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Culinary Post-Work Delight: Quick Turkey Lime Zucchini Pasta

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I had zucchini pasta first at my friend May‘s house a few weeks ago. I’d heard of the idea to intersperse pasta-cut veggies with actual pasta in order to get kids to enjoy their vegetables, but I’d never tried the veggie pasta myself. Having only eaten breakfast, I returned home from teaching Design I in Lafayette today famished, and decided to try out some zucchini pasta with turkey breast for dinner.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 zucchini per person
  • 1/4-1/2 a turkey breast per person (mine was partially pre-cooked as described in my previous post on turkey pot pie. I cook a big one and save bits in the freezer for months.)
  • Butter and/or Olive Oil
  • 1/4 a large onion
  • Salt to taste
  • Black & cayenne pepper to taste
  • Sriracha to taste
  • Low Sodium Soy Sauce to taste
  • 1/4 a Lime per person
  • 1 clove garlic per 2 people
  • A couple tablespoons balsalmic vinegar

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We have a spiral cutter. It is one of our splurges. I get Amazon.com gift certificates via my credit card, so I saved up the certificates in order to get this excellent piece of kitchen equipment practically for free! It is kinda pricy on its own, but so much fun! It comes with 3 different blades for spiral cutting any veggie thin, medium or thick. Plus you can use the standard setting to create things like sweet potato chips for deep frying. It’s extremely versatile.

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I used the spiral cutter to slice up a couple of zucchini using the second-to-smallest blade attachment. You could also just thin slice the zucchini into long strips using a knife, and it would work just as well (or use a mandolin if you have one).

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Boil water in a steaming pot, or heat water in a rice cooker on high.

Dice onion and garlic and pan fry in olive oil or butter on medium heat until they begin to soften. Turn heat to high and add raw or partially cooked turkey breast. Season with black and cayenne pepper, salt, sriracha and low sodium soy sauce to taste while the turkey is cooking. Keep heat on high, turning turkey as needed until both sides are seared. Lower heat and cover, stirring occasionally, until meat is done (juices run clear when poked with a knife).

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Mid-way through turkey cooking, add spiral cut zucchini to steaming basket or rack within a rice cooker and steam for just a few minutes (generally 5 or less!). I like my zucchini pasta, like any pasta, al dente! Make sure and remove zucchini from pan immediately after cooking to prevent over-cooking. You can chill zucchini with a bit of cold water if it is getting too soft before eating.

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Serve turkey breast and onions on a bed of the zucchini pasta with a lime slice on the side for some extra flavor. Sprinkle a bit of olive oil and balsalmic vinegar over the whole deal. Put some sriracha on the table in case people want to spice it up a bit more.

This meal was really quick and pretty damn good. Plus no carbs! I haven’t been sticking strictly to that whole Primal deal, but cutting down on my carbohydrates has been pretty easy and it feels great.

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