yummy inexpensive pasta recipes that are actually good for y

caitlinmcauley

trying to cook dinner tonight for me and a friend who is also trying to lose some weight. wondering if anyone had some good recipes with pasta/chicken that are good for you and actually taste good? im 22 so im kind of on a budget

angiek941

This is one of my FAVES!
Cut up two boneless/skinless chicken breasts into bite size pieces and saute them with minced garlic (1-2 cloves) in a tblsp of olive oil
Add two pkgs of sundried tomatoes. I usually do one in oil, drained and one dry. You could do two dry to reduce the calories and spray the mixture with Pam.
Add 1 can of artichoke hearts in water. Drain the water and pull the hearts apart as you add them.
Add 2-3 tablespoons of capers
Add 1 tblsp of pesto
Stir it all together, cover, and let it cook for about 30 minutes on med or med low.
Serve over pasta. I usually do 1/3 cup of the mixture over 1/2 cup of whole wheat past for a serving.
I also like to saute spinach and serve with it.
Hope this helps.
Angie

caitlinmcauley

that sounds amazing! cant wait to try it.

eeebee

Where I live, sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts are not the cheapest things to buy - I wish they were though because that recipe sounds amazing!

Here's what I like to do, it;s fast, cheap and low fat:

Boil up some wholewheat pasta and when there's only about 5 minutes left to go till it's cooked, chuck in a few handfuls of frozen fine green beans (£1 per kilogram in most good supermarkets - I am in the UK by the way) so it cooks with the pasta.

Drain them together and save a cup or so of the hot pasta water and put that to one side.

Quickly cut up some lean ham into small pieces, sautee in a minute amount of olive oil or use fry-lite, use the same pot you boiled the pasta in - less washing up!

Add finely chopped scallions/spring onions and any herbs you have (if you like)...then add the pasta and beans back into the pot with the ham and onion.

Finally add a low fat garlic and herb cream cheese (namely Philadelphia light) melting it into the hot pasta to make it creamy - you only need about a tablespoon per person. Make sure you add a few tablsepoons of the pasta water to it, always helps to make the sauce silkier and gets rid of any gloopiness.

It's really tasty.

I always manage to make recipes long winded when in fact it's a lot easier and quicker in practice!

caitlinmcauley

that sounds great too! now i have to decide haha. looks like pasta for the next two nights.

Finally22

I've modified this one - less oil - less cheese or lower fat cheese - and add grilled chicken to it - and whole wheat pasta too... very very tasty!!!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/pasta-primavera-recipe/index.html

FitnessBarbie99

You can vary this quite a bit...

Start with a can of diced tomatoes (if it's flavored -- honor that flavor with the rest of your seasonings)
Add a portion or two of turkey meatballs
(I get mine at Aldi's for $2 a bag!)
Add in other vegetables -- again honor the spirit of your can of tomatoes
Add one cup of whole grain pasta ( I like smart taste macaroni) and bring to a boil -- add water if need be.
Let the whole concoction simmer until the pasta is tender.
You can add some lowfat cheese if wanted.

Mexican version -- black beans are a nice addition
Tuscan -- artichokes, mushrooms
Florentine -- spinach and cheese
Italian -- peppers, onions, mushrooms

LethaSue

I took one off a container of cottage cheese the other day and it is still soo good. Still working on eatting it. Of course its a cold salad, but the end result is only around 240 calories a serving. Can see no reason you could not add some chicken from a roasted or boiled chicken.

1 - small container of cottage cheese (4% milk fat) I would not use the low fat one, it would ruin it.
2 - green onions sliced thin
1 - container of cherry tomatoes
1 - cup of raw broccoli crowns cut up small
4 - TBLS low fat ranch dressing
2 cups of colored cooked rotini pasta
1 - cup of shredded carrots or sliced carrots


There are 8 servings in it.
Turned out so yummy.
Think you could add other things to your liking as well
One night I added feta cheese to my serving.
I also added a little sprinkle of Hidden Valley Ranch dips (powder)

lakersfan4life

"honor the spirit of your can of tomatoes "


sorry, but this cracked me up

caitlinmcauley

thanks for all the suggestions

rachelmarie1

Cut up two boneless/skinless chicken breasts into bite size pieces and saute them with minced garlic (1-2 cloves) in a tblsp of olive oil
Add two pkgs of sundried tomatoes. I usually do one in oil, drained and one dry. You could do two dry to reduce the calories and spray the mixture with Pam.
Add 1 can of artichoke hearts in water. Drain the water and pull the hearts apart as you add them.
Add 2-3 tablespoons of capers
Add 1 tblsp of pesto
Stir it all together, cover, and let it cook for about 30 minutes on med or med low.
Serve over pasta. I usually do 1/3 cup of the mixture over 1/2 cup of whole wheat past for a serving.

