Cowboy Casserole

I found a fattening version of this meal on www.allrecipes.com.  The recipe called for ground beef, bacon, and biscuits.  It sounded like good comfort food but way too heavy for me so I tweeked the recipe. 

Here's my healthier version I made for dinner tonight:
6 strips turkey bacon
2 t. olive oil
1 lb ground turkey
1/4 c. chopped onion
2 (15oz.) baked beans
1/4 c. barbeque sauce
cornbread prepared as per directions
preheat oven to 350
cook bacon in large pan over medium until browned.  set aside & cut into bite size pieces.  in the same pan add olive oil, turkey and onion until turkey is no longer pink.  drain then pour back into pan.  add in bacon, beans and barbeque sauce.  bring to a boil then simmer for 5 min.  pour into 8 x 13 pan.  prepare cornbread as per instruction and pour over meat mixture.  bake for 30 min.
prep time: 25 min.

A couple notes:  I've made this recipe twice now and the whole family loves it. The only thing I'd recommend is don't pour all the cornbread mixture over the meat. I'd only use about 1/2 or 2/3 of it.  Otherwise it's a lot of cornbread!
I buy applegate organic turkey bacon.  You can actually read all the ingredients on their packages which I love.  (I also buy their turkey hot dogs for Jack Henry).  I love cornbread but many of the mixes are high in sugar.  I found Bob's Red Mill Stone Ground Cornbread Mix at Whole Foods.  It's made from whole grain corn and whole wheat flour.

TIP:  Read the ingredients on food packages.  My goal is to be able to pronounce all the ingredients and know what they are.  If you can't pronounce them, they are most likely preservatives and dyes.

healthy cornbread!

Ravioli Lasagna

Two friends brought us versions of this recipe when Jack Henry was born.  I had never heard of lasagna made with ravioli and thought it'd be super easy to make so I doctored up the basic recipe.  This is now my go-to dish that I make for new neighbors or friends who've just had a baby.  If we have friends or family over and I make this dish, I'm always asked to forward the recipe.  You can make one huge casserole, or make 2 smaller ones.  They freeze great, too.

1-24 oz jar marinara sauce (more if you prefer more sauce)
1 large bag of spinach & cheese ravioli, thawed (Costco)
1-10oz box frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess liquid
8oz  shredded mozzarella cheese
1 zucchini
1 squash
1 container mushrooms
3/4-1 lb. chicken sausage
2-3 cloves minced garlic
preheat oven to 400.
wash and slice veggies then sautee the zucchini, squash and mushrooms in a pan.  i season them with olive oil, salt, pepper, & italian seasoning.  set aside. 
using the same pan, brown chicken sausage (remove casings), season with olive oil and red pepper flakes.  set aside.
spoon a thin layer of sauce into the bottom of a 9x13inch baking dish. layer the ravioli, spinach, veggies, and meat.  sprinkle minced garlic on top.  layer half the sauce and half the mozzarella.  put one more layer of ravioli on top then finish with sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella.
cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. uncover and bake until bubbling 10 minutes.
prep time: 30 min.

It's pretty hard to mess up this recipe.  I'd love to try this vegetarian style, adding in broccoli and eggplant, but that wouldn't fly with the hubs.  He has to have meat.  I rarely eat red meat so I always use chicken or turkey sausage when I make this.  I buy whatever is on sale at the meat counter. The chicken sausage was on sale this week at Sprouts for $2.99/lb.   It's fresh and so good.  Also, I would've preferred to use whole wheat ravioli (it's high in fiber and protein) but I used what I had in my freezer.

TIP:  Instead of using a dinner plate, serve this on a salad plate.  It will help with portion control. 

Costco Ravioli