Friday Foodday

Happy Friday lovebugs! Here are my favorite pasta recipes for this week!

Spicy Sausage Pasta
c/o Emily Bites

Ingredients
1 t extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
13 oz Smoked Turkey Sausage 
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 ¼ cups low sodium fat free chicken broth
10 oz can Ro-Tel tomatoes & green chiles, original
½ cup fat free half and half
½ t salt
½ t black pepper
10 oz uncooked wheat pasta 
4 oz reduced fat Pepper jack cheese, shredded
2 medium scallions, diced

Directions
1.    In a large skillet or sauté pan, add the olive oil and bring over medium heat. Add the onions and sausage to the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes until sausage is browned and onions are tender. Add the garlic and stir. Continue to cook for another 30 seconds until fragrant.
2.    Add the broth, Ro-Tel, half and half, salt and pepper and mix together. Add the uncooked pasta and stir together until the liquid covers the pasta. Cover the skillet and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and keep covered. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the pasta is cooked.
3.    Set your oven to broil and make sure one of your oven racks is in the top 1/3 of the oven. Remove the pan from the heat and mix in half of the shredded cheese. If your skillet is oven-safe, you may continue to use it in the following steps. If it isn’t or you aren’t sure, transfer the pasta into a baking dish. I used a 7x11 dish but you can certainly use a 9x13.
4.    Sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese over the top of the pasta and follow it with the sliced scallions. Place the dish in the top 1/3 of the oven and broil for a few minutes until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown (keep checking because broiling can happen really fast!). 

Sundried Tomato Fettucine Lightened Up!
c/o Table for Two Blog

Ingredients

3/4 pound dried fettuccine

1 cup reserved pasta water

4 tbsp. olive oil

5 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup sundried tomato halves, sliced

1 (14.5 ounce) can of petite diced tomatoes, drained

3 tbsp. tomato paste

1/2 tbsp. granulated sugar

1/2 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt

1/4 cup light sour cream

1 1/2 cups baby spinach

Salt & pepper, to taste

Crushed red pepper flakes

Directions

1. In a large stockpot, bring water to a boil, add 1 tbsp. of olive oil then add your fettuccine. Cook according to direction on the box then drain (reserving 1 cup of the pasta water) and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine the plain Greek yogurt and light sour cream, mix together with a spoon and set aside.
3. While the pasta is cooking, in a large skillet, add the remaining 3 tbsp. of olive oil to the skillet over medium high heat. Once the oil is heated up, add garlic and sundried tomato halves. Sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
4. Turn the heat down to medium low and gently add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and granulated sugar. Stir until well-incorporated.
5. Swiftly whisk in the Greek yogurt and sour cream mixture. You’ll want to slowly add it in but whisk fast to get it all incorporated well. After all of it has been added and combined, bring the heat up to medium high and let it simmer and thicken for about 5-7 minutes.
6. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste, then add in the baby spinach. Once the spinach has wilted, you may add in the cooked pasta and turn off the heat.
7. Toss to coat the pasta. If the mixture seems too thick, this is where you can slowly add the reserved pasta water (DO NOT add the full cup all at once, pour slowly and stir and see if you need more).
8. You may top with crushed red pepper flakes, if desired.
9. Serve hot.

Skinny Baked Macaroni and Cheese

c/o Skinny Taste

Ingredients

• 12 oz high fiber elbows like Ronzoni Smart Taste
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp light butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 2 cups skim milk
• 1 cup fat free chicken broth 
• 8 oz (2 cups) shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar
• salt and fresh pepper to taste
• 12 oz fresh broccoli florets
• 1/8 cup grated parmesan
• 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• cooking spray

Directions

Cook pasta and broccoli together in a large pot of salted water, according to package directions for al dente (or slightly under cook 2 minutes). Spray a baking dish with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 375°.

In a large, heavy skillet, melt butters. Add onion and cook over low heat about 2 minutes, add flour and cook another minute, or until the flour is golden and well combined. Add milk and chicken broth and whisk, raising heat to medium-high until it comes to a boil; cook about 5 minutes or until the sauce becomes smooth and thick.Season with salt and pepper.

Once the sauce is thick, remove from heat, add cheese and mix well until cheese is melted. Adjust salt and pepper to taste, add cooked macaroni and broccoli and mix well. Pour into prepared baking dish. Top with grated cheese and breadcrumbs.Spray a little more cooking spray on top.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, then broil for a few minutes to get the breadcrumbs golden.