have added a second layer, you can leave your lasagna cups open faced...or if you prefer to have them covered, you'll need to purchase another package of won ton wrappers. The package I buy contains 60 wrappers total, which is only enough for 2 wrappers per lasagna cupcake.

When you're done, pop these babies in the oven for 15-18 minutes (if you're using dark metal tins) or 18-20 minutes (for lighter colored tins, like the one in the picture).  

Allow to cool  and harden for 5-7 minutes and remove them using a small spatula.

Buon Appetito...

...and Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Pumpkin Pie Squares Recipe

*Previously published on my old blog (Distractions).*

This is one of my favorite recipes ever!!  A former coworker brought in this delicious dessert every year for the holidays and she was kind enough to share the recipe (so if you love it you can thank Sharon from Petaluma).

Please note that I did change this recipe a little but not too much.  I simply reduced the amount of pumpkin required.

This recipe has three parts: the crust, the filling and the topping so I will list all the ingredients below and tell you how much to use in each part of the recipe.  

Ingredients:

• 1 package of Pillsbury Yellow Cake Mix
• 3/4 cup of butter (1/2 cup for the crust and 1/4 cup for the topping)
• 3 eggs
• 2/3 cup of milk
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• Baking spray or grease
• 15 oz can of pumpkin 

Alright, now that you have everything you need, let's get started.

Getting Ready:

1. Spray or grease the bottom of your 13x9 inch pan.  If you are using glass, I'm pretty sure you can skip this step.
2. Set aside 1 cup of yellow cake mix to use later for the topping.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

The Crust:

1. Combine the remaining cake mix, 1/2 cup of melted butter and egg in a mixing bowl.
2. Once everything is mixed, press the mixture into the bottom of your pan.  I find that using a spatula helps spread it somewhat evenly. 

The Filling:

1. Combine the 2/3 cup of milk, 2 eggs and the 15 oz can of pumpkin (the original recipe calls for 3 cups of pumpkin pie mix or a 1 lb 14 oz can, but I only use a 15 oz can), blend mixture until smooth.
2. Evenly distribute the filling over the crust.

The Topping:

1. Combine the 1 cup of cake mix, 1/4 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 cup of butter.
2. Sprinkle the crumbs over the filling.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until thoroughly baked.  To check if it is thoroughly baked you can use a knife or a toothpick and put it in the center of the pan, if it comes out clean then it is cooked.  After it is baked, let it cool and add a little whip cream on top.

Right click the image below and save to print the recipe card