Beef , Vegetable & Cheese Casserole

Let’s talk about diet food. Bland, gross and yucky diet food.

Have you ever seen this site: Weight Watchers Recipe Cards Circa 1974

Absolutely horrendous!

Luckily, we’ve realized that diets with gross food don’t work any better then diets with perfectly tasteful food. That’s a big time relief for me, since I like my food to taste good! (luckily my Nutrisystem food tastes GREAT!)

I’m a big big fan of casseroles and this one is one of my absolute all time favorites. It is adapted from a Weight Watchers recipe (thankfully NOT circa 1974), but tweaked with my own families preferences.

I hope you enjoy!

Beef , Vegetable & Cheese Casserole

Ingredients:

• 12 oz lean ground beef
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 zuchinni sliced thinly
• 1 yellow squash sliced thinly
• 1 medium tomato diced
• 1 cup of tomato sauce
• 2 cups low fat ricotta (or you can use cottage cheese; picture has cottage cheese…but we do prefer ricotta)
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup low fat cheddar shredded
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
• Cooking Spray

Directions:

1. First pre heat your oven to 500. Spray your baking sheet with cooking spray and arrange the zuchini, squash and tomatoes on the tray. Roast for about 10-12 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat your ground beef and onions in a pan. I usually cook the onions first until they are just about translucent and then add in my meat. Drain the fat off the meat and onions and put back in the pan. Stir in the tomato sauce once the meat is browned and allow to simmer for a few minutes.
3. Now you’ll want to mix together your ricotta or cottage cheese, cheddar, egg yolk and seasonings in a bowl.
4. In a casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray: 1. Add the meat mixture 2. Followed by the veggies 3. Spread the cheese mixture on top
5. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes.
6. This serves 6 easily

This casserole is SO good. It might not sound like much, but it’s a real treat!