Monday, February 27, 2006

Note to self: Add this to my husband's list of favorites




Deep-Dish Chili Pie
Weight Watchers Five Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook Copyright 2006

1 pound ground round I used ground turkey
1 (15-ounce) can seasoned diced tomatoes sauce for chili (such as Hunt’s) I used Del Monte
1 (13.8-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough I couldn't find one exactly this weight so I just bought the storebrand
Cooking Spray
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp Cheddar cheese, divided I used a 2% Colby/Jack blend
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Cook beef in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain well; return meat to pan. Add tomato sauce; cook 1 to 2 minutes or until heated.
3. While beef cooks, unroll pizza crust dough and press into bottom and halfway up sides of a 13x9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle ½ cup Cheddar cheese over pizza crust; top with ground beef mixture.
4. Bake, uncovered, at 425 degrees for 12 minutes. Top with remaining ½ cup Cheddar cheese and ¼ cup Parmesan cheese. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until crust is browned and cheese melts. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: 8 servings Per serving: 6 points, 266 calories, 7.4 gms fat, 21.6 gms protein, 28.1 gms carbs, 1.5 gms fiber, 42 mg chol, 2.2 mg iron, 791 mg sodium, 128 mg calcium

My husband doesn't normally comment on my recipes, unless he really likes something or really never wants to be faced with it again. I don't mind this arrangement, as this is a man who puts barbecue sauce on almost anything, even if it already has a sauce. This is a man who ate my Mushroom and Chicken Risotto off of a cheap, paper plate. (Why? I don't know. He doesn't do the dishes but he thinks there is some advantage to not dirtying a real plate.) This is a man who would probably name my hot Italian subs (roll, mayo, pepper spread, meats, and cheese wrapped in foil and baked) as his favorite meal.

So, while I'm happy when he enjoys something, I don't seek out his praise. But this simple, could-definitely-see-Sandra-Lee-making-this-on-her-show recipe received high praise. I agree, that is was very good. That's why I paid $10 for another Weight Watchers Five Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook. As I learned after buying last year's version of this magazine-style cookbook, these simple recipes may be simple but they're quite good too.

I had a bit too much liquid in my pie (not enough to ruin it) which may not have been a problem if I had drained the turkey properly (ground turkey has a lot more liquid than ground beef, I've found). Also, I used Del Monte diced tomatos, zesty chili style, which may be different from the Hunt's tomatoes that they suggested. I didn't read the directions carefully enough and threw everything together and cooked it all at once (instead of waiting to add the last bit of cheese) but it turned out fine.

I'll definitely make this again. I work 40 hours/week, spend about 1.5 hours/day commuting, and I have a 2-year old. Recipes like this give me a much needed break. We only do take-out or eat out on weekends in our house.

Question of the Day: How often do you grab take-out or eat out?

10 comments:

  1. Like I said, we usually only eat out or get take-out on the weekends. Weekends used to be when I would like to cook a more complicated meal but since I started this blog, I've been cooking less on the weekends since I cook so much during the week.

    We used to order pizza on Fridays or get subs when we were really sick of pizza but we rarely do that anymore.

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  2. Anonymous9:35 AM

    I bet my boys & DH would love this recipe. I'm going to put this on my "must make" list.

    We don't eat out often~~maybe once or twice a month. With both boys working and DH's hours so erratic, I usually make something and they just make a plate if they are hungry when they get home. Most times, DH takes his supper for lunch the next day and eats a bowl of cereal at night.

    I miss all of us sitting down together to eat but we still do Sunday after Mass breakfast. That's always good.

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  3. Kind of often... I eat out with friends at lunch once or twice a week, and get take out maybe 4 additional times. For the evening meal, it's less - maybe once every two weeks. Then it's usually chicken or pizza or meals from a local cafe.

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  4. Anonymous1:27 PM

    We used to eat out 4-5 times a week,but since I have been trying to improve my cooking skills,we are eating out a lot less.
    Emily
    http://madmommychronicles.typepad.com/biscuits_and_blues

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  5. This looks really good. I haven't made any of your recipes yet but I think I will make this one.

    We don't get take out a lot, maybe twice a month.

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  6. Anonymous4:03 PM

    I have a feeling my husband would love this recipe. And it's low-fat, so less guilt! I'm going to have to give it a shot soon.

    We're trying to save money, so we're eating out less; maybe once a week. Teriyaki is our biggest weekness.

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  7. When I lived in California, I was always getting take-out. It was often cheaper than cooking( lots of ethnic places). I was in law school too, worked and had a 2hr commute each day too. So, it was easier. Now, we hardly ever get take-out. 1. there are hardly any options in this town and 2. its very expensive.

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  8. Paula, a question about this recipe. Is it canned tomatoes or tomato sauce? I'm confused by the wording. You say diced tomatoes sauce for chili, then in the instructions you just call it a sauce. I can't find anything like that in my grocery store. They either have diced tomatoes or tomato sauce.

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  9. Anonymous4:42 PM

    I made this for dinner last night and it turned out great! I couldn't find the Hunt's tomatoes the recipe suggested either, so I substituted with Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic and Oregano. Today I went to the Hunt's website, and they have a "Hunt's Family Favorites Chili" which they say is a sauce mix. I'm assuming that's what the recipe was calling for. I'll try to find that next time.

    I'll be posting this on my blog later today. Thanks for the great recipe!

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  10. Strange how confusing they made this. I couldn't find a 13.8 ounce pizza crust either. A lot of the recipes in this book try to lead you to a specific convenience product - they can at least get the details right!

    But rest assured, any chili style diced tomatoes will work and so does the standard refrigerated pizza crust.

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