Friday Night "Cheat": Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta

Yum.  Ed and I have been eating superbly healthy as of late, and as the weekend approaches, so do our cravings for some "treat" food.  We really didn't want to order out last night, essentially spending extra money by phoning in an order for salty, greasy dishes and subsequent bloaty tummies.  No, thanks.  So, I got my butt in the kitchen and test-ran a new recipe! 

Not in the mood for pizza, we navigated to the second-most-ordered junkie-type food: burgers.  I wanted to keep it interesting, because it's fairly easy to health up a burger (lean meat, pack the patties with chopped veggies, light cheese, etc)  So.. how about we remove the bun, and replace it with a different grain.. like.. whole grain pasta?  Something along the lines of Hambuger Helper, but very much not.  And man, that Bacon & Blue burger from Wendy's sounds good, but the nutrition label stops me in my tracks.  Hmm.. bacon.. Bacon!  Normally, this nitrate-ridden, salt-packed meat is a no-no, but in measured tablespoon portions, bits of real bacon pack enough flavor to really make a nice difference in a dish.  And in a cheat meal, cheese is a must for us.  Looking to combine these ideas, I found a bunch of recipes for healthed-up hamburger helper-type foods.  So, I melded a tidbit from each recipe and created tonight's dish:  Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta. 


Recipe:
Ingredients
8 oz Barilla Plus Pasta (We used rotini, but penne would be great too)
1/2 cup chopped white onion
1 lb Extra Lean 96/4 Ground Beef (leaner the better)
4 tbsp Real Bacon Bits (or 3 strips real bacon, cooked and crumbled)
1 can Campbell's Heart-healthy Low-Sodium condensed tomato soup
about 1 cup reduced fat shredded cheese 

1. Cook pasta according to package directions and drain. (Spray with light coat of nonstick cooking spray to avoid stickiness.) Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook onions over medium heat until transparent.  Add beef and cook until no longer pink; drain fat.

2. Add to skillet the pasta, soup, and bacon; heat through. Remove from heat and sprinkle cheese on top. Cover skillet and let stand for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

This recipe, according to Livestrong:
Serving size: about 1/5 to 1/6 of whole dish.  Calories: 388, Fat 11g, Cholesterol 73mg, Sodium 630mg, Carbs 32g, Sugars 6g, Fiber 3g, Protein 40g.

Definitely a cheat dish, but would be great as a meal on a heavy workout day with that wham-bang of protein.  I thougt the fiber count would be higher, but you could always mix in some veggies to bump that up a bit.

I thought it was very tasty - a step up from Hamburger Helper, not only in health but also in taste, but just as easy.  I was missing a punch of flavor and was very tempted to toss on more cheese, but I stayed strong and ended up adding some Mrs. Dash Grill Seasoning for a little kick.  We had side salads of romaine, sprouts, and red cabbage to go alongside.  Ed loved it!  He probably ate more than he should have but -- and I quote him saying this: "This is a lot tastier than that pizza I wanted."  Mission accomplished.  Have a great weekend!