Baked Ziti

This recipe is a little different because you layer it like lasagna, it comes our really good. I tried for years to get my mother in-law's recipe but she didn't follow one - this comes pretty close. Enjoy!

Serves 4

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 8 ounces ziti rigate (ridged) or other short pasta
• 1 cup part-skim ricotta
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
• 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
• 1 jar (24 to 26 ounces) best-quality tomato sauce (about 3 1/2 cups)
  **if you use jarred sauce I swear by Rao's - their eggplant sauce is awesome

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions; drain and reserve.
2. In a small bowl, combine ricotta, egg, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and half the mozzarella; season with salt and pepper.
3. In the bottom of a shallow 2-quart casserole dish, spread half the tomato sauce. Top with ziti, then ricotta mixture and remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and remaining mozzarella.
4. Place casserole on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until top is browned and sauce is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.
   

Cowboy Spaghetti

1 pound spaghetti
1 tablespoon (extra virgin olive oil)
3 slices smoky bacon, chopped
1 pound ground sirloin
1 medium onion
3 to 4 garlic cloves, chopped
Dash of black pepper
2 teaspoons hot sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 14- ounce can chopped or crushed fire- roasted tomatoes
1 8- ounce can tomato sauce
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
4 scallions, trimmed, chopped

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add the spaghetti.
Cook the pasta until al dente, with a bite to it. Drain the spaghetti.

Heat a deep skillet over medium- high heat. Add the (Extra virgin olive oil) and bacon.
Brown and crisp the bacon for 5 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon to a paper- towel- lined plate. Drain off a little excess fat from the skillet if necessary, leaving just enough to coat the bottom. Add the beef and crumble it as it browns, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the onions and garlic and stir into the meat. Season the meat with salt and pepper, hot sauce, and Worcestershire. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes more, then stir in the tomatoes and tomato sauce.

Add the hot spaghetti to the meat and sauce and combine Adjust the seasonings and serve up the pasta in shallow bowls. Grate some cheese over the pasta and sprinkle with scallions. Makes 4 servings.

This is REALLY GOOD! It takes the boring out of plain ol' spaghetti.

Orecchiette with Spicy Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

• 2 Bunches of Broccoli Rabe, stalks trimmed and quartered crosswise
• 12 oz. dreid orecchiette pasta or other small shaped pasta ( farfalle or penne)
• 3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1 lb. spicy pork sausage, casings removed
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• Pinch of dried crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 C freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli rabe and cook until crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Strain the broccoli rabe, reserving all the cooking liquid. Set the broccoli rabe aside. Cook the orecchiette in the same pot of boiling water until tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 min. Drain, reserving 1 C of the water.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat, add the sausage and cook, breaking up with a spoon, until the sausage is brown and juices form, about 8 min. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute about 30 seconds. Add the broccoli rabe and toss to coat. Add the pasta and enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Stir in the parmesan cheese, salt to taste, and pepper into the pasta mixture.

Hello Bloggers!! Firstly, I am new to this blogging thing... so bear with me while I work out any kinks! Secondly, I am a personal trainer so MOST of the recipes I will share will be on the healthier side. I say most, because Sunday is the one day out of the week that I cook what ever my boyfriend, Trent, or I want. Believe me... I LOVE Sunday's for this one reason!! =) And lastly, I've skimmed through some of the recipes posted and can't wait to try some... they all look fantastic!!

Lower Calorie Stuffed Shells

18 jumbo pasta shells
1 package light cream cheese
3/4 to 1 cup skim milk
1/2 or so of cup roasted sweet red peppers diced (I use the kind in the jar)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups diced or shredded cooked chicken breast
2 cups chopped broccoli (can use frozen but I prefer fresh)
2 green onions, thinly sliced
Pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350
Cook Shells and set aside.
Over medium heat melt cream cheese and a little less than half the milk, once smooth add peppers and Parmesan cheese. In a bowl mix about 3/4 of the sauce with the chicken, broccoli, onions, and pepper. Stuff shells with mixture, about 2 or 3 spoon fulls each. Place in baking dish(spray the dish!!) and bake covered for 30 minutes. When finished, I reheat the remaining sauce (usually add a little more milk) and spoon over shells before serving. BEST PART!! 3 prepared shells is under 350 calories!! =)

This is how I first tried out the recipe. Since then, I have added garlic, sherry, and have even melted in some of the laughing cow cheese when low on cream cheese. While in California, I used the base of this recipe but used salmon and dill instead of chicken and broccoli. (Sooo good!) Well I hope those of you that try this enjoy it! Yeah! I did my first blog ever...

Tomato-Basil Pasta

1 box penne pasta
2 Tbs olive oil
3 cloves garlic sliced
3 ounces sliced prosciutto, chopped
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, haved
3 Tbs white or reg balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves, cleaned and cut into thin strips
2 Tbs toasted pine nuts

Cook pasta, while pasta cooks, heat oil in 10 inch skillet over med-high heat. Add garlic and porsciutto; saute' 3 minutes. Add tomatoes cook until JUST softened, about 2 min. Remove skillet from heat. Stir in olives, vinegar, salt and pepper. Drain pasta; transfer to large serving bowl. Add sauce and basil; toss. Garnish with toasted pine nuts. Serve warm or at room temp. Serves 3-6 depending on family ;)

Prep time about 8 min, cook time 12