Eating our veggies

Broccoli and Beef Pasta
365 Favorite Brand Name Hamburger Copyright 1997

1 pound lean ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14 ½ ounces) beef broth
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 cup uncooked rotini pasta I used Dreamfields
½ teaspoon dried basil leaves
½ teaspoon dried oregano leaves
½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 can (145 ½ ounces) Italian-style tomatoes, undrained
2 cups broccoli florets or 1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed I used fresh
3 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese or grated Parmesan cheese I used Cabot 50% Light Cheddar

1. Combine meat and garlic in large nonstick skillet; cook over high heat 6 to 8 minutes or until meat is no longer pink, breaking meat apart with wooden spoon. Pour off drippings. Place meat mixture in large bowl and set aside.
2. Add broth, onion, pasta, basil, oregano and thyme to skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and boil 10 minutes; add tomatoes and their juice. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil; stir in broccoli. Cook, uncovered, 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until broccoli is crisp-tender and pasta is tender. Return meat to skillet and stir 3 to 4 minutes or until heated through.
3. With slotted spoon, transfer meat mixture to serving platter. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover with lid or tent with foil several minutes until cheese melts. Meanwhile, bring juice left in skillet to a boil over high heat. Boil until thick and reduce to 3 or 4 tablespoons. Spoon over meat mixture.

I cooked the beef, garlic and onions together. Then I cooked the pasta and herbs in the broth for 10 minutes, added the tomatoes and broccoli and cooked it covered for several minutes. Then I added the meat mixture back and I also added some extra cooked pasta. Then I transferred it to a dish and I sprinkled on the cheese and let it melt on top. I didn't reduce the liquid since I had added the extra pasta.

Makes 4 servings.
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I didn't realize until it was too late that the pasta wasn't cooked separately in this recipe. I don't like recipes where the pasta is incorporated, not when only one cup of pasta is called for, because I never know how hungry my husband is going to be. He doesn't really suscribe to 1/2 cup or 1 cup servings of cooked pasta. So I cooked some pasta on the side and added about another 1 1/2 cups cooked pasta to this. I veered from the written recipe a bit but I think the result was probably the same. This is one of those recipes that made a perfectly fine dinner but just isn't worth making again, IMO.

It was a nice way to get some veggies in all of us though, so this is my contribution to Sweetnick's ARF/5-A-Day Tuesdays. This is loaded with broccoli, tomatoes, onions and garlic.

A Blast From The Past: Sour Cream Cake - my son's birthday cake from January 2006. Because today is my birthday and I never get cake on my birthday anymore. Boo hoo.

Question of the Day: Did you have a 3-day weekend?