Thursday, April 26, 2007

A good way to get your veggies
--Traditional Meat-and-Macaroni Casserole


Traditional Meat-and-Macaroni Casserole
The New Holly Clegg Trim and Terrific Cookbook Copyright 2002, 2006

1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
½ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 pound ground sirloin
1 cup shell macaroni I used Dreamfield macaroni and approx. twice as much
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (15 ¼ ounce) can corn, drained
1 tablespoon chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large nonstick pot, sauté the onion, green pepper, mushrooms, and meat until the vegetables are tender and the meat is done. Cook the macaroni according to the package directions, omitting any oil and salt. Drain; add to the meat mixture. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, corn and chili powder. Season with the salt and pepper. Transfer to a 2-quart casserole, and top with the shredded cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, or until well heated. Serve.

Makes 8 servings. Per serving: 227 calories, 20 g pro, 26 g carbs, 6 g fat, 3 g fiber, 38 mg chol, 527 mg sodium

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This turned out even better than I thought it would be. It was a sort of chili-mac, with a good amount of vegetables snuck in there. I stretched it out by adding more pasta and it was still rather saucy. It made quite a bit - I probably didn't need the extra macaroni.You could throw just about anything you want, vegetable-wise, into this. This came together really fast because I cooked the pasta the night before (I'll do whatever I can not to be overwhelmed after work).

I really struggled planning next week's recipes last night but this morning, I took a minute to work at it and BOOM! it was done. A good night's sleep does wonders.

I'm making a Costco run this weekend. I could probably stretch it out one more week as far as meat goes but I need coffee. Now that they have the 10-pound bags of chicken breasts, I don't need to make a Costco run as often, which it makes it even more exciting LOL.

Blast From The Past: Sausage and Mushroom Pasta from February 2006 - one of my son's favorites. Smoked sausage is on sale this week so maybe I'll be making that recipe again soon. I've made it a few times.

Question of the Day: Do you always try to do as much prep work and cooking as you can ahead of time?

2 comments:

Red Dirt Mummy said...

While I'm being a SAHM it doesn't bother me too much although I do try to get it all organised and underway before bathtime. When I'm being a working Mummy - oh yeah.

Anonymous said...

I do if I think there's going to be a time crunch. But most certainly I do for big holiday meals or when we have guests. Other than that, not so much. But, I'm at home all the time, which makes a big difference. I truly admire moms who work and then prepare dinner when they get home.

Jan