Cancer and Comfort

My poor little pup had to have surgery!
Here he is the day he got home, in his pajamas. You know he feels bad if he's wearing anything. He is not a fashion dog!
Earlier in the week. he wasn't feeling well so I took him to the vet. He had to get 2 booster shots, and his nails dremeled anyway. So he was a sick pup and was given a third shot and antibiotics. I showed the doc how this mole was growing, and he said we better take it off. So surgery was 2 days later.

Double whammy for the dog!

So one pathologist bill, and two vet bills later, the doc calls to tell me his mole was a cancerous tumor. He had Canine hemangiosarcoma (HSA). Its an aggressive cancer of blood vessel-lining (endothelial) cells.
He's better now. The P.J's are long gone and the wag is back in his tail. But there is nothing sadder then a sick pup! So we needed some comfort food around here.
This is a cross between mac and cheese and spaghetti. I got the recipe from a friend a few years back and I just call it turkey and pasta. Originally the recipe called for hamburger, but I use ground turkey now days. It also calls for a can of Cheddar cheese soup, but if your an anti-canned soup kind of girl, you can just make a cheese sauce. But then you'll want to pull out a bag of your frozen home made pasta sauce too, cause this baby has a jar of spaghetti sauce in it.
Easy recipe, pantry friendly ingredient list,
and a favorite among the kids.

This is my entry to Monthly Mingle-Comfort foods, hosted by Meeta at What's for lunch, honey?



Turkey and Pasta

1 lb pasta (I use Penne)
1 lb ground meat (hamburger, turkey, chicken)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 can Cheddar cheese soup
2 cups cheese.

Cook pasta according to directions. Drain.
Brown ground meat, remove fat.
Add cooked pasta, spaghetti sauce, soup and one cup cheese. Pour into greased casserole dish and top with remaining cheese. Bake 375 untill brown and bubbly.

My daughter likes it just like this but,
You could brown onions with your meat,
You can add any spice, (a little chili powder maybe?)
More cheese to make that cheesy crust on top!
Switch out your favorite cheese
Throw in a veggie, (broccoli would be good, or mushrooms!)

Serve and be comforted!




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