Tag Archives: ground beef

Big Pot o’ Chili

Savory, hot chili – make it as spicy or as mild as you like. This one bulks up the veggies and uses turkey and very lean ground beef so it comes in at a low calorie count for a good sized portion. For 400 calories you can have a huge portion ! Try making this the next time you have a football party.

All the different tomato products used in this recipe have their own unique flavor and the combination of them is just perfect. But if you don’t particularly like one or another, feel free to substitute.

Cook this stovetop for hours to get that deep, rich, long simmer flavor – or you can cook this in the crock pot all day long while you are at work. Chili also does well in a pressure cooker. If you need instructions, just write to me and I’ll be happy to send you info.

Big Pot o' Chili
Big Pot o' Chili

20 servings
210 calories per serving

2 T oil
1 onion, chopped
20 oz. lean ground turkey
16 oz. very lean ground beef
5 ribs of celery, sliced
1 green pepper, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
4 t minced garlic
10 oz. mushrooms, chopped
15.5 oz. can chick peas, rinsed and drained
15.5 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
15.5 oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 15.75 oz. cans Campbells Pork and Beans (this addition really mellows out the tomato base)
28 oz. petite diced tomatoes
14.5 oz. fired roasted diced tomatoes
14.5 oz. stewed tomatoes
3 oz. chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped (if you don’t like heat, remove this ingredient. If you like it very spicy, add more of this ingredient)
29 oz. tomato sauce
1 T salt
1 T pepper
2 T garlic powder
1 T onion powder
5 T chili powder
3 t cumin
2 t basil flakes
2 t parsley flakes
3 t oregano flakes

Heat the oil in the bottom of a large dutch oven or soup pot. Saute onions, celery and green pepper and yellow pepper 15 minutes. Add the turkey and beef and continue cooking until meat is done. Be sure to break up meat into little pieces as it cooks. (if cooking in a crock pot, do this first step stove top in a skillet and then turn it all into a heated crock) Add garlic and mushrooms and stir. Add all spices and mix well. Bring to a boil them lower and simmer for 2-3 hours on a low heat. Stir occasionally and adjust spice during the last half hour of cooking. (if cooking in a crock pot, cook on low 8-10 hours or high 5-6 hours)

The leftovers freeze well – so don’t be afraid of the huge serving size. You can also cut this in half and make 10 servings – just halve everything. Serve with low fat sour cream and low fat shredded cheddar as a garnish / topping.

Pasta and Beef Bake

Sometimes baking prepared pasta and sauce makes it taste like a whole different meal – and when you add in a layer of decadent cheese, then it really feels special 🙂 This is super easy to do and tastes GREAT !

Pasta and Beef Bake
Pasta and Beef Bake

4 servings
392 calories

8 oz. Uncooked FiberGourmet penne or rotini (without using FiberGourmet pasta, you add 80 calories per serving)
½ lb. extra lean ground beef
2 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
4.5 oz. jar sliced mushrooms, drained
1 t basil flakes or 1 T fresh basil, chopped
½ t oregano flakes
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
½ t onion powder
½ t garlic powder
Red pepper flakes if you like it spicy
½ c fat free shredded mozzarella cheese
Pam

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8 inch baking dish with Pam. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Brown ground beef and drain then add tomato sauce, tomatoes, mushrooms herbs and spices and bring to a boil them remove from heat and stir in pasta then turn into the baking dish and cover and bake 15 minutes. Then uncover and sprinkle with cheese and bake another 5-10 minutes.

Beef and Broccoli Casserole

Make this casserole and watch it disappear ! The is good old all American food and it feeds a crowd !

Beef and Broccoli Casserole
Beef and Broccoli Casserole

8 servings
351 calories per serving

24 oz. broccoli, cut into small florets (about 6 cups)
2 T oil
1 1/2 pounds extra lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
Salt and pepper to taste
4 c skim milk
1/3 c cornstarch
2 c shredded low fat sharp Cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
4 c frozen hash browns or precooked shredded potatoes
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 t pepper
Pam
1/4 t paprika

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix broccoli florets with 1 T oil and toss to coat them lay on a baking sheet and cook 15 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Heat 1 T oil in a skillet and add onion and sauté 3 minutes then add beef and cook 10 minutes or until beef is browned. Be sure to break up the clumps of beef as it cooks. Add Worchestershire, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper and spoon into a 9×13 baking dish then top with the broccoli.

