My Poor Kitchen

Our fridge is in a sad state of affairs.

There is no milk. No bread. There are some shriveled oranges, lots of condiments and four eggs.

It wouldn't be so much of a problem on any other Friday night. Mark and I would simply go out to dinner. Except I'll be out of town for Body Pump training this weekend and will be eating out a lot. The last thing I want to do - tonight - is head to a restaurant.

It was time to get creative.

I had a half-packet of ranch mix from the faux-tato salad, some macaroni from God knows when, Ro-Tel (L and I split a case from Sam's Club) and some chicken stock from a soup I never made. There was also 10 ounces of ground turkey and a chunk of monterey jack cheese leftover from How Sweet's Green Chili Chicken Burgers.

If I am my mother's daughter, I would almost say that I had the makings of Hamburger Helper. (Side note: I ate so much Beef Stroganoff from that unassuming box growing up that looking at it still makes me feel icky inside.)

I browned the turkey.

I grated the cheese.

I entertained Miles with some Goldfish.

And, in 20 minutes, my empty fridge produced a Ranch Cheeseburger Mac. With the obligatory side of broccoli.

Ranch Cheeseburger Macaroni

Adapted from Kevin & Amanda

10 ounces (1 pound, ideally) 93/7 ground turkey
1/2 packet ranch dressing mix
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes with chiles
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup uncooked macaroni

Brown and drain ground turkey. Stir in ranch seasoning, Rotel, chicken broth and macaroni. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and cover pan. Simmer 12-14 minutes until macaroni is tender.

Meanwhile, make the cheese sauce ...

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup 1% milk
1 cup shredded monterey jack
Salt and pepper, to taste

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking for 5 minutes until fragrant and light brown in color. Whisk in the milk and bring to a boil. Whisk until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the shredded cheddar cheese until melted. Add the salt and pepper to the cheese sauce. Pour the cheese sauce over the ground turkey mixture. Stir gently to combine. Serves 4.

And if you're wondering where I got the milk from. Well, I made Mark "borrow" some from his parents when he picked up Miles. Sometimes you have to get creative!