New Beefy Potato Casserole!

Well, ya'll, the temperatures here in Dixie just dropped below 50 this morning, so I know that Fall is good and here. I don't think I'm the only one that craves warm comfort casseroles and soups when the cold weather hits! This recipe is great for using up some stock items in your friedge, like that frozen pound of beef and those last few potatoes in the bag. It's just simple and homey, but really warm and filling on a cool fall evening. It's 8 pts on WW (370 calories, 14 g. of fat and 5 grams of fiber). I was inspired by the Greek moussaka casserole, but I toned it down and used ultra lean beef as my meat. Serve it with hot bread and some green beans and you've got a great meal.

Potato Beef Moussaka

Preheat your oven to 350 and coat a 13 x 9 pan with cook spray.

You'll need:

2 lbs baking potatoes, cut into 1/4 " slices (about 4 medium potatoes), peeled or not as preferred

1 medium onion, chopped

1 carrot, diced

2 garlic cloves

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 8 oz. jar diced pimentos, drained

8 oz. no-salt tomato sauce

1 t. salt, pepper to taste

1 t. cumin

1/2 t. cinnamon (this is what makes this recipe so good! It brings a wonderful heat and fall spiciness to your mouth with each bite)

1/2 C. finely chopped parsley (I like flat-leaf in this recipe)

1 C. 1% milk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

garlic salt, to taste

2 oz. feta cheese

Heat a large skillet over medium and coat with cook spray. Add potato slices in batches of thirds until they've all been browned, about 4 -- 5 minutes per batch. Keep warm.

Recoat the skillet with spray and then add onion, carrot, garlic, and beef to your pan. Cook about 4 minutes until beef is browned, then add pimentos, sauce, seasonings and parsley. Cook until bubbly, about 10 minutes.

Arrange half the potatoes at the bottom of the pan, then cover with the meat sauce and about 1 oz. of the feta. Cover with the remaining potatoes, then the rest of the feta. Next, combine your eggs with the milk and garlic salt. When lightly mixed, pour over entire casserole evenly. Bake for 30 minutes until feta is lightly bronwed and filling has set. Let it settle about 10 minutes before serving.

This makes 6 servings and is great as leftovers for the rest of the week! If you have a lot leftover, you can freeze it for later.

Beef and Veggie Casserole

Ah, beef. It's what's for dinner, you know.
And The Deb feels that so long as you're buying lean beef and not cooking it in, say, bacon fat or lard, it's not that bad for you. That being said, you should be careful about consuming it every day. I just heard on NPR that you should have about 3 servings a week, and you shouldn't grill it because the grilling process can lead to carcinogens (CANCER) in your burger. Gah. The Deb often wonders if it wasn't infinitely easier living in the 1950s where you could smoke, drink and eat red meat all you wanted because: Steaks = vitamins, booze = necessary social lubricant and smoking = dedication to a hobby.

Anyway. It's 2007 and here's a nice casserole dish for these chilly winter nights that will taste good and homey but not weigh you down.

Warm Beefy Delicousness

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees and spray a cookie sheet.
Cook your pasta, also.

You will need:
8 oz. whole wheat pasta, BARELY cooked (I only cook my ziti for about 6 -- 8 minutes because it will be in the oven); ziti, medium shells, or macaroni works fine with this. I've even used egg noodles.
2 bell peppers (any color), sliced
2 zucchini or squash, sliced
12 oz. lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 minced garlic cloves
1 C. tomato sauce
2 C. fat free ricotta
2 T. parmesan cheese
1 large egg yolk
1 C. reduced fat cheese
salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash and chopped parsley, to taste

Roast veggies on cookie sheet for 10 -- 15 minutes. Reduce temp to 350.
Saute beef, onion and garlic until beef is browned. Stir in sauce and bring to a simmer. Combine with cooked pasta.
Spead beef/noodle mixture in bottom of a 9 x 13 pan and top with roasted veggies. Sprinkle with seasonings/parsley.
Whisk together ricotta, yolk, cheddar and more seasonings (to taste). Smooth over top of casserole with a spatula and top with parmesan. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes, then take the foil off and cook 10 more minutes to get the cheese all melty.
This is so good for around the holidays because it feeds 6 -- 8 people and it's really like comfort food, so you don't feel deprived on a cold winter night.
Serving six, it's got about 315 calories per serving, or 7 WW points.

Casserole Sing-A-Long
"Baby It's Cold Outside!"
"Yes We Can-Can-Can" from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack