This week for Sunday Supper, we’re dishing up comfort food in honour of all the people adversely affected by Hurricane Sandy.

The devastation is deeply sobering – the loss of lives and property, people without electricity and heat for days on end, the general state of upheaval.

I know how lucky I am. I’ve gone my entire life without ever experiencing any type of disaster (knock on wood). I live in British Columbia and ever since I was in elementary school, I’ve been warned about “the big one” – an earthquake, that is. We live over a whole bunch of fault lines and I used to be absolutely terrified that a 9.0 scale earthquake would hit Vancouver. There have been some earthquakes lately in B.C., far from where I am, but nonetheless, it’s brought back those stark childhood memories of earthquake drills and horror stories of what to expect when the big one hits. Unfortunately, there are some things you just can’t prepare for and when they happen, you just have to roll with the punches.

For this week, I’m making a giant dish of baked pasta, topped with ooey gooey cheese, which is always comforting. I pack mine full of vegetables and use lower calorie items such as ground turkey and part skim cheese to make it healthier. This makes a ginormous pan of pasta – perfect for feeding a large, hungry crowd in one sitting or a couple of people for several days.

If you want to do something and contribute, even a little, to the hurricane relief, there’s always the Red Cross but there are also these two charitable organizations that the Sunday Supper group is supporting this week:

Turkey & Veggie Pasta Bake

* These are the ingredients I used but this is such a versatile dish – use whatever you want in whatever quantities you want! The following directions are simply guidelines.

To streamline the cooking process, prep everything beforehand so that you don’t have to turn away from the stove to cut an ingredient or measure out a spice.

1 pound ground turkey
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups (approximately 5) carrots, diced
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
2 cups (approximately 2 small) zucchinis, diced
1 bunch kale, shredded
398 mL can of tomato sauce
156 mL can of tomato paste
341 mL can of peaches & cream corn niblets
300 grams part skim mozzarella, shredded
200 grams sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
salt, pepper, sugar, dried oregano, dried thyme and dried rosemary to taste

Heat a pot of water. When boiling, add a teaspoon of salt and 4 cups of pasta, whatever shape you want (I used shells). Cook until it reaches your desired consistency. Drain and set aside.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

Using a deep sauce pot or something similar, heat olive oil over medium high heat. When the oil is shimmering, lower the heat to medium and add the onions. Sauté for about 5 minutes. Next add the carrots (they take the longest to cook) and sauté for 5-10 minutes. At this point, I season the carrots and onion with a bit of salt and sugar. Add the ground turkey and cook until just pink, stirring it to break it up. Season again with salt and sugar. Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Add the rest of the vegetables in the following order, making sure to stir the pot to distribute the vegetable and cover the pot, cooking for 10 minutes between each addition: zucchini, kale and corn. I actually like cooking my vegetables on the shorter side because I don’t like them to get too mushy – my preference is for them to still have a bit of bite.




At this point, you’re going to have a giant, glorious pot of what looks like stew. Season to taste with salt, pepper, sugar (I add sugar to sweeten up the tomato sauce), and herbs.


Place your pasta in a large casserole dish. Add the pasta sauce and stir to combine. Top with the cheese. Bake for about 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and the pasta bake is bubbling.

Cheese – glorious, glorious cheese.

This is such an simple yet delicious dish. A giant pan of comfort that fed me and the Husband all week.

Check out all the other wonderful dishes the Sunday Supper gang whipped up this week:

• Orange Rolls from That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!!
• 12-Grain Buttermilk Pancake Mix from What Smells So Good
• Cranberry Bread from Home Cooking Memories

• Pork Chop Casserole from In the Kitchen with Audrey
• Basic Lasagna from Fast Food 2 Fresh Food
• Italian Sausage and White Bean Bake from Girlichef
• Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes from Crispy Bits n Burnt Ends
• Turkey and Vegetable Pasta Bake from Gotta Get Baked
• Baked Salmon with Cucumber Salad from The Urban Mrs.
• Enchilada Pasta Casserole from Dinners Dishes and Desserts
• Spaghetti Pizza Bake from Small Wallet Big Appetite
• Gluten Free Spaghetti Squash with Pancetta from No One Likes Crumbley Cookies
• Cabbage Koftas from Soni’s Food
• Bowtie Marinara with Goat Cheese from Family Foodie

• New England Clam Chowder from The Meltaways
• Italian Wedding Soup from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Soul Warming Butternut Squash Soup from Cupcakes and Kale Chips
• Creamy Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese “Croutons” from Damn Delicious
• Corn Basil Handpies from Vintage Kitchen Notes
• Manhattan Clam Chowder from Noshing with the Nolands
• Comforting Broccoli Cheese Soup from Juanita’s Cocina
• San Antonio Chicken Tortilla Bake from The Weekend Gourmet
• Peruvian Steak and Potato Stir-fry from Hip Foodie Mom 
• Simple Southern Red Potato Salad from Mama Mommy Mom
• Homemade Chicken Soup from Daddy Knows Less
• New Orleans Red Beans and Rice for Those in Need from The Catholic Foodie
• Sweet and Sassy Pineapple Stuffing from In the Kitchen with KP

• Pound Cake Loaf from Magnolia Days
• Fall Apple Pie from Cravings of a Lunatic
• Dairy-free Marble Cake {Marmorkuchen} from Galactopdx
• Mini Dark Chocolate Cakes with Mint Chocolate Chip Icing from The Realistic Nutritionist
• Orange Pound Cake from Basic n Delicious
• Spicy Gingerbread with a Mocha Glaze from Daily Dish Recipes

Please join on us on Twitter for #SundaySupper on November 25, 2012, throughout the day. In the evening, we will meet at 7 PM EST for our weekly #SundaySupper live chat.

All you have to do is follow the #SundaySupper hashtag or you can follow us through TweetChat.

We’d also love to feature your recipe ideas for #HelpingHands on our #SundaySupper Pinterest board so we can share them with all of our followers.