Friday, January 4, 2013

A Healthy Comfort Food Meal

Since it's finally staying cold down in Texas I've been craving comfort food, but if possible of the healthy type. Per usual I had pinned this recipe months ago and finally made it this week. It was DELICIOUS, maybe one of my favorite things I've ever made.

Spinach and Sausage Baked Pasta from Skinnytaste


Spinach and Sausage Baked Pasta
www.skinnytaste.com

Ingredients:

  • olive oil spray
  • 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano (I used the fresh grated from Trader Joe's)
  • 8 oz fat-free ricotta
  • 8 oz part-skim mozzarella, shredded
  • 14 oz uncooked hot Italian chicken sausage, removed from casing 
  • 12 oz whole wheat pasta (I used a mix of penne and spirals)
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 2 cloves smashed garlic, roughly chopped
  • 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess liquid
  • salt and fresh pepper to taste
  • 4 cups marinara sauce (I used the Tomato Basil sauce from Trader Joe's)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°. Spray a 9- x13-inch baking dish with olive oil spray. 

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, 6 tablespoons of the Pecorino Romano cheese and half of the mozzarella cheese.

Meanwhile, in a large deep skillet, brown the sausage breaking up into small bits until cooked through; set aside. Add the oil to the skillet and sauté garlic about a minute, careful not to burn. Add spinach and season with a little salt and pepper and cook another minute. Return the sausage to the skillet and add the marinara sauce; cookon low about 2-3 minutes.

When the pasta water comes to a boil, cook pasta according to instructions for al dente, but undercook them by 4 minutes less; drain and return to pot.

Put half of the cooked pasta into the prepared baking dish and top with half of the meat sauce. Spoon the ricotta mixture on top of the sauce in an even layer. Coverwith the remaining pasta and the remaining sauce. Top with the remaining mozzarella and Pecorino Romano cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 6-7 minutes or until the mozzarella is melted and the edges are lightly browned.


I served this with two other new recipes that I'll feature later this week!

Happy weekend!


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