Adventures in Cooking

Recipes, schmecipes.....

I "tried" this one:

Beef and Vegetable Cheese Casserole

POINTS: 7 Six servings

1 sprays cooking spray
2 medium tomato(es), sliced
2 medium zucchini, sliced
12 oz raw lean ground beef
1 large onion(s), finely chopped
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
1 cup canned tomato sauce
2 cup fat-free cottage cheese
1 large egg yolk(s)
1/2 cup low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
1 Tbsp parsley, oregano or rosemary, chopped
1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste

Preheat oven to 500ºF. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and spread tomatoes and zucchini over sheet. Roast vegetables for 10 to 12 minutes.

Meanhwile, in a large, nonstick skillet, sauté beef, onion and garlic until beef is browned. Stir in tomato sauce and bring to a simmer.

Spread beef mixture in a large, shallow baking dish (3 quart or 9 X 13-inches) and top with roasted vegetables. Reduce oven temperature to 350ºF.

Whisk together cottage cheese, egg yolk, cheddar cheese, herbs, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Spoon over roasted vegetables and smooth with a rubber spatula.Bake until very hot and bubbling around edges, about 35 minutes. Cut into six equal pieces and serve immediately. (Note: If preparing casserole in advance and freezing it, make sure to thaw it completely in the refrigerator before baking it. Increase the baking time by 5 to 10 minutes.)

MMMMM... Sounds good right? Well it might just be if you cook it correctly. So, what went wrong? Medium zucchinis are bigger than I think. I blame men. Tomato sauce is something I always have on hand, so didn't buy any. I didn't have any. hmmmm....I did have some spaghetti sauce that my mother made and canned..... But there was 1 1/2 cups of spaghetti sauce, what am I going to do with the extra 1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce? Oh, I'll just throw it in. And although I did put cheddar cheese on the shopping list, it did not make it home. Luckily, I had a cheddar/mozzarella blend.

Well, anyway, I ended up with soup. The spaghetti sauce, in addition to being too much, was also a thinner consistency than the tomato sauce.

HOWEVER, I did eat it. It had a good taste. But what to do with the leftovers??? hmmm....well, I boiled up some whole wheat spaghetti noodles and mixed them into what was left. So, now I have 6 servings of leftover stuff. Each serving, about 7 1/2 points.

I will "try" this again. Only make it right.