Try this lightened up Vegetable Lentil Hamburger Casserole
When you’re feeling completely drained at the end of your day—no energy, nothing in your stomach, zero motivation—the last thing you want to do is spend time getting dinner ready. How many times have you finished work for the day and thought, “I have no desire to cook tonight, and I have no groceries in the fridge. I’ll just hit the drive-thru”? I hear you! That’s why meal preparation is my favorite tip eating healthy and managing my weight.
Forming a meal planning habit and doing a little extra work in advance is just a small price to pay and will help prevent you from relying on take out meals or highly processed convenience foods.
Stocking your freezer with the right kinds of meals will save you a lot of time, and help you better choices when it comes to your eating.
Why is meal planning important?
In today’s society being overly busy, meal preparation is key to consistently eating healthy. You can’t eat out and be healthy. When it comes to improving your health or managing your weight a common mistake is not having healthy food readily available. When we don’t have food. meals prepared or healthy snack options ready to go, we tend to reach for items that may not support our health goals.
This recipe I have adapted for you is perfect for meal prep. You can cook once, and prepare a second meal for the freezer. I took the original recipe and doubled it, plus I added in some healthy lentils to boost the fibre and protein in this meal. For our family, it makes 6 servings, but I have a 4 and 6 year old who barely eat. I think for a typical family of 4, once casserole dish will do fine. Don’t forget to serve this meal with a side salad!
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Vegetable Lentil Hamburger Casserole
- Total Time: 20
Description
Cook once and eat for multiple times with this great batch cooking recipe that you can make extra and freeze for a meal down the road.
Ingredients
- 4 cups lean ground beef or turkey meat
- 1 cup cooked red lentils or canned lentils
- 2 medium chopped onions
- 2 cans (28oz) low sodium canned tomatoes
- 4 cups uncooked pasta shells
- 2 cups frozen vegetables (mixed variety)
- 2 cups grated low fat cheddar cheese
- 2 tsp basil
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (180c).
- Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 minutes.
- In a frying pan, cook the ground beef until fully cooked through and no pink colour remains. Drain off any fat (depending on what meat you used). Add the onions and cook until tender and transparent. Stir into the pan lentils, canned tomatoes, and spices.
- Drain pasta and divide half into the two casserole dishes. Add 1 cup of vegetables to each casserole dish. If you like more vegetables, you can add an additional cup.
- Then add the meat mixture to the casserole dish. Stir well until all combined. Then sprinkle with 1 cup cheese on each casserole. If you are planning to have this dish for a meal immediately, then place the casserole in the oven and bake for 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and brown on top.
- If you are just prepping up the freezer meal, then let cool for 10 mins, wrap in tin foil, then plastic wrap, label and put into the freezer.
Notes
- This recipe makes 2 large 8×8 casserole pans. If you are planning to make one of these casseroles for a meal, then preheat your oven to 350f (180c). If you are making 2 freezer meals, then you do not have to heat the oven. The finished casseroles can go directly into the oven.
- When you are ready to consume the freezer meal, heat oven to 350f (180c) and bake for approx. 45 mins. to 1 hr. Less time is needed if you thaw the meal first.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 10
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
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