Stevenson Casserole

For our weekly dinner exchange, Mr. E. thought it would be a good idea to have the husbands/fiances take a turn cooking for the ladies... His favorite dish growing up was a family recipe and his mom used to make this for his birthday dinner every August at the beach. We have lightened up the dish just a bit by adding lite cream cheese and lite sour cream. Enjoy!

STEVENSON CASSEROLE - 4 -5 servings:

1 lb ground beef
1 chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt
pepper
1 large can tomato sauce (15 oz)
1/4 cup red wine
8 oz lite sour cream
6 oz lite cream cheese
6 oz egg noodles
Cheddar cheese

Brown ground beef and onion. Spoon off fat. Add salt, pepper, wine, and tomato sauce; Simmer. In separate bowl, combine sour cream and cream cheese. Slightly cook noodles. Place in layers in casserole dish (two total) - end with meat sauce on top: noodles - cheese mix - meat. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Top with squares of cheddar cheese; bake 5 minutes more until the cheese is melted.

The most common mistake is with the noodles - either using too many or over cooked.

Pumpkin Hummus

Over the holidays, we attended a surprise birthday party for my mother-in-law at her favorite local haunt. One of the appetizers served at the party was this amazing pumpkin hummus--it was so addictive and unlike anything I had ever eaten before. Mr. E. and I are big fans of hummus and eat it frequently throughout the summer because it is easy to make and a very healthy vegetarian dish. After the party, I emailed the restaurant to flatter them with praise and beg for the recipe.... unfortunately they never returned my message so it was left to me to experiment with other recipes on the internet. This was the first one I found and decided to give it a try--although it is not the taste I had hoped to achieve as it really just tasted like regular hummus, I think this might be m new standby because of the added superfood of pumpkin!

PUMPKIN HUMMUS
Ingredients

15oz. can of garbanzo beans
15oz. can of pureed pumpkin
1 T oil
1 smashed garlic clove
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1 T tahini
1 tsp ground cumin
3-4 T water

Mix in a food processor until smooth. The amount of water you will need to add will depend on the pumpkin.... more for canned pumpkin and less for the fresh stuff. Serve with whole wheat pita and carrots.