- 12 ounces penne pasta
- 1 pound ground turkey or ground sirloin
- 1 ½ cups chopped yellow onion, from about 1 large onion
- 1 ¾ teaspoon salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 5 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 8 ounces light cream cheese
- 2 cups milk, 1% or skim work great
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
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INSTRUCTIONS
- Coat a 9X13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. Preheat the broiler.
- In a large pot of lightly salted, boiling water, cook the penne pasta according to package directions.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat a large 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add beef or turkey to the pan with the diced onions and 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring to break up the meat into small pieces, until the meat is cooked through. Drain excess grease from the meat.
- Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, another minute or so. Sprinkle the flour over the meat mixture, stirring to combine, and cook for 1-2 minutes over medium heat.
- Add the cream cheese in pieces, scattering it over the meat. Let it melt into the meat and stir to combine. Whisk or stir in the milk, nutmeg, 3/4 teaspoon salt and tomatoes. Stir to combine well and bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Cook 5-6 minutes until the mixture is slightly thickened and is thoroughly heated through.
- Stir in the pasta and spoon the pasta mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese evenly over the pasta and broil for about 3-5 minutes (watching carefully so it doesn’t burn!). Remove from the oven and sprinkle with parsley. Let it stand for about 5 minutes before serving.
