Baked Ziti

My Aunt Kathy brought us this recipe and we have loved it for MANY years! It is easy to put together and the kids LOVE it! A great lasagna alternative. I've altered a few things to make this point-friendly!

12 oz. Ronzoni Smart Taste rigatoni noodles
8 oz. part skim ricotta cheese
2 C spaghetti sauce
4 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 C Parmesan cheese

Cook noodles. In a separate bowl, mix all remaining ingredients. Once noodles are cooked, mix all ingredients together and pour into a 9x13 pan . Cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serves 8
7 pts+

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Another fave from skinnytaste.com with the alterations we used...the kids LOVED this--gobbled it right up! Even though it has mushrooms...which we are all still learning to love! :) Mushrooms and all, it was a big hit!

• 6 oz no yolk noodles (you can use Ronzoni Healthy Harvest, or brown rice pasta for gluten free)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 medium onion, minced fine
• 3 tbsp flour (gluten free use rice flour)
• 1 3/4 cups fat free chicken broth
• 1 cup skim milk
• 5 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms (she used more, but we felt 5 oz. was plenty!)
• 1 cup frozen petite peas (thawed)
• 2 (5 oz) cans tuna in water, drained (I used albacore)
• 1C reduced fat cheddar
• butter flavored cooking spray
• 2 tbsp parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp whole wheat (or white) seasoned breadcrumbs

Cook noodles in salted water until al dente, or slightly undercooked by 2 minutes. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a large deep skillet. Add onions and cook on medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the flour and a pinch of salt and stir well, cooking an additional 2-3 minutes on medium-low heat

Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly spray 9 x 12 casserole with butter flavored cooking spray.

Slowly whisk in the chicken broth until well combined, increasing heat to medium and whisking well for 30 seconds, then add the milk and bring to a boil. When boiling add mushrooms and petite peas, adjust salt and pepper to taste and simmer on medium, mixing occasionally until it thickens (about 6-7 minutes).Add drained tuna, stirring another minute.

Remove from heat and add 1 cup reduced fat cheese and mix well until it melts. Add the noodles to the sauce and mix well until evenly coated. Pour into casserole and top with parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs. Spray a little more cooking spray and top and bake for about 20 - 25 minutes. Place under the broiler a few minutes to get the crumbs crisp (careful not to burn).

Serves 6 large portions  8 pt+

Guiltless Alfredo sauce

Guiltless Alfredo Sauce

courtesy of Our Best Bites

2 C low-fat or skim milk 

1/3 C (3 oz) low fat cream cheese

2 T flour

1 t salt

1 T butter

3 garlic cloves

1 C fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Put the milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt in a blender. Process until smooth and set aside.

In a non-stick sauce pan, melt butter on med-high heat and add garlic. Let the garlic saute for about 30 seconds. Then add milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly for about 3 or 4 minutes or until it just comes to a simmer. Keep stirring and let it cook for a few minutes more. It should be much thicker now.

When it's nice and thickened remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheese, stir it up and then cover immediately. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before using. It will continue to thicken upon standing. Also, if you have leftovers in the fridge, the sauce will thicken almost into a solid. Just re-heat and add a little milk and it will be back to normal again.

MAKES approx 2 C of alfredo sauce.

I found that 1/4 C was a pretty good serving, so I am basing my serving size off of that.

SERVES 8  -   1/4 C servings   3 pt+ 

Italian Meatballs

(adapted from this recipe)

• 1.3 lb. lean ground beef (I used 7% fat)
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp Italian seasonings
• 1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
• 1 egg
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil

In a large bowl, combine ground beef, breadcrumbs, egg, parsley, garlic and cheese. Using your (clean) hands, mix all the ingredients well until everything is combined. Form small meatballs, about the size of a ping ping ball (1/8th cup each).

Heat the 1 tbsp olive oil on medium high in a large saute pan. Add the meatballs and saute until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. (Don't worry about cooking all the way through at this point.) When brown, place on a paper towel to soak excess oil, then add the meatballs to your sauce and cook about 20 minutes. (I just used a jarred Ragu sauce).

This is delicious on with Spaghetti or on a sub sandwich! 

make 27 meatballs (makes 9 servings of 3 meatballs each)  3 pt+

Penne Rustica

You can find the original to this recipe on home based mom. I came across her blog this week and have fallen in love with so many of her recipes! We tried this tonight and it was SO good. MAKES LOTS, so it's a perfect meal to make one for our family and still have a whole dinner to take someone else too. If you want to see the HUGE batch (this doubled) you can find it here.

Here's the recipe with my alterations...

PENNE RUSTICA

Ingredients:
1/2 pound grilled chicken breast

7-8 slices of thick cut bacon
24 oz (1 1/2 boxes) penne pasta
1 large red bell pepper- diced
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp paprika

Gratinata Sauce:
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 cup marsala wine OR (if you don't cook with wine, you can use this as a substitute:

3 TBSP apple juice + 1 tbsp red wine vinegar + enough chicken broth to equal 1/2 cup
1/2 tsp dijon or dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp chopped rosemary
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
4 cups heavy cream

Directions:

Chop bacon and cook in large pan. Once it's cooked, remove bacon and drain all but about 1 tsp of grease. Saute garlic in bacon grease briefly. Add marsala wine (or your substitute), mustard, salt, rosemary, cayenne pepper, and heavy cream. Cook pasta according to directions. Slice chicken into medium-bite size pieces. Combine sauce, cooked pasta, diced chicken, cooked bacon, bell peppers, parmesan cheese, and paprika and mix thoroughly. Spread in 2 - 9x13 pans. Top with chopped rosemary and mozzarella cheese.

Bake @ 475 for 10 minutes. (doesn't need long since it's everything is already cooked)

If frozen, thaw in refrigerator the day of. Cover with foil and bake @ 375 for 1 hour. Remove foil during the last 15 minutes.

Creamy Tortellini Alfredo

Makes:6 servings, 1 cup each

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
2 pkg. (9 oz. each) refrigerated cheese tortellini
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed
1 cup frozen peas
3/4 cup Finely Shredded Italian* Five Cheese Blend
6 slices Bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled

POUR broth and water into large saucepan; stir. Bring to boil on medium-high heat. Add tortellini. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover. Simmer 8 to 9 min. or until tortellini is tender. (Do not drain.)
ADD cream cheese and peas; stir. Heat 2 to 3 min. or until cream cheese is completely melted, stirring occasionally.
STIR in shredded cheese and bacon.

See the original recipe HERE at Kraft foods.

Easy Baked Ravioli

2 tsp. Italian dressing
1 medium red pepper
1 small onion (finely chopped)
15 oz. spaghetti sauce
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
1 pkg. (9 oz) Ravioli cooked and drained
1/2 C Shredded mozzerella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat dressing in a large skillet on medium heat. Add peppers and onions. Cook and stir 2 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in sauce and crushed red pepper.

Spread 1/2 C of the sauce in the bottom of a shallow 11x7 baking dish.

Cover with layers of half each of the ravioli, remaining sauce mixture and cheese. Repeat layers. Cover with foil. Bake 25 minutes or until heated through.

Makes 3-4 servings.

--SIDE NOTE: This is from the Kraft magazine and is typed as their instructions. When I made it, I made more Ravioli than called for (almost a full 16 oz. bag) and added a little extra sauce and cooked it in a smaller but DEEPER dish. I liked it this way better--and it gave us leftovers.