Way to go Weight Watchers!

I've been finding some fabulous recipes lately on www.myrecipes.com (the Cooking Light section) as well as perusing my Weight Watchers cookbooks a little more. We made this recipe tonight, which comes from Weight Watchers "New Complete Cookbook" which I recommend as a standard in any kitchen (it's got my all time favorite roasted chicken -Garlic Roasted with Gravy - plus other great standards). Great, light, healthy pasta dish!


Notes: We used whole wheat penne, took the skin off the sausage (not sure how you'd slice it otherwise), used 1.5 red bell peppers because that's what I had on hand and bell peppers are expensive, and I had big bella slices on hand from grilling, so I sliced those up.


Penne with Sausage and Proscuitto

2 cups penne
2 ½ cups broccoli florets
½ pound hot Italian turkey sausage, cut into ½” slices
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
1 red onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings
1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
2 ounces prosciutto, cut into thin strips
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ cup chopped basil
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a large pot of boiling water, cook the penne 6 minutes; add the broccoli and cook until the penne is al dente and the broccoli is tender, 2-4 minutes longer. Drain and transfer to a serving bowl.
2. Meanwhile, spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray; heat. Saute the sausage until cooked through, 6-8 minutes. Add to the penne.
3. In the skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of the oil. Saute the bell peppers and onion until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, prosciutto, garlic and pepper flakes; sauté until tender, 3-4 minutes. Add to the penne, then add the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil, the basil and cheese; toss to combine.

4 servings

Nutrition: 368 calories, 13 g Total Fat, 1g Saturated Fat, 57 mg Cholesterol, 572 mg Sodium, 44 g Total Carbohydrate, 5 g Dietary Fiber, 21g Protein, 97 mg Calcium. Points per serving: 6.

Baked Pa-sghetti

I made this last night on our Easy night – softball. I found it on the Apron’s site. I’m really encourage with this site because the recipes call for ingredients that are already prepped, like diced carrots, onions, etc. Some of these you can buy frozen, and some you can buy in the produce section. Costs a little more, but I definitely buy the frozen, cut up veggies since I’ll use them eventually. Sometimes, convenience is worth the cost!

This was an absolute fabulous mix of “easy” and tasty! Surprisingly, it required no pre-cooking of ingredients. Everything went into the pan as is and then into the oven. Loved it!!

Baked Spaghetti
Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef, 7% fat
1 cup frozen diced onions
1/4 cup frozen diced bell peppers
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
8 ounces spaghetti
2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend, divided
1 (26-ounce) jar tomato and basil pasta sauce

Steps
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Fill large saucepan 1/2 full of water. Cover and bring to a boil on high for pasta.
2. Meanwhile, mix beef, onions, peppers, 1 egg, garlic powder, oregano, and seasoned salt in large bowl. Mix by hand (or in food processor) until thoroughly blended. Spread mixture evenly in 9- x 13-inch baking dish. Wash hands.
3. Stir pasta into boiling water. Boil 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.
4. Drain pasta thoroughly (do not rinse). Whisk remaining 2 eggs, in medium bowl, until well blended; stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese. Add pasta and toss to coat until eggs and cheese are well blended into pasta. Spread pasta evenly over meat mixture.
5. Spoon pasta sauce over top. Sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 cups cheese. Bake 30–35 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165°F and meat is fully cooked. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. (Makes 8 servings.)

CALORIES (per 1/8 recipe) 360kcal; FAT 14g; CHOL 130mg; SODIUM 660mg; CARB 32g; FIBER 3g; PROTEIN 27g; VIT A 15%; VIT C 10%; CALC 25%; IRON 20%

Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina

Found a winner tonight! Semi-healthy, though it has mozzarella in it and a small amount of margarine. It was easy to prep and super easy to cook. And it surprisingly, didn’t taste as “Italian” as I thought it might. Probably because it didn’t have any oregano in it. In fact, besides onions, garlic, salt, and pepper, the only flavorings was the fresh flat-leaf parsley. Anyways, we enjoyed how light it tasted and will definitely be making this again.

Verdict – a keeper!

Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup cubed chicken breast (1-inch cubes)
1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl. Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Place the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.