Easy Meal Ideas: Casserole deliciousness

This email was sent to you by tampabay.com. To ensure delivery to your inbox please add easymealideas@tampabay.com to your address book. Easy Meal Ideas From Janet's Kitchen    Hamburger Healthier The ground-beef casserole is a go-to dish in many houses but if you use a kit from the grocery store, you'll get a lot of sodium and not a ton of veggies. Make it from scratch and you can add lots of broccoli plus canned tomatoes for more nutritioun. Tuck this one away for Halloween ... a nutritious way to send the kiddies out on the trick-or-treat trail. Hamburger Healthier 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 pound lean ground beef (90 percent lean or higher) 1 large onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons chili powder 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 4 cups chopped cooked broccoli, thawed if frozen 1 (14 ounces) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes 1 (8 ounces) can no-salt-added tomato sauce 1/2 pound whole-wheat elbow macaroni 3 cups water 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet or pot (4 quarts) with a lid over medium-high heat. Add the beef and the onion and cook until no longer pink and the onion is softened, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Stir in the chili powder, salt, and black pepper until incorporated. Add the broccoli, tomatoes, tomato sauce, macaroni and water, stir to combine well, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low, cover and cook until the pasta is tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve garnished with parsley. Makes 4 servings. Nutritional information per serving: 520 calories, 17 gm fat, 36 gm protein, 11 gm fiber, 600 mg sodium. Source: Comfort Food Fix by Ellie Krieger (Wiley, 2011).   More recipes and food stories at tampabay.com            Tip of the day. Fresh or frozen? Sort of depends on what you are using veggies or fruits for. Frozen fruit is great for baking, sauces and smoothies. Flavor is wonderful and consistency works well too. I like frozen veggies for soups and casseroles, but not so much to eat simply seasoned. For that, I turn to fresh.       On Sale This Week. Got a deal? To have your deal featured in tampabay.com's Easy Meals newsletter, contact Maryann Balbo at mbalbo@sptimes.com or call 727-892-2237.   Janet K. Keeler, who cooks in a kitchen she hates for a job she loves, was named food editor at the St. Petersburg Times in 2000. Since that time, Taste has twice won best food section honors from the Association of Food Journalists. In addition to writing about food, she is the paper's lifestyle editor, overseeing travel and homes coverage.   For more, go to: http://www.tampabay.com Unsubscribe from this newsletter or manage other newsletter subscriptions at tampabay.com ©2009 • St. Petersburg Times, 490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 Contact Us | Join Us | Advertise with Us | Subscribe to the St. Petersburg Times Privacy Policy | Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright