This casserole will make your family forget they got stuffed to the gills on turkey at thanksgiving to the point they didn't want anything to do with turkey anymore. It puts a whole new spin on turkey and is so delicious.

Note: Most turkey tetrazinni recipes call for sweet red bell pepper, but Mother often substituted a small can of pimentos instead. This really put an Italian pizzaz to the casserole! Gave it a "gourmet" flourish.

Also Mother liked to give this recipe a kind of chunky, full-bodied flair, what is called "rustico," and that's one of the reasons her recipe is so distinctive and satisfying.

Ingredients

• · Two and 1/2 cups of chicken broth (the ready made kind on grocery store shelves is fine).
• · Seven cups shredded left-over turkey. Don't shred too thinly; you want to have it a little chunky. You can get away with 5 or 6 cups, but I like more turkey in this recipe, rather than less.
• · 1 large box of (16 oz.) spaghetti
• · 3 yellow onions (med. to large), sliced about 1/4 inch thick and then pulled apart into little "O's."
• · 3/4 cup of margarine or butter, slightly softened. I like to use the tubs because they're already soft and "scoopable."
• · One and 1/4 cups of medium sized sliced-in-half fresh mushrooms.
• · One big red bell pepper, cut up into 3/4 inch pieces or one small can of pimentos (well drained).
• · Half a cup of easy-stir flour (the kind you get in a shaker that combines easily into juice or sauce).
• · One teaspoon of Italian seasoning with salt in it. You may want to add more salt to taste.
• Half a teaspoon of garlic powder
• · Six and 1/2 cups of milk (whole milk will give the sauce more body and flavor).
• · One and 1/4 cups already grated Parmesan cheese. Use fresh cheese, if you can.
• · One and 1/2 cups dried bread crumbs (I like to use the "Italian" bread crumbs you can buy in a shaker).

• · A big bunch of minced fresh parsley. (Leave a few "leaves;" don't mince too finely).

Cooking Steps

• · Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and remove all oven racks but one, and place that rack in the center shelf of the oven.
• · Prepare the spaghetti as you would normally, but "under-cook" it just a little.
• · In a shallow frying pan, saute on low heat and in 5 tablespoons of butter: onions, mushrooms, and red pepper. Add the red bell pepper and mushrooms only after the onions have sauteed a few minutes by themselves. When everything has softened a bit . . .
• · Gradually add and stir in slowly the flour, Italian seasoning/salt ,garlic powder, and parsley until fully mixed and combined with the sauce. Slowly add the milk and chicken broth, stirring constantly with a wire whisk. Get rid of any lumps you might have at this point in the sauce! Note: if mixture gets too dry, sprinkle a litter water into it.
• · Turn up heat to medium low under the frying pan for a few minutes and let the sauce come to a low boil. (Don't get distracted and have it come to a rapid boil while you concentrating on something else! This will ruin the sauce and you'll have to start over.)
• · When the sauce is nice and thick, add the turkey and cheese and slowly stir for a few minutes until everything has combined well.
• · Grease well with olive oil a large casserole pan.
• · Combine the whole shebang in the casserole dish, folding all ingredients used so far until all is evenly blended together.
• · Melt 5 tablespoons of butter or margarine and dribble into the bread crumbs. With a fork, toss the bread crumbs gently until they are only slightly damp. If they get clumpy or wet, just add more bread crumbs. (You can actually skip this step and use dry bread crumbs, if you wish. I usually do, but Mother didn't.)
• · Distribute bread crumbs in a thin layer, evenly, over the top of the casserole.
• · Put casserole dish in oven and bake at 350 for about 40 min. The casserole should be done when tiny bubbles start appearing around the edge of the dish and a few large bubbles appear in the center of the casserole.

Side Dish Suggestion: A nice cold, crisp romaine lettuce and tomato salad topped with balsamic vinagrette dressing. But keep the salad simple, 'cause there's already too much going on flavor-wise in the casserole.

Wine Suggestions for This Wonderful Meal: Chilled chardonnay or pinot grigio served in chilled goblets.

This recipe will serve sixteen hungry people!