Posted by Sarah on April 27th, 2010 I’m a bb kind of gal. I didn’t know that until I was about 17 and dating San, but that was when my whole life changed. I never would try bbq sauce because the thought of something sweet and salty (at the same time – now way!) to dip my chicken nuggets in was revolting. However, San introduced me to Famous Dave’s, and I’ve been a new woman ever since. I’ve been really craving some of that sweet sauce lately, so I looked to my Betty Crocker cookbook for an easy, yet delicious recipe. I found one for a Cheesy Barbecue Beef Casserole and knew we were meant to be!
Ingredients:
3 cups (or 10 ounces) uncooked ziti pasta (I used farfalle)
1 lb. lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 cup barbecue sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, if desired (I used dried parsley)
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (6 ounces)
I chopped up the big, bad, bermuda onion first.
![]() Revamping Recipes: Cheesy BBQ Beef Casserole
Posted by Sarah on April 20th, 2010
School has got me craving some major comfort food. What is more comforting than tator tot hotdish (or casserole as all you non-Minnesotans probably say)? With such few ingredients and so much deliciousness, I really couldn’t go wrong. I got the recipe from San, who tweaked a recipe my mom gave him. I tried to get San to write the post, but he wouldn’t – maybe you could encourage him by mentioning it in the comments!
I love this dish because it is so easy to play around with. Try experimenting!
 Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef (I substituted ground turkey breast)
1 medium onion
1 bag of tator tots
1 can cream of mushroom soup (I used cheddar cheese soup for a cheeseburger spin off and used a can full of milk to make the soup cover everything)
Salt and pepper (to taste)
Garlic powder (to taste)
Other optional items: green peppers, ketchup & mustard (for a true cheeseburger taste), one can of corn, shredded cheese (which I added but didn’t include in the picture), etc. You really can’t go wrong – just add anything that sounds tasty!
![]() Revamping Recipes: Tator Tot Hotdish
Posted by Sarah on April 13th, 2010 After eating my heart out at Easter and munching on all the jelly beans and chocolate candy the following week, I was ready for some healthier food. I found a recipe for Ground Beef and Cabbage Casserole that looked not only healthy, but easy and low in ingredients. A small shopping trip later and I was ready to go.
Here’s what I started with:
 Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef (I used ground turkey)
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced (I used garlic powder)
salt & pepper, season according to taste
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce (one fifteen ounce can did the trick)
4 cups shredded cabbage (silly me couldn’t find that so I substituted two bags of coleslaw mix instead)
2 1/2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
Because I used a 9”x13” casserole dish instead of a 2 1/2 quart dish, I found that I needed more sauce to cover over all the cabbage, so I also added some spaghetti sauce to the top of the dish, which I will show later. There I go again, revamping the recipes!
![]() Revamping Recipes: Ground Beef and Cabbage Casserole
Posted by Sarah on April 6th, 2010 As a person who likes to eat a healthy diet as much as possible with a college budget, I still need something sweet now and then. Every day after I eat dinner, I have a hankering for a little something sweet. I try not to buy really bad snacks or treats because I tend to eat a lot at one sitting instead of a little over time. I am signed up for the Body by Glamour workout plan which I love and have used for the past couple years. A few weeks ago I saw a link to an article about faux cookie dough that I had to check out. It looked easy enough, so I tried it!
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of peanut butter (or any other nut butter–I used sunflower "butter," since we have a nut allergy in my house)
1 banana, mashed
1/3 cup of rolled, old fashion oats (not instant oats)
A sprinkle of cinnamon (optional – I skipped this)
2 tablespoons of wheat germ
I also added some raisins, but you could leave them out or add chocolate chips or any other small sweet treat.![]() Revamping Recipes: Faux Cookie Dough
Posted by Sarah on March 23rd, 2010 I am a huge fan of switching out ground beef for ground turkey. Ground turkey breast is a very healthy alternative which offers lots of protein but a lot less fat and calories than ground beef. I first heard about pulling this switcheroo on The Biggest Loser, and after trying it I was hooked! You would think it would lack flavor, but it really doesn’t and they are so juicy! I love adding different seasonings and sauces to my burgers anyway, so transitioning was no problemo for me.
I’ve made them a few times, with the help of my trusty pastry chef boyfriend San of course (he is better at making burgers than me), so when we made them a couple weekends ago, I was sure they would turn out perfectly. Boy, was I wrong. Although they tasted good, we did almost everything wrong, so now I am here to tell you just exactly how NOT to make turkey burgers. I’m a firm believer in letting you all see the harsh realities of what goes on in my kitchen as well as all the good stuff. Let’s get started!
Step #1: Buy the wrong kind of ground turkey. This is the
Continue reading How Not To Make Turkey Burgers
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