Make-Ahead Creamy Turkey Mac and Cheese

Ingredients

2.5 lbs ground Canadian turkey
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter
2 cups 2% milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp garlic powder
½ cup regular or lite Philadelphia cream cheese
1 cup shredded aged cheddar cheese
½ cup panko breadcrumbs,
1 package (450 gr) elbow pasta

TIPS: For a flavour boost, use 2 lbs. ground turkey meat plus 2 turkey sausages, removed from casings. Once assembled, you can also freeze this recipe to have on hand to use at a later time.

Directions

Make ahead:

Cook pasta until al dente.
Cook turkey over high heat to brown, stirring to break meat into chunks. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Toast panko in a non-stick pan over high heat until browned, 2-3 minutes.

For sauce:

Heat butter in a medium sized saucepan until melted. Warm milk separately and set aside. Add flour to melted butter and stir until mixture comes together to make a very thick paste. Cook until flour is toasted, 2 – 3 minutes. Do not brown.
Add milk in slow increments until mixture thickens and comes to a low simmer. Do not boil. Blend with a hand blender to quickly remove any lumps.
Add cheeses, garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste stirring over medium heat, an additional 3-4 minutes, to a pancake batter consistency.

At this point, all the ingredients for your mac and cheese are ready. Proceed to assemble or store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Quick assembly:

Combine sauce, pasta and turkey meat in a large size oven-proof casserole dish.
Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.
Top with panko breadcrumbs and serve.