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♦ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2008
Family Fare: Some good ground beef casseroles
From Staff Reports
If you’re watching your
food budget, but your fam
ily still expects good tasting
meals, remember that old
standby, ground beef.
As familiar as it is, it
remains a perennial favorite
with kids, and has a way of
stretching family dishes.
You can often cut the cost
by buying large packages, so
consider dividing up one of
the jumbo packages, putting
the ground beef in zip-lock
bags and pressing it out to
a thin sheet so that it will
defrost quickly.
Busy Mom's Casserole
Here’s a good family dish
that can be made quickly.
If you have a large covered
cast iron pan, you can make
the whole thing in one dish.
1 lb lean ground beef
1 8-oz. can niblet corn,
undrained
2 cups beef broth
Blueberries bring an early taste of spring
Editor’s note: This is a
Home Journal reprint from
last January. Enjoy!
Even the dreariest of win
ter days can get a shot of
blue skies and sunshine
when you enjoy fresh fruit.
Now through early spring,
fresh blueberries of the high
est quality arrive from South
America every day, bring
ing the colors and flavors of
summer to North American
homes.
At this time of year, blue
berries are packaged in 4.4-
ounce containers, giving you
one whole cup of blueberries
to enjoy. How can you maxi
mize those fresh blueberries
when you get them home?
Blueberry Polenta Cake
(pictured) is a splendid baked
dessert for family or guests.
You’ll love the flavors of
fresh blueberries baked in a
sweet, lemon-scented corn
meal batter. The cake is dense
and moist, so even a small
slice delivers a big finish to
a meal! And it keeps, well
wrapped, for up to a week.
If you like, stir up warm
Blueberry Compote to serve
with the cake. The compote
is also a tasty topper for ice
cream or custard.
When you’re in a hurry, try
Blueberry Ricotta Parfaits for
a dessert that tastes sinful
but has only 229 calories and
7 grams of fat per serving.
And you get the bonus of half
a cup of fruit in each serv
ing! They’re great for des
sert or you can make these
tasty parfaits in the morning
for the kids to enjoy after
school.
Fresh blueberries bring
a ray of warmth to break
fast or brunch - especially
in winter! Take a big, fra
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Scented with lemon and bursting with blueberries, Blueberry
Polenta Cake becomes a special dessert when served with
Fresh Blueberry Compote.
1 cup shredded Cheddar
cheese
1 Onion, chopped fine
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
2 cups uncooked noodles
1 teaspoon Italian season
ing
Brown ground beef
and onion in a large skil
let . Drain off fat. Mix in
all other ingredients. Pour
into an ungreased casserole
dish. Cover and bake for 30
minutes. Uncover and stir.
Continue cooking another
15 minutes.
Ground Beef and Botfed
1 onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped
1 pound of ground beef
Butter or margarine
1 teaspoon of salt
a dash of pepper
4 ounces of rotini
1/2 pound of Cheddar
cheese, grated
1 8-oz. can of tomato
sauce
1 small! can of mushrooms
grant Blueberry-Filled Dutch
Pancake out of the oven to
please kids and adults alike.
The pancake ingredients are
whirled in a blender then
baked in the oven and cov
ered with a juicy fresh blue
berry sauce. One pancake
serves six - and it’s easy!
Blueberries are renowned
not only for their flavor but
for their impact on health.
The USDA recommends
adults enjoy two cups of fruit
a day - all year round. Fresh
blueberries can help you fulfill
that recommendation. A half
cup of blueberries has just
40 calories and contributes
to our daily intake of dietary
fiber and vitamin C. Also,
scientific studies show that
blueberries contain antioxi
dants that may be beneficial
to good health. Antioxidants
help to neutralize free radi
cals, which are linked to the
development of a number of
diseases, including cancer,
cardiovascular disease and
other age-related conditions
such as Alzheimer’s.
For a wealth of information
and more recipes visit www.
blueberry.org.
Blueberry polenta
cake
1 cup cake flour (or 1 cup
minus 2 tablespoons all
purpose four)
3/4 cup yellow commeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon
rind, packed
Start cooking the rotini by
package instructions. Do not
overcook. Brown the onions,
green pepper and beef in
butter; sprinkle with salt
and pepper. Place drained
rotini in a greased casserole
dish.
Add half the cheese, the
tomato sauce and drained
mushrooms to the meat,
pepper and onion mixture
Top with remaining cheese.
Bake at 400 degrees until
cheese melts and is golden
borwn.
Undo Bon’d Hamburger
and Bice
A nice break from toma
toes and cheese with your
ground beef, this one makes
the most of the beef flavor.
1 package of Uncle Ben’s
long grain white rice and
wild rice with seasoning
1 pound of ground beef
1 medium onion
3 stalks celery
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Blueberries are packed with dietary fiber and Vitamin C, and have antioxidants, which are now believed to
help prevent cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s.
1 package (4.4 ounces)
fresh blueberries (about
1 cup)
1 tablespoon confection
ers’ sugar, optional
Blueberry Compote,
optional (recipe below)
Preheat oven to 350
degrees. With parchment
or wax paper, line the bot
tom of a 9-inch cake pan
and spray well with cook
ing spray. In a small bowl,
stir together flour, corn
meal, baking powder, and
salt. In a large mixing bowl,
whisk together the granu
lated sugar, oil, egg, yogurt,
lemon juice and rind; fold
in flour mixture until just
combined, then fold in blue
berries. Transfer to pre
pared pan; bake until cake
springs back when gently
pressed in the center, about
35 minutes. Cool pan on a
wire rack for 10 minutes.