Whikh milk and starch and bring to a boil on medium high heat. Cook until bubbly and thick, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and add in cheese, salt and turmeric. Pour over the beef and broccoli.

Mix potatoes, egg, salt and pepper and spoon over casserole. Spray the top with a bit of Pam so it will brown nicely and bake 45 minutes or until brown. Sprinkle with paprika and serve.

Beef Stroganoff Casserole

Another in my search for the perfect ‘homemade hamburger helper’ recipe. This one is definitely a contender ! It is very flavorful and sometimes you just gotta have beef (many of my others use ground turkey). It’s 404 calories – so just do a few jumping jacks before dinner and you’ll burn off those extra 4 🙂

Beef Stroganoff Casserole
Beef Stroganoff Casserole

6 servings
404 calories per serving

1 lb. lean ground beef
¼ t salt
¼ t pepper
1 t oil
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ c white cooking wine
1 can low fat cream of mushroom soup
½ c light sour cream
1 T Dijon mustard
4 c cooked egg noodles
Pam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 13×9 pan with Pam. Cook meat in a skillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook until no longer pink, separating the pieces as it cooks. Drain liquid and fat from meat and set meat aside. In same skillet add mushrooms, onion and garlic and cook 3 minutes. Add wine and reduce heat and cook another 3-4 minutes then remove from heat and stir in soup, sour cream and mustard. Return beef to pan and mix well. Put noodles in the baking dish and then pour beef over the noodles. Mix well. Bake uncovered 30 minutes.

Mini Meatball Soup

Tasty little meatballs in a aromatic steaming bowl of broth – this makes the whole house hungry as it cooks ! This is one of the best meatball soups I’ve made 🙂

Mini Meatball Soup
Mini Meatball Soup

4 servings
384 calories per serving

2 t oil
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
3 c coleslaw mix shredded cabbage
1 ½ t oregano flakes
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 c beef stock
2 c chicken stock
4 c water
2 T tomato paste
6 oz. lean ground beef
1 large egg
¼ c grated Parmesan cheese
¼ c bread crumbs
2 T parsley, chopped
½ t garlic powder
¾ t pepper
½ t salt
½ c chopped roasted red peppers
1 c minute rice

Heat oil in a heavy soup pan and sauté mushrooms for 4 minutes. Add cabbage, 1 t oregano and half the garlic. Cook 1 minute more and then add stocks, water and tomato paste. Reduce to medium heat. Mix beef, egg, cheese, bread crumbs, 1 ½ T parsley, garlic powder. pepper, salt, the rest of the oregano and the rest of the garlic. Make meatballs using only 1 teaspoon of mix per meatball, and place them in the broth and simmer about 10 minutes or until mostly done. Add peppers, rice and rest of the parsley. Let sit 6-7 minutes.

Salisbury Steak

This is a favorite of frozen dinner makers and I still remember the taste of good old Swanson TV Dinner Salisbury Steak. This one is much better ! The recipe is easy to make and gives you a great result time in and time out. Try serving with 1/2 c mashed potatoes and some Roasted Grape Tomatoes and you meal comes in under 400 calories !

Salisbury Steak
Salisbury Steak

4 servings
266 calories per serving

½ c skim milk
14 fat free saltines, crushed
2 T dried minced onions
2 t parsley flakes
1 lb. lean ground beef
12 oz. fat free beef gravy
2 T ketchup
2 t Worcestershire sauce
¼ t pepper
Pam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix milk, crackers, onion, and parsley and then add the meat and make into 4 oval patties and place in a baking dish sprayed with Pam. Whisk gravy, ketchup , Worcestershire and pepper and pour over the meat and cook 55 minutes or until meat is done.

