Healthy Hamburger Macaroni Casserole #WeekdaySupper

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Cindy Kerschner


I’m excited to be part of January’s #Weekdaysupper Menu! This month we’re focusing on Easy Weekday Meals! I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to redo an old classic!

Hamburger Macaroni Casserole is something I made often on those hurried nights when I worked 2 jobs and still didn’t want to just open a can! Back then, (please don’t ask me how many years ago 😉 ) I’d fry up some hamburger, Boil off some elbows and open a jar of cheap spaghetti sauce. Boom! Dinner!

Now I find that it really doesn’t take any more time to make it from scratch and you can control your fat and sugar intake better too! If time is an issue, skip the oven step. After you mix it together, heat all the way through then serve this casserole sprinkled with a little of the cheese on top!

    Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground chicken or turkey, 93%
  • 2 cups tomato sauce, no added salt
  • 1 cup diced tomato, canned or fresh
  • 1 cup v-8 low-sodium
  • 2 cups macaroni, shells cooked according to directions, drained
  • 1 Tbsp Italian seasonings
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese shredded, non-fat

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta according to package directions and drain. While pasta cooks prepare sauce.

 

2. Brown turkey and seasoning., cook thoroughly.

3. Add sauce, tomatoes and V-8. stir. Mix in pasta.

4. Pour mixture into a 3-qt casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and bake about 15 minutes until cheese melts and casserole is heated.

5. Serve with a salad or crusty bread!
Servings: 8
Nutrition Facts

Nutrition (per serving): 492 calories, 57 calories from fat, 6.4g total fat, 43.2mg cholesterol, 438.8mg sodium, 733.4mg potassium, 80.6g carbohydrates, 5g fiber, 7g sugar, 27.3g protein, 778IU vitamin a, 16.4mg vitamin c.

This Week’s Weekday Supper Recipes:

Monday | Better than Panera Bread Broccoli Soup by 30A Eats

Tuesday | Simple Shrimp Florentine by Mama Mommy Mom

Wednesday | Healthy Hamburger Macaroni Casserole by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings

Thursday | Apple and Ham Risotto by Vintage Kitchen Notes

Friday | Ham and Greens Pot Pie with Cornbread Crust girlichef

Check out last week’s Weekday Supper Recipes here –> 1/7 to 1/11 Recipes

Check http://www.scoop.it/t/weekday-supper for all the Weekday Supper recipes for January!

 

If you would like more information or have suggestions for #SundaySupper or #WeekdaySupper, head on over to www.sundaysuppermovement.com.  Our Weekday Supper Recipes can also be found on our #WeekdaySupper Pinterest Board.

Posted in #WeekdaySupper, casserole, dinner, fasy and easy, fresh ingredients, healthy, Italian, main dish, nutrition, turkey, What's For Dinner? | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Healthy Hamburger Macaroni Casserole #WeekdaySupper

My New Gardening Series at FFF Daily Dish!

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Cindy Kerschner
garlic 2012

Garlic from my garden!

I’m so excited about my new weekly garden column at  Foodie Friends Friday Daily Dish!

My first post is
Helping Houseplants Cope with Winter.

Growing and eating food goes hand-in-hand. Many cooks are plant lovers too and love to garden! Every Monday I’ll focus on an aspect of gardening, from growing tips, houseplants, landscaping and more!

I’ll also be taking questions at cindysrecipesandwritings@gmail.com and answering them every Monday!

Yes, I taught organic gardening methods for The Master Gardeners program for over a decade! I also had an organic gardening newsletter called, Gardening with Grammy K with over 2000 subscribers!
Health issues forced me to stop publishing on a regular basis. I would still like to share my knowledge through this wonderful website!

Future winter posts focus on understanding seed packets, growing seeds, garden planning, soils and more!
Stop by and leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you! 🙂

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Chicken Burger with Curried Cabbage Slaw for #SundaySupper

Posted on January 13, 2013 by Cindy Kerschner

chicken burger with curry slaw

chicken burger sliders plate
curried slaw

Happy Birthday Sunday Supper!