With a knife, loosen edges
before inverting cake onto
a cake plate to cool to room
temperature. Just before
serving, sift confectioners’
sugar over the top or serve
with Blueberry Compote, if
desired. Serves 8.
Per portion: 314 calories,
42 g carbohydrate, 15 g
total fat
Blueberry Compote:
In a small pan, combine
two packages (4.4 ounces
each) fresh blueberries
and 1/4 cup maple syrup.
Over high heat, bring to
a boil; reduce heat to low
and simmer just until the
first berry pops, one to two
minutes. In a cup, combine
two tablespoons water and
two teaspoons cornstarch.
Stir mixture into blueber
ries; cook and stir until
thickened. Remove from
heat and stir in 1 teaspoon
lemon juice or 1 teaspoon
vanilla.
FOOD
2 cans of condensed chick
en, mushroom or celery
soup
Cook rice and season
ing. Preheat oven to 350
degrees. Brown hamburger,
onion and diced celery. Mix
rice, hamburger, onion, cel
ery, mushrooms and soups
together. Place in casserole
and bake until thoroughly
heated.
Beefy Harvest Soup
This easy recipe for a
hearty soup comes from the
Beef Check Off.
1 pound ground beef
4 cups water
1 can (14-1/2 ounces)
Italian-style stewed toma
toes, undrained
1-1/2
cups frozen mixed vege
tables
4 teaspoons instant beef
bouillon granules
1 cup uncooked large elbow
macaroni
Salt and pepper
Blueberry Betty
4 cups day-old 1-inch
bread cubes
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground all
spice
3/4 cup butter, melted
2 cups fresh blueberies,
rinsed and picked over
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup dark-brown sugar
1/2 cup sliced almonds
Grease a 9-inch baking
dish. Set the oven at 350
degrees. In a bowl combine
the bread with the gran
ulated sugar, allspice and
butter. Toss just to combine
them.
In another bowl com
bine the blueberries with
the lemon juice and brown
sugar. Transfer the ber
ries to the baking dish. Top
with the bread cubes. Bake
the dish for 20 minutes.
Sprinkle almonds on top
and bake for 10 more min
utes or until the bread is
beginning to brown at the
edges. Serve at once with
ice cream or frozen yogurt.
Blueberry Ricotta
parfaits
1 large banana, cut
into 1/4-inch cubes
(about 1 cup)
or 1 cup other fruit,
diced ’
2 teaspoons lemon
juice, divided
1 cup part-skim ricot
ta
3 tablespoons blueber
ry fruit spread
1 package (4.4 ounces)
fresh blueberries (about
1 cup)
12 vanilla wafers,
coarsely crushed (about
1/2 cup)
In a medium bowl, toss
banana and one teaspoon
lemon juice; fold in ricotta.
In a microwave-safe bowl,
Brown ground beef in
large nonstick skillet over
medium heat 8 to 10 min
utes or until beef is not pink,
breaking up into 3/4-inch
crumbles. Remove from skil
let with slotted spoon.
Meanwhile combine water,
tomatoes, mixed vegetables
and bouillon granules in
large saucepan; bring to a
boil.
Stir in macaroni and beef;
return to a boil. Reduce
heat; simmer, uncovered, 8
minutes, stirring occasion
ally.
Stir in sausage; continue
simmering 2 to 4 minutes
or until macaroni is tender.
Season with salt and pepper,
as desired.
Mexi Beef Chili Mac
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped green bell
pepper
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can (14-1/2 ounces)
Mexican-style diced toma
melt fruit spread and remaining lemon juice on high power,
10 to 12 seconds. Add blueberries to fruit spread mixture;
stir to coat. In each of four parfait or dessert dishes layer:
one tablespoon wafer crumbs; 1/4 cup ricotta mixture; two
tablespoons blueberries; repeat layers, ending with blue
berries. Serve immediately or cover with plastic wrap and
refrigerate to allow crumbs to soften, about one hour.
Serves 4
Blueberry-filled Butch Pancake
2 tablespoons butter, softened
6 large eggs
1 cup lowfat milk
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package (4.4 ounces) fresh blueberries (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup light com syrup
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a 13 x 9-inch glass bak
ing dish, evenly spread butter over bottom and sides. In
a blender jar, combine eggs, milk, flour, sugar, salt, and
vanilla; blend until smooth. Pour batter into baking dish;
bake until pancake is golden brown and puffy, 20 to 25 min
utes. Meanwhile, in a small skillet over medium heat, heat
blueberries and corn syrup just until the first blueberry
pops, about two minutes; remove from heat. Remove pan
cake from oven; pour blueberry syrup into the center of the
pancake; cut into 6 pieces. Serve immediately.
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Blueberry Betty is a classic comfort food.
HOU3TON HOME JOURNAL
toes, undrained
1 can (8 ounces) tomato
sauce
3/4 cup uncooked elbow
macaroni
3/4 cup water
2 teaspoons Spicy
Seasoning Mix (recipe fol
lows)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Brown ground beef with
bell pepper, onion and gar
lic in 3-quart saucepan over
medium heat 8 to 10 min
utes or until beef is not pink,
breaking beef up into 3/4-
inch crumbles. Pour off drip
pings.
Stir in remaining ingredi
ents; bring to a boil. Reduce
heat; cover tightly and sim
mer 15 minutes. Remove
from heat; let stand 5 min
utes.
Tip to cooks: If you ’re con
cerned about fat in your diet,
remember to drain all the
grease off the ground beef
after cooking. You can even
rinse it in a colander.