[dbz]

I found this recipe on AOL years ago and I adapted it a little to suit my taste. just recently, I discovered this recipe is pretty much Phase 1 so it is my go-to for lunches (now, if only I had a large enough thermos because this stuff's too good just one thermos-full!)

the changes I made to it were, I took out the green pepper (1/2 cup) because I don't like it and increased the mushrooms from 1/2 cup to 1 cup to make up for it. Also, the original recipe called for 4 cups chicken stock and I use beef stock because I like beef and I figure beef is in the recipe so why combine bird and cow? But I'm sure the chicken stock would be good as well, especially if you use ground turkey or chicken instead of beef.

Enjoy!

Ingredients
• 1 lb extra-lean ground beef or ground turkey or chicken
• 1 cup sliced turkey pepperoni (3 oz)
• Vegetable cooking spray
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 Tb tomato paste
• 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
• 4 cups beef stock/broth
• 1 Tb chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 Tb chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
• Garnishes: sliced fresh basil, shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions:
• Cook ground beef and pepperoni in a Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat 8 minutes or until beef crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain beef mixture.
• Sauté mushrooms, green onions & garlic in hot oil in Dutch oven 5 minutes
• Stir in beef mixture, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, beef stock/broth, basil, oregano & ground pepper
• Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes
• If desired, garnish

Serves 4-6