Skinny Baked Ziti

I'm going to let the photos do most of the talking tonight.  This dish is delish!  It is a lower calorie version of a favorite comfort food, baked ziti.  It is prepared with a simple sauce, hot sausage, and it's loaded with vegetables.  You don't even need to make a salad!

Here we go!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. hot or sweet ring Italian sausage or turkey sausage
2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
2 tbs. minced green bell pepper, seeded
1/4 cup sliced cubanelle pepper, seeded
6 large white mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can (28 ounce) crushed tomato
1 spring fresh oregano, plus 1 tbs., chopped (extra sprig for garnish - optional)
3 whole basil leaves plus 3 for garnish
2 tbs. dry red wine (optional)
1 tsp. fine sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1 packet Splenda ® or two tsp. sugar
1/2 pound cooked ziti pasta
2 cups broccoli florets
2/3 cup low fat or fat free cottage cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan and Romano cheese
8 ounces part skim or low fat shredded mozzarella
Sprinkle garlic salt with parsley

Other:  Cooking Spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Rub sausage with one tbs. of the olive oil.  Bake for one hour, turning once, until crispy.  Let sausage cool for about five minutes.  Slice cooked sausage into rounds and halve each round.  Keep warms and set aside.

Add remaining olive oil to a small skillet.  Add the bell pepper, cubanelle, and mushrooms.  Cook for three minutes until softened.  Add the garlic and cook for one more minute.

Add crushed tomatoes to a sauce pan.  Add the cooked peppers, mushroom and garlic to the tomatoes along with the fresh oregano spring, three basil leaves, the red wine, salt, pepper and Splenda®.  Bring to boil and reduce to simmer.  Cook, covered, for about 25 minutes.

Stir occasionally.  Remove the oregano sprig once cooked.

Cook pasta in boiling water about two minutes under package directions (approximately 10 minutes).  Add broccoli during the last four minutes.  Drain well.

Spray baking dish with cooking spray.  Add pasta and broccoli to the baking dish.  Add the cottage cheese and the remaining chopped fresh oregano.  Stir to combine. Add the cooked sausage slices. Add the sauce with veggies and stir well to coat the pasta.  Top with grated cheese, mozzarella and the garlic salt. 

Bake for twenty minutes.  You can turn the broiler on for the last two or three minutes if the cheese is not bubbly and brown enough to your liking.

I don't even have to say this, but enjoy!

See you soon!

Italian Tuna and Broccoli Casserole

Italian Tuna and Broccoli Casserole

I am not big into casseroles because casseroles tend to be a bit, well… fattening. 

My Tuna and Broccoli Casserole is lighter.  No roux.  No heavy sauce.   You can actually taste the tuna and the broccoli. 

I used 2% milk.  There is no added salt to the dish other than what’s in the sauce and in the cheese.  I even bumped up the fiber by using whole grain pasta.

This is a complete dinner.   You don’t even need to make a salad. The veggies are in here! 

I love these types of one dish dinners for weeknights.   You can clean up stage one while the casserole is baking.  There is relatively little cleanup after dinner.

I used a semi-dry white Florida Chablis from the beautiful Lakeridge winery in my dish.  This Chablis is made with Muscadine. You can select any semi-dry wine you have on hand.  I just think the wine adds a little something to the sauce, but you can certainly leave it out.  

Of course, if you are using the wine, you might want to have a glass of that Chablis with your meal.  The Florida Chablis pairs perfectly with this old time-style recipe. 

You can use another brand of garlic and herb sauce if you have your favorite.  You can also use your favorite brand of crispy onions (and your favorite flavor).  This recipe was tested with the brands listed below.*

Makes 4 Servings:

Ingredients:

3 cups whole grain Corkscrew Pasta, cooked al dente

1 package Knorr® Garlic and Herb Sauce Mix

1 ½ cups 2% Milk

1 tablespoon Butter

Splash of white semi-dry White Wine (optional)

½ tablespoon Italian Seasoning

¼ teaspoon grated Nutmeg

2 cups Broccoli florets

1  5 ounce can Solid White Italian Style Tuna packed in oil, drained and flaked

4 slices Tomato

½ cup grated Parmesan and Romano cheese

Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste

¼ cup Crispy Onions (suggest Fresh Gourmet® Garlic Pepper flavor)

Other:  Butter Flavored Cooking Spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare a 8 X 8 or 9 X 9 casserole dish with cooking spray.

Cook pasta per package directions to al dente. 

Prepare sauce mix with 2% milk and butter.  Grate in nutmeg,.  Stir in Italian seasoning and white wine if using.

Steam broccoli florets in two tablespoons of water in the microwave for two minutes. 

Combine hot pasta, sauce and broccoli carefully so that you don’t break up the florets. 

Stir in tuna.  Fold mixture into prepared casserole dish.

Top with tomato, cheese and fresh pepper.   You can spray a little more of the butter-flavored cooking spray on top of the tomato and cheese to help promote a golden brown color.   

Bake, uncovered,  for 20 minutes.

Top with crispy onions and continue to bake for another 5 minutes. 

Let casserole rest for about five minutes before serving.

*No product was supplied to blogger and the use of these products is not an endorsement.

If you like this post, you might also like:  http://welcometojustforcooking.blogspot.com/2011/09/linguine-with-tuna-capers-and-olives.html

If you like the sauce that I used to make this dish, you might also like: http://welcometojustforcooking.blogspot.com/2011/09/garlic-and-herb-pizza-topped-with-sweet.html