Marinara Magnifico

This is a 4-star sauce--excellent!

Dry red wine intensifies the well-blended flavors in this lusciously seasoned tomato sauce--magnifico!Serve over your favorite pasta.

Yield: 9 cups (serving size: 1 cup)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 cups chopped onion (about 3 medium)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes, undrained
• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste

Preparation

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat; add onion and sugar. Cook 30 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally. Stir in wine; cook 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

169 (20% from fat)

Cooking Light, AUGUST 2004

Tuscan Skillet Supper

Another FAST dinner that's very tasty and good for you!

Yield 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups)
Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 cup sliced onion
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup diced tomato
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
2 rosemary sprigs
1 cup chopped spinach
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Preparation
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini and next 5 ingredients (zucchini through garlic); sauté 2 minutes. Stir in tomato, beans, and rosemary; cook 2 minutes. Stir in spinach and remaining ingredients; cook 1 minute or until spinach wilts and cheese begins to melt. Discard rosemary.
Nutritional Information
Calories: 205 (29% from fat)
Cooking Light, JUNE 1998

Shrimp Scampi

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 8 shrimp and 1 cup pasta)
Ingredients
2 pounds large unpeeled shrimp (48 shrimp)
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
8 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Paprika
6 cups hot cooked angel hair (about 3/4 pound uncooked pasta)
Preparation
Peel shrimp, leaving tails intact. Starting at tail end, butterfly underside of each shrimp, cutting to, but not through, back of shrimp. Arrange 8 shrimp, cut sides up, in each of 6 gratin dishes; set aside.
Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add bell pepper and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in wine, parsley, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Spoon wine mixture evenly over each serving; sprinkle paprika over shrimp, and broil 6 minutes or until shrimp is done. Serve with angel hair pasta.

Calories: 383 (20% from fat)
Elizabeth J. Taliaferro, Cooking Light, MARCH 1996

Cavatappi with Spinach, Beans and Asiago Cheese

Yield 4 servings (serving size: 2 cups)
Ingredients
8 cups coarsely chopped spinach leaves
4 cups hot cooked cavatappi (about 6 ounces uncooked spiral-shaped pasta)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (19-ounce) can cannellini beans or other white beans, drained
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Asiago cheese
Fresh ground black pepper (optional)
Preparation
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, and toss well. Sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper, if desired.

Calories: 401 (27% from fat)
Cooking Light, OCTOBER 1996

One of Penny's favorite Pasta Dinner options the night before a race. Yum!

Lasagna Rolls

Yield 12 Rolls servings (serving size: 2 lasagna rolls)
Ingredients
1 small onion
1 small carrot
3 links Italian Turkey Sausage
8 oz fresh spinach, steamed, drained well and chopped (MUCH BETTER than the frozen stuff--only use a box of frozen spinach if you HAVE to)
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (freshly grated is WAY better than the Kraft stuff)
12 lasagna noodles
1 jar bottled marinara sauce
3/4 cup chicken broth

Preparation

1. Have ready a 13x9 baking pan.
2. Add 1/2 cup Chicken broth and 1/2 the marinara sauce to the baking pan and set aside.
3. Boil Lasagna noodles to soften. When still slightly chewy, remove from heat and drain. Rinse with cold water so they are easier to handle.
4. Put onion and carrot in food processor to chop.
5. Remove sausage from casing and add to food processor. Pulse until mixed well.
6. Using a no-stick fry pan and Pam, brown the sausage/carrot/onion mix. 7-9 min.
7. Set to one side to cool slightly while preparing the next steps.
8. Blend the cottage cheese and Parmesan cheese. Add chopped spinach.
9. Laying out the lasagna rolls flat on the counter, spoon some of the cheese mixture evenly across the top. Sprinkle on some of the sausage mixture and roll up. (This is kind of messy--but TRUST ME, it's worth it.)
10. Place Lasagna roll (with the open ends horizontal--don't try to stand the roll upright, like a cinnamon bun--it doesn't work) in the baking pan (nestled in the marinara sauce.)
11. Repeat with all noodles, cheese and meat ingredients. Top with remaining marinara sauce. Use some chicken broth to rinse out the jar and get all the sauce.
12. If desired, sprinkle motzarella cheese on the top of the rolls before baking.
13. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

CALORIES 326

When you're feeling like a little Lasagna . . but don't want to make a BIG pan of it. You can assemble this ahead of time and store in fridge for up to 2 days prior to baking.

Baked Ziti Casserole

Baked pasta is hearty, satisfying, and easy to prepare. To streamline the recipe, we skipped the traditional step of browning the meat before it's combined with the rest of the ingredients; it cooks fully as the casserole bakes. This recipe easily doubles to feed a crowd; bake in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish for 35 minutes.
Yield 4 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)
Ingredients
6 ounces uncooked ziti (short tube-shaped pasta)
2 cups Basic Marinara
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded Asiago cheese, divided
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
6 ounces ground turkey breast
Cooking spray
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain.
Combine pasta, Basic Marinara, 1/2 cup mozzarella, 2 tablespoons Asiago, salt, pepper sauce, and turkey in a large bowl. Spoon into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons Asiago. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Wine note: A simple baked ziti such as this is best with a good solid red wine, preferably made from the Italian grape sangiovese (the main grape in Chianti). Sangiovese possesses a hint of acidity, which helps it pair beautifully with tomato sauces. For a fuller-bodied sangiovese, try one from California such as Eberle Sangiovese 2005 from Paso Robles ($22). --Karen MacNeil

Calories: 362 (26% from fat)
Bruce Weinstein, Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2007

This is a quick, easy recipe to pull together and makes enough for leftovers which are good for another dinner OR work well in the lunch box. I've tried several Baked Ziti/Mostiacoilli recipes and this is the one that we like best.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Yield 8 servings (serving size: 1 cup spaghetti, about 1/2 cup sauce, 4 meatballs, and 1 tablespoon cheese)
Ingredients
Sauce:
Cooking spray
1 cup finely chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (14-ounce) can less-sodium beef broth
2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, undrained and chopped
Meatballs:
1 (1-ounce) slice white bread
2 (4-ounce) links sweet turkey Italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons egg substitute
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large egg
1 pound ground sirloin
Remaining ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1 pound hot cooked spaghetti
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano
Fresh parsley sprigs (optional)

Preparation
To prepare sauce, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add 1 cup onion; sauté for 3 minutes. Add 3 garlic cloves, and sauté 1 minute. Add tomato paste; cook 1 minute. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt and broth. Cook 4 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes. Reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Preheat broiler.
To prepare meatballs, place bread in a food processor, and process until fine crumbs measure 1/2 cup. Combine the breadcrumbs, sausage, 1/2 cup onion, and next 8 ingredients (through sirloin) in a bowl. With wet hands, shape sirloin mixture into 32 meatballs. Place meatballs on a broiler pan. Broil 15 minutes or until done. Add meatballs to sauce; simmer 15 minutes. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup parsley and 1/3 cup basil. Serve over spaghetti. Sprinkle with cheese; garnish with parsley sprigs, if desired.

Calories: 291 (25% from fat)
Julianna Grimes Bottcher, Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2006

This is the best recipe for meatballs I've found yet. Use leftovers to make a meatball sub sandwich for another meal. Instead of spaghetti--try Linguini and put on "Lady and the Tramp" for a theme dinner. (Don't forget the red and white checked table cloth)