Moroccan Beef and Pumpkin Bake

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Ground beef, vegetables, and couscous are covered with a sweet cornbread topping in this spicy and surprisingly low-calorie casserole dinner.

Moroccan Beef and Pumpkin Bake
Photo: Jason Donnelly
Prep Time:
30 mins
Bake Time:
20 mins
Total Time:
30 mins
Servings:
8

Ingredients

  • Nonstick cooking spray

  • 1 pound extra-lean ground beef

  • 2 cup 1/2-inch pieces peeled pumpkin or winter squash

  • 1 medium red sweet pepper, coarsely chopped (3/4 cup)

  • 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (1/2 cup)

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 cup frozen whole kernel corn

  • ½ cup couscous

  • 1 recipe Moroccan Spice Blend

  • 1 cup 50% less sodium beef broth

  • ½ 8 ounce package reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel), cut up

  • ½ cup yellow cornmeal

  • cup all-purpose flour

  • 1 tablespoon sugar

  • 1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder

  • ¼ teaspoon salt

  • ½ cup fat-free milk

  • 1 egg, beaten

  • 2 tablespoon olive oil

  • Snipped fresh mint (optional)

  • Toasted pumpkin seeds (optional)

Moroccan Spice Blend

  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin

  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander

  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger

  • ¼ teaspoon salt

  • teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat an unheated large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. In skillet cook ground beef, pumpkin, sweet pepper, onion, and garlic over medium heat until meat is brown and onion is tender, using a wooden spoon to break up meat as it cooks. Drain off fat. Stir corn, couscous, and spice blend into meat mixture in skillet. Heat through. Add broth and cream cheese, stirring until well mixed. Spoon mixture into a 2-quart baking dish.

  2. In a medium bowl combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl whisk together milk, egg, and oil; add to cornmeal mixture all at once. Stir just until moistened. Pour batter over beef mixture in dish.

  3. Bake about 20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into topper comes out clean. If desired, garnish with mint and pumpkin seeds.

Moroccan Spice Blend

  1. In a small bowl stir together cumin, coriander, ginger, salt, and cinnamon.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

298 Calories
11g Fat
32g Carbs
19g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 8
Calories 298
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 11g 14%
Saturated Fat 4g 20%
Cholesterol 72mg 24%
Sodium 362mg 16%
Total Carbohydrate 32g 12%
Total Sugars 5g
Protein 19g
Vitamin C 24.2mg 121%
Calcium 121.2mg 9%
Iron 2.5mg 14%
Potassium 493mg 10%
Folate, total 44.4mcg
Vitamin B-12 1.5mcg
Vitamin B-6 0.4mg

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

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