Beef and Noodle Soup

Spicy low cal soup really hits the spot – especially when you have beef chunks AND noodles ! This one really tides you over and it is so easy to do.

Beef and Noodle Soup
Beef and Noodle Soup

4 servings
210 calories per serving

½ lb. extra lean ground beef
3 ½ c water
14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
1 c frozen mixed vegetables
1 t beef bouillon flavoring
2.8 oz. package beef flavored ramen noodles

Brown beef and drain then add water, tomatoes, veggies, bouillon flavoring and flavoring packet from the ramen noodles and bring to a boil. Break up ramen noodles and add to soup and cook 3-5 minutes then serve.

Sloppy Joes

Sometimes nothing can replace the taste of a good old Sloppy, Messy, Ketchupy Sloppy Joe. This recipe has just enough of the sweet along with just enough of the spicy. For under 400 calories, you can’t go wrong !

Sloppy Joes
Sloppy Joes

4 servings
330 calories per serving

1 t oil
1 onion, chopped finely
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 lb. extra lean ground beef
3/4 c ketchup
1 1/2 T brown sugar blend by Splenda
2 t Worcestershire sauce
1 t chili powder
1 t cumin
¼ t salt
¼ t pepper
4 whole wheat burger buns

Heat oil in skillet and cook onion, pepper and garlic 5 minutes then stir in beef and cook 10 minutes or until no longer pink then add ketchup, sugar, Worcestershire, cumin, salt, pepper and chili powder and cook 4 minutes. Serve on buns.

Sloppy Joes Prep
Sloppy Joes Prep

10 Layer Beef Hash (Crock Pot)

This is a very hearty meal – and like so many crock pot meals, a great way to put something together, be able to run errands for a few hours – – and then come home to a hot cooked meal. This is reminiscent of a stew with the nice mushroom gravy flavor 🙂

10 Layer Beef Hash (Crock Pot)
10 Layer Beef Hash (Crock Pot)

8 servings
370 calories per serving

1 ½ lb. lean ground beef
6 medium potatoes thinly sliced
1 medium onion thinly sliced
½ t salt
½ t pepper
15 oz. can of corn, undrained
15 oz. can of peas, undrained
¼ c water
1 can fat free cream of mushroom soup.

Brown the meat in a skillet and drain. Layer the ingredients in the crock in this order:
¼ of the potatoes
¼ the onions
¼ the salt and pepper
½ the corn
¼ the potatoes
½ the peas
¼ the potatoes
¼ the onions
¼ the salt and pepper
½ the corn
¼ the potatoes
½ the peas
All the water
All the meat
All the soup

Cover and cook on high 4 hours. Be sure to give each person a serving that contains some of each layer.

Lasagna (Crock Pot)

Even traditional lasagna lovers like this one – and it is nice and easy to do. Start it at lunch time and have dinner ready 4 hours later. Take a look at my video below for instructions on how to layer it in your crock.

Lasagna (Crock Pot)
Lasagna (Crock Pot)

8 servings
275 calories per serving

1 lb. lean ground beef
2 c diced eggplant
1 jar Paul Newman’s marinara sauce
1/4 t red pepper flakes
¼ t garlic powder
¼ t onion powder
¼ t basil flakes
1 c water
15 oz part skim ricotta cheese
1 T chopped parsley
1/4 c Egg Beaters
1 c shredded parmesan cheese (not grated, shredded)
8 no boil lasagna noodles

Brown the ground beef in a heated skillet and drain off any fat and water. Stir in the pepper, sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, basil flakes, water, and eggplant. In a bowl combine the egg, cheeses and parsley. Place a layer of meat sauce on the bottom of a crock pot. I find my oval shaped on works the best here. Top with 2-3 noodles, nipping off the corners in order to get a nice fit. Add another layer of meat sauce and then one thick layer of the cheese mixture. Top with a final layer of noodles and then a final layer of meat sauce. Cover and cook on low 3-4 hours.

Here is a video of how to layer it up in the crock pot:

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