Baked Ziti

As I explore different recipes and try to determine which recipe really is my "go to" recipe, I am trying out different versions of some of my favorites. They may not always be "skinny," but I think that a good cook needs two versions of things - the real version of a favorite and a skinny version.
The original version of this Baked Ziti recipe was from AllRecipes.com. I really enjoyed the casserole overall. As I was looking for which version I wanted to cook, I was very skeptical of the sour cream as an ingredient. The sour cream gave it a slightly unique taste but also made it incredibly creamy. This dish was delicious, however I look forward to continuing to search and seeing if this really was my favorite.

Ingredients:

1 pound dry ziti pasta
1 onion, chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
1 1/2 cups sour cream
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.

2. In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

4. Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish.

5. Layer in the following order: 1/2 of the ziti, sauce, provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

6. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.

It comes out of the oven looking like this... enjoy!

"Popeye's" Pasta

Have you ever tried sweet italian chicken sausage? I hadn't until this recipe!

I get (almost) daily recipe updates from skinnytaste.com and this recipe for Baked Pasta with Sausage and Spinach came across in the beginning of the month. I just had to try it!

It turned out well and made a fairly large casserole. The dish did have an (in my opinion) overwhelming italian seasoning taste. My second eater also wasn't too impressed with the green spinach though I didn't mind it - he isn't impressed with any veggies. Actually, he cringes with "green things" in food. I have found that so many recipes these days are laden with veggies, which makes it sometimes hard to cook healthy for someone who really doesn't appreciate them.

Lessons Learned: Try LESS sausage as I think I had too much. I would also reduce (to make it less noticeable) or eliminate the spinach.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup grated Romano
8 oz fat-free ricotta
8 oz part-skim mozzarella, shredded
14 oz uncooked sweet Italian chicken sausage, removed from casing (I think I had more...)
12 oz WW rigatoni pasta
1 tsp olive oil
2 cloves smashed garlic, roughly chopped (I used a little diced garlic)
10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess liquid
salt and fresh pepper to taste
4 cups Marinara Sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Spray 9 x13-inch baking dish with olive oil spray.
3. Bring a large pot water to a boil (salted)
4. In medium bowl, combine ricotta, 6 tablespoons of the Romano cheese and half of the mozzarella cheese. Set aside.

5. In a large (deep) skillet, brown sausage making sure to break it up into small pieces until cooked through.

Remove from skillet.

6. Add the oil to the skillet and sauté garlic about a minute.
7. Add spinach (if you are using) and season with salt and pepper; cook another minute.
8. Return the sausage to the skillet and add the marinara sauce; cook on low about 2-3 minutes.

9. Cook pasta according to directions for al dente, but undercook by 4 minutes. Drain and return to pot.
10. Put half of the cooked pasta into the baking dish and top with half of the meat sauce.

11. Spoon ricotta mixture over the sauce evenly.
12. Cover with remain pasta and sauce.
13. Top with rest of mozzarella and romano.
14. Cover with foil; bake for 20 minutes.
15. Remove foil; bake for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and edges are slightly browned.

Enjoy!

Swiss Chicken Casserole

Cheese, chicken and rice? How can it not taste good?

This casserole turned out well, though I could have eliminated the ham and would have enjoyed it just the same.

This recipe came from the Betty Crocker 300 Calorie Cookbook (p.87).

Ingredients:

4 cups boiling water
2 boxes (6oz each) florentine long grain & wild rice mix
4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts (~2 lbs)
8 slices of ham
1/4 cup diced bell pepper - any color (I used green)
4 slices swiss cheese, halved.

Directions:


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray glass baking dish (13x9) with cooking spray.
3. Combine boiling water, rice and seasoning mix in baking dish.
4. Cut chicken breasts in half (lengthwise) and wrap ham slice around each piece of chicken.
5. Stir bell pepper into rice mix.

6. Place wrapped chicken over rice.

7. Cover with foil; bake for 40-45 minutes.
8. Uncover, bake ~ 10 more minutes (or until liquid is absorbed and juice of chicken is clear).
9. Top each piece of chicken with cheese; bake uncovered 3-4 minutes (or until cheese is melted.

It comes out like this - yum!