I'm Back! Popover Pizza Casserole

Hi guys! It's been 4 years! A lot has happened, hence the time off. I certainly didn't imagine that it had been that long, though.

So, I've decided to bring it all back. Trying a little harder this time. And not doing it at holiday time! I'm going to revamp some things as I see them. If I can find them, I'm going to add nutritional information, and possible diabetic exchange information. This won't ONLY be diabetic cooking, but for the most part it will be. I will also try to do some experimentation to make things (especially baking) that are from regular recipes, and working with them to make them more diabetic friendly. We'll see how that works.

I am totally willing to take feedback, suggestions, ideas and things that you have tried that have worked. I'm hoping to do this all as inexpensively as possible, so those of you (and us) on limited budgets can work them out at home. If you think it's a good idea for me to do pricing on here, let me know that. Thanks for waiting! Shall we begin then?

This here, is next to the stove - it's my little buddy, who must be with me... at all times, while cooking. You can see a bit of his butt peeking out from underneath the white blanket on the left. :-) 

Last night, I made this Popover Pizza Casserole. I got the recipe from Diabetic Living Online - they have fantastic recipes. This turned out really good. I liked that I could add a lot of different vegetables (and probably more than I did). For this particular time, I followed the recipe pretty perfectly - just because I had never made it before. Next time, I'll try a few different things. The egg part really needed some flavor, so I may add some roasted garlic or garlic salt to it next time. I used Italian Seasoned Ground Turkey, instead of regular ground turkey. I also left out the fennel seeds (I do not like them).

A hint, if you haven't thought of it - get all your stuff cut up and measured before you start cooking. I couldn't believe how much easier and quicker it was.

Here is the recipe:

Popover Pizza Casserole
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
1 1/4# ground turkey breast or extra lean ground beef
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 1/.2 cups chopped yellow squash
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green sweet pepper
1 14-15 1/2 oz can (I used a jarred pasta sauce) of pizza sauce
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning, crushed
1/2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
1 cup fat free milk
1/2 cup refrigerated or frozen egg product, thawed, or 2 eggs
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 cup flour (you can substitute a 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup white flour)
1 cup shredded, reduced fat mozzarella cheese (4 oz) - I accidentally shredded too much, but I used it all
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In an oven-going large skillet, cook turkey, mushrooms, onions, squash and green pepper over medium heat until meat is brown and vegetables are tender, stirring to break up meat as it cooks.

Drain off fat.

Stir in pizza sauce, Italian seasoning and fennel into the meat mixture.

Bring to boiling, reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spread into an even layer.

Meanwhile, for popover topping: In a medium bowl, combine milk, eggs and oil.

Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed or whisk for one minute.

Add flour and beat or whisk about 1 minute more or until smooth.

Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over meat mixture in skillet.

Pour popover topping evenly over mixture in skillet, covering completely. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake, uncovered for 30-35 minutes or until topping is puffed and golden brown. (Casserole may look a but gooey on top of the meat mixture from the melted cheese.)

Serve immediately.

Nutritional Facts:
Per serving: 327 calories,  7 g total fat (2 g sat),  58 mg chol., 611 mg sodium, 31 g carb (3 g fiber, 7 g sugars), 34 g protein

Diabetic exchanges:
Vegetables: 1, Lean Meat: 4, Starch: 1.5

If you try it, let me know what you think!