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Making Healthy Casseroles
by Leanne Ely - Manicwife@aol.com

Description: How to make healthy casseroles your family will enjoy.

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It doesn't take a can of soup to make a casserole. Hillary Clinton said something similiar to that, but I can't remember....

Anyway, the soup. Unless you have no concern for your salt intake, you really should skip making canned soup a part of your casserole making. Do you have any idea how many milligrams of salt one can Campbell's Cream of Whatever soup has in it? Did you know that stuff has been declared public enemy number one to your health and is on the same No-No list as french fries from Burger King? Okay, I think I made my point.

There are so many ways to make a casserole without having to resort to a can of soup or a slab of melted Velveeta. Casseroles are wonderful creatures-- they are easy to freeze, to reheat and simple stuff to serve for just about anything or anyone, company included. One stop dinner--from the Pyrex dish to the plate, it's just that simple. I love that! Throw a little salad or a steamed vegetable into the mix and bada bing, bada bang--dinner.

Here is my idea of a good time--Enchilasagna. It's fast and easy, too!

What do you get when you cross a lasagna with an enchilada? Give up? Follow this recipe and you'll find out!

2 cans enchilada sauce -- 10 oz. can
1 can tomato sauce -- 12-15 oz. can
1 pound ground beef, extra lean -- cooked and drained
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon garlic powder
12 each corn tortillas -- chopped into 6 pieces each
12 ounces black beans, canned -- drained
1 pound lowfat cheddar cheese -- or use jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 13 X 9 pan. In a saucepan, combine enchilada sauce and tomato sauce. Let simmer. Brown beef, drain and add seasonings and salt and pepper to taste. Add about 1/2 of the sauce to browned beef and set aside.

On the bottom of the pan, pour 3/4 cup of sauce and add about 1/3 of the beef mixture and then beans. Next, make a layer of corn tortillas, using 1/3 of what you have. Add more beef, 1/3 of the beans, 1/4 of the cheese.

Repeat these layers: corn tortillas, beef, bean and cheese, till everything is gone. Top with remaining sauce and remaining cheese.

Bake uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes. Wait 10 minutes before digging in! So now you know what you get when you cross and enchilada with a lasagna--Enchilasagna!

Per serving: 290 Calories (kcal); 14g Total Fat; (44% calories from fat); 20g Protein; 20g Carbohydrate; 46mg Cholesterol; 552mg Sodium

See how easy that was! It wouldn't be hard to substitute chicken either, or do a veggie version with just black beans. Now you have THREE wonderful casseroles--with nary a soup can or Velveeta hunk to be found!

Recipe excerpted from the book, Healthy Foods: An irreverent guide to understanding nutrition and feeding your family well (Champion Press).

Leanne Ely is a nutritionist and former caterer, with a passion for writing. Her first book, Healthy Foods: An irreverent guide to understanding nutrition and feeding your family well (Champion Press) is due out on bookstore shelves in March. Leanne writes a newspaper column called The Manic Housewife and has the world's shortest radio program, (one minute) called, "Manic Minutes", coming to a radio station near you.