Turkey & Pasta Bake

6 cups prepared penne pasta *
2 cups cooked turkey, cubed
2 cups plum tomatoes, coarsley chopped & drained
8 oz. container cottage cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 green onions, sliced *
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano *
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
2 Tblsp. dried parsley

Combine pasta, turkey and tomatoes. Spread in greased 9x13-inch pan; set aside. In a small bowl, combine cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, onions, basil and oregano. Mix well. Spread over turkey mixture, smoothing with the back of the spoon. Toss bread crumbs with parsley and sprinkle over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serves 6.

This is a fantastic way to use up leftover turkey. I found this recipe in my Gooseberry Patch casseroles cookbook. I really needed to use up leftover turkey from earlier last week. It was really tasty & Tyler told me to make this again. Both of our kids loved it too. Now, for my little changes for this recipe. Instead of penne pasta, I used macaroni, because it's the easiest pasta for my kids to eat, and instead of plum tomatoes I used sliced grape tomatoes. I didn't think that 8 oz. of cottage cheese was nearly enough to cover the entire top of the casserole, so the next time I make this I'm going to use 16 oz. Tyler hates green onions, so I didn't add those in, and I didn't have any oregano so I used ground sage in place of that. Anyway, I can't recommend this recipe highly enough. I'm also going to try & be better about posting pictures with every recipe. Enjoy! :)