Hamburger (or turkey) Buddy

I hope everyone had a great Super Bowl Sunday!  Mine was a extra special because C's parents were in town for a few days.  They were driving down from Michigan to Port Aransas, and stopped in Dallas to see us for the weekend.  We were able to watch the game in the comfort of C's apartment, and it was perfect.  C's Mom made a bunch of yummy appetizers, we placed some bets on the game (I won a whopping zip, zero, zilch,) and enjoyed the commercials. My favorite was obviously the Chrysler commercial about Detroit.  Gotta show my love for Michigan!

Now onto Hamburger Buddy.  I think it's a sort of play on words from "Hamburger Helper," because it is very similar.  Except, of course, it's homemade, and low fat!  I made it even healthier by using 75% turkey, since I didn't have enough hamburger in the house to satisfy the recipe. 

Main veggies you'll use are mushrooms, two carrots, and crushed garlic.  Pretty simple, yet the end result is anything but.

I will admit, when I decided to make this recipe, I didn't read far enough to find out that I needed a food processor.  Unfortunately, I didn't have one.  Closest thing I had was a blender...yeah, that wasn't fun.  Don't worry though,  I have since bought one, and I'm sure I will rejoice at how much easier it will be to "finely chop" things - carrots, in this case.  Turn on the food processor's motor and drop garlic in until minced.  Then add carrots and mushrooms until everything is finely chopped.  Add onion, pulse until roughly chopped.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, cook beef (or turkey) until no longer pink.  Stir in the chopped vegetables, thyme, salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables begin to soften; about six minutes.

Stir in water, 1 1/2 cups of broth, noodles and Worcestershire sauce.  Bring to a boil.  Then cover, reduce heat to medium.  Cook until the pasta is tender, 8-10 minutes.

Whisk flour with remaining 1/4 cup of broth in a small bowl until it's smooth, then stir into hamburger mixture.  Stir in the sour cream.  Simmer until the sauce has thickened. 

I sprinkled some parsley on top. This dish was a great pasta dinner, and very creamy.  It was hard to believe that it was low fat, and that the meat was mainly turkey.  The recipe makes six servings, and there is only 292 calories per serving - and that's with hamburger.  Pretty awesome if you ask me.  I made half the serving size, and we had one serving leftover, which C ate the next day for lunch.  I can't wait to make this again.  It was easy, and good for you while still tasting delightful!

Hamburger Buddy

3 cloves of garlic, crush and peeled

2 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces

10oz mushrooms, cut in half

1 large onion, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 pound 90% lean ground beef (or turkey!)

2 teaspoons dried thyme

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 cups water

1 14oz can reduced-sodium beef broth

8oz whole wheat elbow noodles (2 cups)

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream

1 tablespoon parsley for garnish *optional

Fit a food processor with a steel blade attachment.

With motor running, add garlic and process until minced.

Add carrots and mushrooms and process until finely chopped.

Add onion and pulse until roughly chopped.

Cook beef in a large skillet, or Dutch oven, over medium high heat, until no longer pink.

Stir in chopped vegetables, thyme, salt and pepper.  Cook until veggies are softened.

Stir in water, 1 1/2 cups of broth, noodles and Worcestershire sauce, bring to a boil.

Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook until the pasta is tender.  8-10 minutes.

Whisk flour and remaining broth in a small bowl until smooth, then add into hamburger mixture.

Stir in sour cream.

Simmer until the sauce begins to thicken, around two minutes. 

Serve sprinkled with parsley, if desired.