OMG!! this sounds so delicious! Can't wait to share with friends. Thank you soo much for sharing!

rachelmarie1

Cut up two boneless/skinless chicken breasts into bite size pieces and saute them with minced garlic (1-2 cloves) in a tblsp of olive oil
Add two pkgs of sundried tomatoes. I usually do one in oil, drained and one dry. You could do two dry to reduce the calories and spray the mixture with Pam.
Add 1 can of artichoke hearts in water. Drain the water and pull the hearts apart as you add them.
Add 2-3 tablespoons of capers
Add 1 tblsp of pesto
Stir it all together, cover, and let it cook for about 30 minutes on med or med low.
Serve over pasta. I usually do 1/3 cup of the mixture over 1/2 cup of whole wheat past for a serving.

OMG!! this sounds so delicious! Can't wait to share with friends. Thank you soo much for sharing!

ok so i actually made this tonight... it's really DRY... :sad: it taste good, but i'm really disappointed. i did opt to use 2 packages of the dry sun dried tomatoes. I guess I had it in my head that the chicken mixture would be a little more fluid so you could put it over the pasta since there isnt a sauce being used. Guess i'll have to find a way to alter the mixture so everything isnt so dry.

BackwoodsMom

My favorite that's quick and easy:

some kind of pasta - cooked
browned ground turkey
spaghetti sauce
cottage cheese
Stir it all together so the cheese melts. You can even top it off with a little mozzarella.

We call this Lazy Man's Lasagna at home! Quick and easy but so tasty.

Rilke

Oh pasta, how do I love thee? Let me count the (healthier) ways . . .

Here is my absolute favorite -- I've made it three times, always for guests, always a hit:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/08/pioneer_womans_/

Some others:
http://www.fresh365online.com/recipes/2009/4/9/angel-hair-with-asparagus-sun-dried-tomatoes-and-pine-nuts.html
http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/06/linguine-with-pea-pesto
http://www.thejeyofcooking.com/pasta-e-fagioli (I omitted the ham and cut down a bit on the marinara)
http://shallwecook.blogspot.com/2007/01/green-is-good.html (ridiculously easy)



And I will just leave this here at the bottom, because it is utterly NOT healthy but just so, so good:
http://annies-eats.com/2010/05/24/fontina-mac-and-cheese/

eeebee

My favorite that's quick and easy:

some kind of pasta - cooked
browned ground turkey
spaghetti sauce
cottage cheese
Stir it all together so the cheese melts. You can even top it off with a little mozzarella.

We call this Lazy Man's Lasagna at home! Quick and easy but so tasty.

I have never used cottage cheese in pasta before but you have inspired me to do so, sounds SO delicious and low fat!!

daffodilsoup

I like a quick (cheaper) pesto made from spinach, walnuts and a little water over whole-wheat penne.

I also love penne or rigatoni with tons of garlic, sauteed broccoli rabe, diced tomato and vegan sweet Italian sausage. Soooo delicious - the more garlic, the better!

y_53kg

Fettuccine Alfredo (I love it, not the healthiest but this is the one we cook/ the healthier version)

A pack of whole grain fettuccine
Boneless chicken breasts but into small bite pieces (Grilled)

In a sauce pan:
Cut 2 cloves of garlic, 1/4 of an onion.. heat them until a bit soft
Add unsalted butter (4 tbsp) and let it melt
Add 3-4 tbsp of flour
Then add skimmed milk

Leave it to thicken a bit.. then add it over the cooked pasta and finally add the chicken!
Yumm.

Rilke

I like a quick (cheaper) pesto made from spinach, walnuts and a little water over whole-wheat penne.

I also love penne or rigatoni with tons of garlic, sauteed broccoli rabe, diced tomato and vegan sweet Italian sausage. Soooo delicious - the more garlic, the better!

Pesto is not pesto without olive oil

di2losew8

Fettuccine Alfredo (I love it, not the healthiest but this is the one we cook/ the healthier version)

A pack of whole grain fettuccine
Boneless chicken breasts but into small bite pieces (Grilled)

In a sauce pan:
Cut 2 cloves of garlic, 1/4 of an onion.. heat them until a bit soft
Add unsalted butter (4 tbsp) and let it melt
Add 3-4 tbsp of flour
Then add skimmed milk

Leave it to thicken a bit.. then add it over the cooked pasta and finally add the chicken!
Yumm.

daffodilsoup

I like a quick (cheaper) pesto made from spinach, walnuts and a little water over whole-wheat penne.

I also love penne or rigatoni with tons of garlic, sauteed broccoli rabe, diced tomato and vegan sweet Italian sausage. Soooo delicious - the more garlic, the better!

Pesto is not pesto without olive oil

My tastebuds can't tell the difference

asmallermeplz

Bump They all sound good! :flowerforyou: