One of my favorite kind of cuisines and a type that I find especially easy to make at home is Italian food. I like the versatility of pasta, which can go with a variety of different meats, sauces and vegetables. For the most part, pasta is a vessel to soak up the flavors that are mix into it.
Even when I am trying to eat healthy, I’ve never been able to completely cut pasta off the menu. It’s something I grew up eating and nothing is quite comfort food to me the same way that a plate of spaghetti with meat sauce can be. I’ve been fortunate enough to always find recipes that give me a little bit of what I crave by using whole-wheat pasta and adding in a lot of vegetables to the sauce. While I have cut out the buttered sourdough bread I would normally have with pasta dishes at home, these recipes below allow me to keep some of my favorite items in the rotation.
For these meals, I only needed to cook enough for four servings so I cut back on some of the ingredients. For the Italian sausage and pepper pasta, I used only two sausage links, freezing the other two for a later meal. I swapped out one of the yellow peppers and added in some sliced mushrooms. I saved about 10 oz. of the crushed tomatoes to transform into a marinara sauce for the mini meatloaves that follow.
I haven’t had meatloaf for a long time and a friend and I both remember eating it as a kid with what tasted a lot like ketchup on the top. I remember not liking meatloaf because I was afraid it was not cooked all the way through and he didn’t like it when it came out dry. These mini meatloaves are a good alternative because the smaller size makes it easier to cook the meat all the way through while keeping it moist. The crushed tomatoes from the previous meal were doctored up with Italian herbs, garlic powder, onion powder and some black pepper. The meatloaves paired perfectly with the sautéed zucchini and pasta.
Italian sausage and pepper pasta
Recipes courtesy of Weight Watchers online
½ lb. turkey sausage, Italian Style, casings removed
2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 medium yellow peppers cut into 2-inch long thin strips
1 medium uncooked onion, thinly slices
½ c. red wine
1 ½ tbsp. minced garlic
28 oz. canned crushed tomatoes, fire roasted recommended
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, or less to taste
¼ tsp. salt
8 oz. uncooked whole-wheat pasta, such as fusilli
1/3 c. basil, fresh, chopped
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
Meanwhile, to make sauce, in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, cook sausage, stirring and breaking up meat with back of a wooden spoon, until cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes; remove to a plate.
Heat oil in same skillet. Add yellow peppers and onion; cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are lightly colored and crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
Add wine and garlic; cook until most of liquid evaporates, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, crushed red pepper, salt and browned sausage; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until vegetables are tender and sauce is heated through, about 10 minutes.
While sauce simmers, add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package instructions. Drain pasta; return to pot. Add sauce and basil; toss to mix and coat. Yields about 1 1/3 cups per serving.
Makes six servings.
Per serving – Calories: 190.8; fat: 5.9; saturated fat: .6 g; cholesterol: 23.3 mg; sodium: 494.8 mg; Carbohydrate 27.4 g; dietary fiber: 5.1 g; sugars 2.0 g; protein: 9.6 g
Mini Italian meatloaves with penne and sautéed zucchini
Cooking spray
1 ¼ lb. uncooked lean ground beef, 93 percent lean
2 large eggs
¼ c. grated parmesan cheese
¼ c. seasoned bread crumbs, Italian style
½ c. parsley, finely chopped
¾ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 ½ c. store-bought marinara sauce, divided
8 oz. uncooked whole wheat pasta, penne
2 cloves of garlic thinly slices
2 small zucchini chopped
1 tbsp. parmesan cheese, for garnish
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine beef, eggs, cheese, bread crumbs, parsley, salt and pepper until well-combined (do not over mix). Divide beef mixture into 6 even portions and form into mini loaves; place on prepared baking sheet. Spoon 3 tablespoons marinara sauce over each loaf and bake until cooked through, about 35 to 40 minutes; allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. Once pasta is cooked, reserve 1/4 cup of pasta cooking liquid and then drain pasta.
While pasta and meatloaves cook, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 2 to 3 minutes. Once garlic begins to brown, add zucchini; increase heat to medium-high and cook zucchini, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and soft, about 6 to 7 minutes. Season to taste with salt and then add pasta and reserved cooking liquid to pan; stir to combine and cook for 1 minute to heat through.
Heat remaining marinara sauce; spoon 1 tablespoon sauce over each meatloaf before serving. Yields 1 meatloaf, about 1 cup pasta-zucchini mixture and 1/2 teaspoon cheese garnish per serving.
If zucchini starts to stick to pan, remove from heat and coat with cooking spray; finish cooking as directed above.
Per serving – Calories 389.3; total fat: 23.1 g; saturated fat: 9.2 g; cholesterol: 135.8 mg; sodium: 335.2 mg: total carbohydrate: 21.0 g; dietary fiber: 4.0 g; sugars: 1.4 g; protein: 24.8 g
