Are you tired of pasta and sauce being on sale at the grocery stores? I know Publix has one brand on sale EVERY week. Needless to say, I have plenty of it on hand. But surprisingly enough, I haven't cooked anything with it lately! I came across this recipe on Foodbuzz the other day and though it was perfect because the chicken was on sale last week and this week its the pasta, sauce and ricotta cheese. This is a good twist on your typical Chicken Parmesan. It was a winner in my house!
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup lowfat ricotta
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs (2 slices of bread)
1/2 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 cup grated parmesan
salt and pepper
10 oz. spaghetti noodles (just shy of one box)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Trim chicken breasts of excess fat and pound slightly with a meat tenderizer. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Arrange on the bottom of a baking dish.
In a small bowl combine the ricotta, milk and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Spread ricotta mixture evenly over chicken breasts.
In a food processor or blender, pulse bread and garlic to make the bread crumbs. Mix in the parmesan cheese. Sprinkle the crumbs over chicken breasts liberally, pressing into chicken to ensure a good stick.
Bake in a 400 degree oven for 25-35 minutes or until juices run clear.
Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Also warm sauce in a separate saucepan over low heat.
To serve, slice the chicken and serve over the pasta with a ladle of sauce.
Enjoy!
(adapted from Eatin' On The Cheap)
Frozen spinach is a great bargain at the grocery store. Just think of all of the bags of fresh spinach it would take to wilt down and fit into a 10-oz. frozen box of spinach. A lot! This recipe is a great way to sneak spinach into your diet. My husband even ate it! I made him some without the spinach, but he said that the ones with the spinach were just as good! If you have a small family, go ahead and make this whole recipe. Cook half now and freeze the other half of the shells for later. Freeze the stuffed shells (without the sauce) and then store in a zippy bag. Top with sauce and cheese before baking. You could use Italian sausage, ground beef or Jimmy Dean like I did. Change it up to use what you have on-hand!
1 box jumbo pasta shells (I didn't use the whole box)
1 lb. Italian sausage (I used Jimmy Dean)
1 15-oz. container ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1 10-oz. box frozen spinach
3/4 cup shredded or diced carrots (I forgot these!)
1 26-oz. jar spaghetti sauce
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13 X 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Cook and drain pasta according to package directions.
In a large skillet cook sausage over medium-high heat until browned, breaking up chunks with a wooden spoon. Drain. Thaw spinach in the microwave. Squeeze out all excess liquid.
In a medium bowl, stir ricotta cheese, 1 cup of the shredded cheese, spinach, carrots and sausage (I was going to cook the carrots with the sausage to soften, but I forgot!)
Spread about 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce over bottom of baking dish. Fill the shells with the cheese sausage mixture. Arrange shells, filled side up, on sauce in baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over stuffed shells. Cover with foil and bake 40 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake uncovered 5-10 minutes longer until cheese is melted.
Enjoy!
(adapted from Eat Better America 2010 Calendar)
Sometimes I get tired of the same pasta-noodles-cheese combinations. I did this one a few years back, and to be honest, I've kind of forgotten about it! It is a little more time consuming than just a regular noodle-sauce-pasta-in-the-oven-dish, but it is so worth the extra prep work. I love ricotta cheese, and the parsley gives it a slight burst of freshness. A "bunch" of parsley was $.88 at Wal-mart the other day. So its nothing that will break your wallet. Of course, if you don't have any, its perfectly fine without it. I think most of you probably have your own version of this. Let me know how you do yours! And if you want to go for a change, try this one next time!
9-12 lasagna noodles
1 lb. ground beef
1 regular sized jar spaghetti sauce (plus 1-1/2 cups extra)
1 15-oz. ricotta cheese
3 cups shredded cheese (mozzarella or Italian blend)
1 tablespoon Italian flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
salt and pepper
Cook pasta according to package directions. Lay out on a work surface to cool when done. You might want to drizzle them with a little olive oil or spray with a butter flavored cooking spray (that's what I did).
Meanwhile, brown the beef in a skillet over medium heat until brown, breaking up the bigger pieces with a wooden spoon. Drain off excess fat (I use a baster for this most of the time). Pour 1/2 cup sauce in the bottom of a 9- inch baking dish. Pour the rest of the sauce in the meat. Simmer over low about 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, mix ricotta cheese, 2 cups shredded mozzarella, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley and salt and pepper (to taste). Mix well.
Lay out a lasagna noodle. Spread approximately 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture over noodle. Top with approximately 2 tablespoons of meat. Gently roll up and place on top of sauce in baking dish. Repeat until your dish is full. My dish held 9 lasagna rolls. Top with any meat that is left. Pour an additional 1-1/2 cups sauce over lasagna rolls. Top with 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese (or more if you feel adventurous!)
Bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Serve with salad and breadsticks.
Enjoy!
