A yummy cooking accident!

You know those nights when you haven't been shopping in awhile and don't have your stand by ingredients- leaving you feel perplexed and uninspired? Well, I had one of those!

I came home from work tired, with hungry kids, and thought "hey- spaghetti is fast and easy". So I got the ground turkey out, chopped up some leeks and garlic, threw it all in a pan and got the turkey browning. Then I proceeded to the cupboard only to realize we were all out of noodles.

So I thought- AHA! I have a yummy curry sauce- I'll cook some rice, toss the sauce in with the turkey and call it good. Got the jasmine rice started, grabbed the sauce...and realized I should have frozen the sauce so as not to allow mold growth. (EEEEWWWWW!)

Now I'm down 2 ideas. Number 3 was to make a casserole and use the rice as left overs- until I realized that the cream of mushroom soup in the back of the cupboard isn't gluten free (DUH. How did I not know that?).

At this point I have rice over 1/2 way cooked, turkey with leeks and garlic all browned...and that's it. Here is what I wound up with:

Faux Thai Turkey
1 lb. ground turkey, browned with garlic and leek or onions
2 cups water
1/2 can pineapple in juice
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2-1 tsp. curry powder
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3-4 Tbsp. flour or gluten free baking mix (to taste)
1 1/2 tsp. Xanthan gum
1/4-1/2 package lowfat cream cheese (I used 1/2 package, but in the interest of a slim waistline, I probably shouldn't have)

Mix the sugar, curry, GF baking mix, xanthan gum, cinnamon & nutmeg together- set aside. Pour the water and pineapple into the ground beef. Bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer. Add dry mix, stir well. Let simmer until sauce is reduced by 1/2, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cream cheese. Serve over rice.

This was a total accident, but there is no question that the family wants it again. I was pleasantly surprised with how a dinner plaugued with roadblocks turned out!