Stir-Fried Chinese Egg Noodles

(Photo Credit: www.myrecipes.com)

Hands On Time: 27 min

Total Time: 27 min

Serves 4 (1 cup)

Ingredients:

8 oz fresh or frozen Chinese egg noodles, thawed

1 tbsp canola oil

1 cup sliced mushrooms (recipe suggests cremini)

5 garlic cloves, minced

3 green onions, diagonally sliced

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar

1.5 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 tbsp dark sesame oil

2 large eggs

2 cups spinach, trimmed

Directions

1) Cook the noodles per package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain. Set aside.

2) Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan, and swirl to coat. Add mushrooms and saute 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and green onions. Saute for 1 minute. Combine soy sauce and next four ingredients, stirring well. Stir soy sauce mixture into the mushroom mixture. Bring to a boil.

3) Add noodles to pan, toss to coat. Add eggs, cook 2 minutes or until eggs are set, tossing well. Remove from heat. Stir in spinach.

Calories: 104

Fat: 10.3g

Fiber: 2.3g

Sodium: 662mg

Baked Ziti

Makes: 8 servings

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 25 minutes

Bake: 375 for 25 minutes

Sauce

2 tbs olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, sliced

1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes

1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce

2 tbs tomato paste

2 tbs sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 can (14.5 oz) basil & oregano diced tomatoes, drained

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

Ziti & Cheese

1 box (16 oz) ziti

1 bag (8 oz) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1) Heat oven to 375. Coat a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray.

2)Sauce: Heat oil in 3 qt saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute. Stir in whole tomatoes and their juice, breaking tomatoes apart with your hands or a wooden spoon. Stir in tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, salt & pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes.

3) Remove pan from heat. Stir in diced tomatoes and basil.

4) Ziti & Cheese: Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boiling. Add ziti; boil 10 mins, stirring. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Add half the sauce to bowl with ziti. Stir to coat. Pour ziti mixture into prepared dish. Top with remaining sauce and then sprinkle with cheeses.

5) Bake at 375 for 20-25 mins, until bubbly and lightly browned. Cool 10 mins.

Per Serving:
379 cals

10g fat

4g fiber

Turkey Tetrazzini

(photo courtesy of www.examiner.com)

This recipe is another one out of the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. The original calls for chicken, but we had some leftover turkey in the freezer, so I went with that instead. I've added in peas and would also recommend some breadcrumbs in the final step so I've added those to the ingredients list as well.

Prep: 20 mins

Bake: 15 mins

Makes: 6 servings

Oven: 350*

Ingredients

8 oz linguine or spaghetti

2 cups sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup sliced green onions

2 tbs butter

1/4 cup flour

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1.25 cup chicken broth

1.25 cup milk

2 cups chopped chicken or turkey

2 tbs dry sherry (optional)

1 cup peas

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

breadcrumbs to taste

1. Cook spaghetti or linguine according to directions. Drain.

2. Meanwhile, in large saucepan cook mushrooms and green onions in hot butter until tender. Stir in flour, pepper and nutmeg. Add broth and milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Stir in chicken and sherry. Stir in peas and half the Parmesan cheese. Add cooked pasta; stir to coat.

3. Transfer pasta to a 2 qt baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and breadcrumbs. Bake at 350, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

Nutrition (w/o peas and crumbs): 379 cal, 14g fat, 2 g fiber

Baked Ziti

Prep time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 35 mins
Feeds 10

Ingredients:
1 pd dry ziti pasta
1 onion, chopped
1 pd lean ground beef (ok if a little less or to sub in a little sausage)
2 jars spaghetti sauce
1 cup sour cream
6 oz mozzerella, shredded
2 tbsp grated parmesean cheese

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of slightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente (about 8 minutes). Drain.

2. In a large skillet, brown meat over medium heat. Brown onions too. Add sauce and simmer 15 minutes.

3. Preheat over to 350. Butter a 9x13 pan. Mix ziti, sour cream and a little shredded cheese. Pour into baking pan. Top with rest of cheese.

4. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 mins or until cheese is melted. Remove foil for last 5 minutes.

Baked Eggplant & Turkey Rotini

Baked Eggplant and Turkey Rotini

1/2 pound lean ground turkey
6 oz whole wheat rotini or other short cut pasta
2.5 cups marinara sauce
1 cup onion, diced (I used red but white works just as well)
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 - 1 eggplant, chopped (mine was pretty large so I only used half)
2 T olive oil
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp fennel seed
1/2 tsp salt (plus more for salting pasta water)
1/2 cup cheese, shredded (I used a mix of 1/4 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat a large pot of water over high heat until boiling. Add salt and pasta and stir. Cook until just al dente, do not overcook since you are going to continue baking. Drain pasta and add to a large bowl.

While water boils, heat a skillet over medium high heat. When hot add ground turkey and brown, crumbling with a wooden spatula as it cooks, add 1/2 tsp fennel seed while it cooks. When cooked through, remove from heat and transfer to large bowl and add marinara sauce.

In the same skillet, heat 1 T olive oil and add garlic and onion. Cook about 2 minutes and add green peppers. Add about half of crushed red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning and cook about 2-3 minutes more. Transfer to bowl with ground turkey. Add remaining olive oil to skillet and heat. Add eggplant, salt, and remaining fennel seed and Italian seasoning. Cook about 5 minutes until slightly softened and transfer to bowl. Toss mixture together gently until well combined and transfer to a baking dish (I used an 8x8 square pan but any similar size baking dish will do just make sure its 2-3 inches deep).

Top pasta mixture with cheese and bake for about 15 minutes until cheese begins to melt. At this point, I switch the oven to broil and let the top brown for a few minutes. You can also just continue cooking an additional 5-10 minutes if you prefer. If you do broil it, watch it carefully so you don't burn the tips of the pasta.