Penne with Sausage, Garlic and Broccoli Rabe

November 12, 2010 at 12:00 pm (Main Dish)
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Use hot turkey Italian sausage to add a little kick to this hearty, quick pasta meal. For a less bitter flavor than broccoli rabe, substitute Broccolini.

 

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

Ingredients

  • 1  pound  broccoli rabe (rapini), trimmed
  • 8  ounces  penne (tube-shaped pasta)
  • 1  tablespoon  extra-virgin olive oil
  • 8  ounces  turkey Italian sausage
  • 6  garlic cloves, thinly sliced

Preparation

Cook broccoli rabe in boiling water 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and plunge into ice water; drain well. Coarsely chop. Return water to boil. Add pasta; cook according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain pasta in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage to pan; cook 4 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Stir in broccoli rabe; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in pasta, reserved cooking liquid, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Serve immediately.

 

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Ham and Cheese Macaroni Bake with Peas

September 26, 2009 at 4:08 pm (Main Dish)
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Source:  Cooking Light March 2008

Yield

8 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups)

Ingredients

  • 1  pound  uncooked medium elbow macaroni
  • 1 1/2  cups  chopped lean ham
  • 1 1/2  cups  frozen peas
  • Cooking spray
  • 1/2  cup  finely chopped onion
  • 3  cups  2% reduced-fat milk
  • 1  cup  (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat extrasharp cheddar cheese
  • 1  cup  (4 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese
  • 3/4  teaspoon  salt
  • 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/8  teaspoon  ground red pepper
  • 2  (1-ounce) slices white bread
  • 2  tablespoons  butter, melted

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Cook pasta in boiling water 6 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain. Combine pasta, ham, and peas in a large bowl.

3. Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan; cook 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add milk; bring to simmer. Remove from heat; stir in cheeses, salt, and peppers. Pour cheese mixture over pasta mixture; stir to coat. Spoon pasta mixture into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

4. Place bread in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1 1/4 cups. Combine breadcrumbs and butter in a bowl. Arrange breadcrumb mixture evenly over pasta mixture. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 470 (29% from fat)
Fat: 15.1g (sat 8.5g,mono 4.4g,poly 1.1g)
Protein: 27g
Carbohydrate: 56.1g
Fiber: 3.1g
Cholesterol: 54mg
Iron: 2.8mg
Sodium: 771mg
Calcium: 393mg

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Cold Sesame Noodles with Chicken and Cucumbers

September 26, 2009 at 1:57 pm (Main Dish)
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Source:  Cooking Light, September 2009

Yield:  6 servings (serving size: about 1 cup noodle mixture, 1 tablespoon onions, and 1 1/2 teaspoons peanuts)

Ingredients

  • 8  ounces  uncooked dried udon noodles
  • 1/4  cup  rice vinegar
  • 2  tablespoons  dark sesame oil
  • 2  tablespoons  low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1  tablespoon  honey
  • 2  teaspoons  sambal oelek or chile paste with garlic
  • 1/2  teaspoon  bottled ground fresh ginger
  • 2  cups  shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast
  • 2  medium cucumbers, halved lengthwise and sliced
  • 6  tablespoons  chopped green onions
  • 3  tablespoons  chopped dry-roasted peanuts

Preparation

1. Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and rinse under cold water; drain.

2. Combine rice vinegar and the next 5 ingredients (through ginger) in a large bowl, and stir with a whisk. Add noodles, chicken, and cucumbers to bowl; toss gently to coat. Top with green onions and peanuts.

Nutritional Information

Calories:302
Fat: 9.2g (sat 1.4g,mono 3.3g,poly 2.8g)
Protein: 21.5g
Carbohydrate: 32.6g
Fiber: 3.1g
Cholesterol: 40mg
Iron: 2.3mg
Sodium: 301mg
Calcium: 34mg

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Chili Pasta with Beans

February 3, 2009 at 10:39 pm (Main Dish)
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Source:  January/February 2009 issue of Cooking Light.

We thought we made this dish tonight, but in writing down the recipe, I see that we were quite challenged in following directions–I cooked the pasta first and we forgot to add the tomato sauce.   Whatever it was we cooked was good though, and we have a giant container of leftovers.  It was just the slightest bit over the level of spice that I like in my food, but I’m a bad judge of spiciness since even green peppers send me running for the Tums.  Rhiannon didn’t think it was too hot at all and requested that I add the recipe to the site.

Other than not reading the directions, we made one intentional change and one assumption that didn’t affect the final recipe in a negative way:

  • we substituted 99% lean ground turkey for the sirloin
  • our guess is that diced tomatoes with chiles are like Rotel.

Yield

6 servings (serving size: about 1 1/3 cups)

Ingredients

  • 1  tablespoon  canola oil
  • 3/4  cup  chopped onion
  • 3/4  pound  ground sirloin (we substituted 99% lean ground turkey breast)
  • 4  teaspoons  chili powder
  • 1  teaspoon  ground cumin
  • 1  teaspoon  dried oregano
  • 2  cups  water
  • 3/4  teaspoon  salt
  • 6  ounces  uncooked ruote (about 2 1/4 cups uncooked wagon wheel–shaped pasta)
  • 1  (15-ounce) can no-salt-added pinto beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1  (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes with green chiles (such as Muir Glen), undrained
  • 1  (8-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce
  • green onions for topping
  • shredded cheddar cheese for topping

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and beef to pan; cook 4 minutes or until onion is tender and beef is browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in chili powder, cumin, and oregano; cook 1 minute. Stir in 2 cups water and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 18 minutes or until pasta is done.

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