Touchdown Casserole



Photo credit:  footballbabble.com

Well folks, I know it's a big secret, but I'll spill the beans:  next weekend is the Big Game.  Shocking, I know.  I thought I might offer an interesting twist on the typical pizza you might be planning to serve.  Don't get me wrong, I love-love-love pizza. But perhaps after a whole football season of pizza, you might be interested in something a little different.  Well, this casserole is the one for you!   The toppings are what makes it.  On top of the meaty, cheesy pasta you sprinkle spikey, salty olives, pepperoni, and a little extra cheese to top it all off.  Ah, it's wonderful.  Try this soon. 

Pumpkin Pasta with Sausage, Spinach, and Sage

I am a Food Network fanatic.  You're not surpised? Huh.  Well, I know all of the stars on a first name basis.  We're all very tight.  Rachael Ray and I especially go a long way back.  Years ago, when I was living in Los Angeles, her show was on during the time that I would make dinner, so Rach and I cooked together.  We'd chop, stir, and saute together.  It was a wonderful friendship.  Although, to be honest, I have not even ONCE managed to make one of her dishes in 30 minutes.  Go figure. 

One of my all-time favorite pasta dishes is her Pasta with Sausage and Wild Mushroom, from her book 365: No Repeats.  (It's a follow-the-recipe-to-the-letter kind of good.)  I usually make it sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas, sort of as a splurge dish.  It's rich, creamy, and amazing.  So when I saw that my one of my favorite bloggers, Roni Noone, recently posted a lightened up version of the dish on her website, I heard the heavens open up and the angels sing!  OK, maybe not.  But I knew I would be trying it.  

Of course, being true to myself, I fiddled with Roni's recipe, making it a little bit more aligned with Rachael's recipe.  And I added a few things to suit my own taste.  First, I used fresh sage, rather than the ground sage Roni suggested, because the knew how much of a flavor punch it adds.  It's woodsy and earthy and delicious.  However, if you want to make this dish tonight, go right ahead and use dried sage.  No harm done.  Secondly, I added celery.  I wanted to bulk up the veggie content of the dish, and searched my fridge for something mild and unassuming.  Celery jumped right out at me.  It's adds a mild herbal-ness, that almost turns sweet when it's cooked.  It was the perfect addition. 

ABOUT THE GREEK YOGURT:  Instead of the heavy cream that Rachael uses, Roni substituted non-fat greek yogurt.  But alas, I had only plain non-fat yogurt, not greek style, in my fridge.  My version turned out well enough.  However, greek yogurt is thicker than regular yogurt.  I have a hunch that if you use greek yogurt, you might end up with a more velvety, creamy sauce.  It's just a hunch though.

2 Recipes in One: Hoisin Burgers and Korean-style Lettuce Cups

I've made this recipe twice now.  It's a hit each time.  The burgers are full of flavor.  Gingery and garlicky and yummilicious.  (Yes, it's a word.  My own special word.)  But the clincher is the "special" ketchup.  It's simply a mixture of hoisin sauce and ketchup.  However, when you combine those two ingredients, you suddenly get an out-of-this-world combination that you can't resist dipping anything in.  Veggies.  Fries.  Your fingers. 

So, let's talk about the star ingredient:  hoisin sauce.  Never heard of it?  That's OK.  Just look in the Asian section of your grocery store.  I guarantee it will be there.  It's basically an Asian barbecue sauce.  A little bit packs a savory yet sweet punch, so you don't need much.  Add it to your stir fry and you'll want to kiss my feet.  Seriously.  In the words of my son's favorite show, Yo Gabba Gabba:  "Try it.  You'll like it." 

I adapted this recipe from a Weight Watcher's cookbook called Now & Later.  I love the concept of cooking something once and eating it twice, in different ways.  Let's face it, I really enjoy cooking in large batches.  But having leftovers that are exactly the same all week gets BORING! These two recipes are anything but boring.  In fact, the burgers themselves are so good, you may have to discipline yourself to save a few to make the next recipe.  But trust me.  Do it.  Save a few.  Make the next recipe.  It's like going to P.F. Chang's and getting the lettuce wraps.  Without the tip. 

So here goes.  Two recipes in one post.  Let me know if you love them as much as my family did.  In fact, I think I might make them again this week.  Hmmmm. 

Slow Simmered Meat Sauce

The inspiration for this recipe was two fold:  first, I have a brand new set of GORGEOUS Pampered Chef Knives in my kitchen that I was dying to use.  Second, the day before, I had seen this post about spaghetti sauce made in the crockpot with all the spices of Italian sausage, minus the actual sausage.  Intriguing.  

So I found myself at home on Friday with a semi-sick child.  Not so sick that he needed constant tending, but sick enough to stay home.  Around noon, my thoughts wandered to the kitchen and all the lovely food I could chop with my new knives.   I decided to use the recipe I had seen the day before as my inspiration and make a spaghetti sauce that simmered slowly on the stove top all afternoon.  This is how I remember my mom making sauce when I was a child.  She would start it in the early afternoon, and torture us with the lovely smells until dinner time.  

The finished product was excellent.  It really did taste of Italian sausage, even though I'd only used ground turkey.  The kick from the red peppers was perfect.  Just a bit of warmth, not fire.  The chopped vegetables retained some body, which was surprisingly satisfying: sweet carrots, and softened (but not mushy) bell peppers in every bite. 

NOTE: The sauce had a little too much liquid for my taste, so I've changed the final recipe to remedy this.  I also would recommend, for those who aren't worried about watching points, that you use chicken stock instead of broth.  The gelatin in the stock, which comes from simmering the bones, serves as a thickening agent for whatever you are making.  However, that same gelatin adds calories that I wasn't willing to "spend," especially when it comes to an already calorie-laden dish like spaghetti with meat sauce.  

FINAL NOTE: Ground fennel seed is what is supposed to give this dish it's sausage flavor, but I didn't have any, so I substituted some rosemary herb seasoning (a blend) for it.  It ended up still tasting like sausage, but just use what you have in your cabinet (think Italian herbs like oregano, thyme, or basil.)  No need to make a special trip to the store and complicate your life even further.   

Southwest Ranch Turkey Burgers

Both of my sisters have their own "original" takes on turkey burgers.  My sister Trish makes them Southwest-style.  She got the recipe from Rachael Ray.  Well...not literally, but...you get what I'm saying.   I request them every time I visit her in Atlanta.  My sister Julz makes turkey burgers with a packet of ranch dressing or onion soup mix in them.  It's amazing how much flavor you get from one little packet of spices.  This recipe is my attempt at melding the two ideas together into one glorious burger.  The results were pretty darn good. 

NOTE:  If you are watching your points, be sure and check your package of turkey.  Not all ground turkey is created equal.  Make sure it is lean.  Turkey, just like beef, is often mixed with a little bit of fat or dark meat to add flavor.  I look for 93% lean ground turkey breast.  

ANOTHER NOTE:  Check the package to make sure you have 16 ounces of meat.  For some reason, it is pretty common for ground turkey to be packaged in sizes larger than a standard pound.  If you happen to get one of the larger sized packages, divide the meat into 5 burgers instead of 4.  You want your burgers to be 4 ounces each. 

Enough talk.  Now to the burgers!!