This week marks the one year anniversary of The Sunday Supper Movement in which we try to inspire families to share a meal around the table, connect, relax and enjoy each other. We don’t define the word “family” that is up to you. You can find out more about how Isabel started and nurtured us into the group we have today HERE

In celebration of this milestone we are honoring each other by choosing a recipe from past #SundaySupper menus.
I’ve only been with this group since July and its amazing to see how it has grown. Another aspect of belonging to such a diverse group is that you get to experience a wide variety of cultural foods. I chose an Indian inspired recipe from Soni at Soni’s Food. I love curry powder and want to know more about combining spices to produce those wonderful Indian dishes I read about.
These chicken burgers and curried slaw sounded perfect to me. I made them as sliders, indoors because it is January here. 🙂 I also made some without the mint for my guy (just in case) but it turned out we both loved them with and without the mint. I did cut back on the cayenne since we’re not into too hot foods.
I think you’ll find this recipe as awesome as we did. Thanks, Soni!

Chicken Burgers with Curried Cabbage Slaw

Soni’s original recipe can be found here: Soni’s Food

chicken burger ingredients

Burger Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground chicken
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 Tablespoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 Tablesoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
  • Salt-to taste
  • Oil or cooking spray

Curried Slaw Ingredients

  • 3 cups shredded cabbage
  • 1 cup reduced-calorie mayonnaise
  • 1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon curry powder
  • 3 Tablespoons honey
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Mix together all the slaw ingredients and refrigerate for at least 4 hours for flavors to blend.
curry slaw mix
Beautful colors.
curried slaw
When the slaw is ready, mix together the burger ingredients and form into patties.
chicken burger raw
Preheat your grill or griddle to medium heat.
Lightly oil the grill grate and grill the burgers about 5-6 minutes on each side until fully cooked.
Since I did this indoors in January, I seared the burgers and finished them off in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.
Lightly grill the buns if you desire.
Assemble the burger. I added lettuce and tomato then placed the burger and topped it with a slotted spoonful the slaw!
Absolutely delicious! Thanks Soni!
We are celebrating this week’s birthday event by choosing recipes from contributors that have inspired us in the past year.  Boy was this a tough week… how do you choose just one recipe from 52 weeks of fabulous Sunday Supper Recipes?

Sunday Supper Appetizers:

Sunday Supper Soups and Breads:

Sunday Supper Main Dishes:

Sunday Supper Veggies:

Sunday Supper Desserts and Snacks:

Sunday Supper Breakfast Faves:

Sunday Supper Wine Pairings by ENOFYLZ Wine Blog

What a fun event filled with such good food! I only wish I could actually taste each one. Oh wait! I can. I have the recipes. Time to get cooking…

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter each Sunday. We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET and you do not want to miss out on the fun. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. Check out our #SundaySupper Pinterest board for more fabulous recipes and food photos.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here → Sunday Supper Movement.

 

Posted in #SundaySupper, chicken, cole slaw, dinner, fresh ingredients, healthy, Indian, main dish, sandwich, What's For Dinner? | Tagged , , , , , , | 38 Comments

Cheesy Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Posted on January 12, 2013 by Cindy Kerschner


I love spaghetti squash. There I said it. I’m a squash lover. Acorn, zucchini, pattypan, delicata, butternut, carnival, and even sweet dumpling!
To be fair I like most vegetables. (Sorry eggplant, nothing personal.) I also try to make at least one vegetarian meal a week.

Spaghetti Squash Bake

  • 4 cups Spaghetti squash
  • 1 cup bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 can (15 oz) tomato, canned diced with juice
  • 4 ounces cheddar cheese shreds
  • 4 ounces Havarti or fresh Mozzarella
  • 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

1. Cut squash in half, remove seeds. Place halves in large Dutch oven and cover with water. Boil until you can easily pierce skin with a fork and squash can shred into strands.

2. While squash is cooking, combine tomatoes, peppers, vinegar and seasonings. Simmer about 5 minutes to blend flavors.

3. Remove squash and place skin side down on a plate. Run a fork vertically along the flesh to produce strands. Set aside.

4. Place 1/2 the squash in the bottom of a baking dish. Layer 1/2 the tomato mixture next. Sprinkle 1/2 of each cheese on top.

5. Repeat layers. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes until cheese melts.

6. Enjoy with a salad or crusty bread!

Servings: 4

Oven Temperature: 350°F

Nutrition Facts Nutrition (per serving): 191 calories, 113 calories from fat, 11.4g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 502.3mg sodium, 425.4mg potassium, 19.3g carbohydrates, 7.8g fiber, 8.5g sugar, 2.1g protein, 1006.7IU vitamin a, 44mg vitamin c.

Posted in casserole, dinner, fresh ingredients, healthy, lunch, main dish, squash, vegetarian, veggies, What's For Dinner? | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments