Pasta Meals

grill some chicken andd some red onion and sweetcorn and a jar of salsa and heat the lot through! tasty!!

Anyone got any recipes for pasta meals? Quick and easy?

Baked Penne with Spinach, Roasted Peppers and Bacon Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Prep Time: 25 min

Cook Time: 35 min


Ingredients:

SAUCE:
16 ounce container of Pacific Natural Foods Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup
2 cups 2% milk
4 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
freshly ground pepper, to taste

PASTA:
1 pound penne pasta (or ziti), cooked until tender, but still firm to the bite
1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed & squeezed dry
3/4 cup chopped jarred roasted red peppers
1 1/2 cups cubed Provolone cheese
8 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled
1 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
Freshly ground black pepper
kosher salt

Directions:1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 9x13-inch pan (or other 2 1/2-quart baking dish) with nonstick spray.

2. Prepare sauce: Heat soup and milk in a medium saucepan until small bubbles begin to form around the edges (just until hot). In a larger saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add flour and stir well. Continue to cook, stirring, until thick and smooth, about 2 minutes. Slowly begin adding hot soup/milk mixture to the large saucepan, whisking constantly while adding. Sauce will start out lumpy and become smooth as the liquid is incorporated.

3. Assemble the dish: In a large bowl, toss cooked pasta with the sauce. Break apart the spinach with your fingers and add it to the bowl. Also add red peppers, provolone cheese and 3/4 cup of Parmesan. Stir until ingredients are evenly distributed. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle with bacon crumbles and top with remaining Parmesan cheese. Finish with a good dose of freshly ground black pepper and a sprinkle of kosher salt.

4. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake 25 minutes. Uncover and bake until sauce is bubbling around the edges and the center is hot (about 10 minutes more). Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

Tips:*Pacific Natural Foods Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup can usually be found in your market's natural food's aisle.

*Don't use generic pasta for this recipe. In baked pasta recipes, generic pasta tends to overcook. Make sure that you only cook the pasta to "al dente" state- about 5 minutes for penne. It will cook more in the baking process and become more tender.
*Substitutions: You can sub mozzarella for the Provolone, but the provolone will give the dish more flavor. Try using Applewood Smoked Bacon in this recipe too... so delicious.
*I kept the salt low in this recipe- using salted butter & a sprinkle of kosher salt on top of the pasta. Add more salt if you'd like.

Source: www.RecipeGirl.com

Stuffed Shells

12 jumbo pasta shells
1 (16 oz) container fat free ricotta cheese
1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
1 egg
1 ounce finely shredded parmesan cheese
1-1/2 ounces finely grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
salt & pepper to taste
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

Cook pasta shells according to package directions.

Combine all ingredients except tomato sauce, Italian seasoning and mozzarella cheese.

Fill pasta shells with stuffing.

Mix tomato sauce and Italian seasoning; pour evenly over shells.

Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil. (I spray foil with Pam to prevent the cheese from sticking to it.) Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.

I suggest that you run the recipe through the recipe creator based on the ingredient brands you use, but with the products I used, the values PER SHELL are:

Calories: 92
Carbs: 12
Fat: 2
Protein: 8

Chicken & Spinach Lasagna (Red or White Sauce) Large Pan

YIEALD: 12 SERVINGS

PREP: 15-20 Minutes

BAKE TIME: 20-25

- 2 medium sized boneless chicken breast
- 12 Rozni Whole Wheat Lasagna Noodles
- 2 boxes of choice frozen spinach (defrosted and drained)
- 1 cup of low fat/skim ricotta cheese
- 2 1/2 teaspoons of basil or italian seasoning
- 1/2 jar of choice of red sauce or (low fat Ragu Alfredo sauce)
- 1/2 cup low fat shreaded cheedar (OPTIONAL)
- 1 slice of whole wheat bread (OPTIONAL)
*sometimes I cheat and get the Ragu Roasted Pepper Alfredo Sauce

preheat oven on 375 degrees
boil noodles as directed on package (TIP: boil with olive oil to prevent sticking, let cool to room temp for easy handling)
use non-stick pan with a few table spoons of water to cook chicken instead of using oil add 1/2 teaspoon of basil for taste a sprinkle of salt and pepper for taste if wanted (tbl spoon of olive oil is also good) and chop down to small bit sizes and let cool to room temperature
in large bowl combine room temperature chopped chicken, ricotta cheese, spinach and basil (can add 3 table spoons of low fat cheddar for the cheese lovers)
OPTIONAL: toast bread hard, crumble add a pinch of basil or italian (which ever choosen for recipe) set aside

LAYERS:
spread thin layer of sauce on bottom of pan OR use nonstick spray
add layer of noodles, slightly overlap ends to prevent seepage of cheese and sauce
add think layer of cheese combo
drzzle choice sauce over cheese combo
complete until last/top layer is chees combo,
OPTINAL TOPPING: sprinkle thin layer of low fat cheeder (should be able to see sauce through cheese sprinkle) than add bread crumbs to form a toasted crust

i love to keep it simple:

Multi-grain angel hair pasta
Fresh garlic (saute in pan)
Olive Oil
Pepper
parmesean cheese.

So good!

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