Turkey and Hash Brown Casserole

Since Will has returned from Iraq, he has requested his favorite meals (most notably, penne alla vodka, spaghettia alla carbonara, lasagna, red velvet cupcakes, pretty much every unhealthy meal under the sun). I am trying to make them in moderation, seeing as how I would still like to fit into my clothes! What I've been doing lately is balancing out Will's dinner requests with a couple of healthy recipes I've found. This latest one from Tater11 on www.allrecipes.com is the perfect weeknight dish. I picked up all the ingredients at the commissary, and while it took longer to prepare than the recipe suggests, it was still very easy. A couple of things I would recommend:

1. Don't cook the hash browns until they're golden brown. Being in the oven will make them crispy, and if they're already completely cooked by the time you put them in the oven they will come out slightly burned.

2. Be generous with the seasoned salt, as ground turkey breast is notoriously bland. Bland food is a serious sin in our house!

3. Since the recipe calls for a large onion, I cut up a Spanish onion. WAY too much. I would say use two medium white onions, and that would work just fine.

Happy cooking!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup oil for frying
• 1 pound frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
• 1 pound ground turkey breast
• 1 large onion, cut into chunks
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen broccoli, thawed
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup reduced fat cream of celery soup
• 1 cup shredded fat free Cheddar cheese
• 1/3 cup skim milk
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• seasoned salt to taste
• 1 medium tomato, diced (optional) I omitted, simply because Will won't eat tomatoes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x12 inch casserole dish.
2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook hash browns until golden. Spread hash browns over bottom and sides of casserole dish to form a crust. In a separate skillet over medium heat, cook turkey until lightly brown. Mix in onion and cook until tender. Place broccoli in a microwave safe bowl and cook in microwave 4 to 5 minutes on High, or until tender. Spread turkey, onion and broccoli over hash browns in the casserole dish.
3. In a bowl, mix cream of mushroom soup, cream of celery soup, Cheddar cheese, milk, garlic powder, pepper and seasoned salt. Pour over casserole.
4. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until bubbly. Garnish with chopped tomatoes to serve.