Baked Oatmeal

2 cups oats
2 TB sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cups non-fat milk
1 egg
1/2 cup applesauce

Mix all ingredients and bake in a 9x9 pan for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.



26pp total
3pp/serving (if 9 servings)

Stuffed Spinach and Sausage Shells

1 box Jumbo Shells
1 pound ground turkey sausage
6 oz. baby spinach, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 egg
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 jar of 32 oz. tomato-basil sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Cook jumbo shells according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/3 cup of the pasta cooking water.
Cook ground turkey sausage until no longer pink. Add spinach, onion, garlic, reserved pasta water and continue cooking for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Add seasonings, blend well and let cool. Stir in egg and cheese. Pour one cup of the tomato sauce in a 13x9" baking dish. Fill shells with mixture and place in dish. Pour remaining sauce over shells and sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Four Cheese and Sausage Manicotti

1 package Manicotti
1 lb. Italian sausage (I use turkey)
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1 teaspoon basil leaves
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (15 oz.) container ricotta cheese
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded provolone cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg

Cook pasta according to package directions. In large skillet, over medium heat, brown sausage. Add onion and garlic, cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and summer uncovered 15 minutes.

Combine ricotta cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, provolone cheese, Parmesan cheese and egg. Mix well. Stuff pasta.

Spread half of the sauce on bottom of greased 13 x 9" baking dish. Arrange pasta over sauce. Sppon remaining sauce over pasta; cover. Bake 35 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Uncover; top with remaining  cup mozzarella cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer. (Add about 5 minutes to baking time if prepared early and refrigerated.)

Creamy Feta-Spinach Dip

Ingredients:

1  cup plain low-fat yogurt
3/4  cup  (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

1/4  cup  (2 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1/4  cup  low-fat sour cream

1  garlic clove, crushed

1 1/2  cups  finely chopped spinach

1/8  teaspoon  black pepper

Spoon yogurt onto several layers of heavy-duty paper towels; spread to 1/2-inch thickness. Cover with additional paper towels, and let stand 5 minutes. Scrape into the bowl of a food processor or blender. Add the cheeses, sour cream, and garlic, and process until smooth, scraping sides of bowl once. Spoon yogurt mixture into a medium bowl, and stir in the spinach and pepper. Cover and chill.

Serving size = 1/4 cup
(2 PP)

Pasta with Spinach and Beans

This is one of those vague recipes that I adapted from a Cooking light recipe. The original called for cavatappi pasta which is great but I use Penne most of the time since it's what I have on hand. It also called for Asiago cheese which I never have and have only used Parmesan. I love the Andouille chicken sausage that is sold at Costco. I add it in this recipe sometimes and it is fantastic. The great thing about this recipe is that it's fast, filling and it's so easy to substitute or swap ingredients. I have used great northern beans as a substitute for cannellini beans but they are rather soft and mushy so I prefer the cannellini beans.

Ingredients

6-8  cups  coarsely chopped spinach leaves

8 oz. pasta (cavatappi, spiral, penne)

2  tablespoons  olive oil

1/4  teaspoon  salt

1/4  teaspoon  pepper

2  garlic cloves, crushed

1  (19-ounce) can cannellini beans (also called white kidney beans), rinsed and drained

1/2  cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions

Cook pasta as directed. Place spinach in large bowl. In small bowl combine oil, salt,  pepper and garlic. Drain pasta and combine with spinach. Add beans, oil mixture and cheese to pasta and toss.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, and toss well. Sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper, if desired.

                               

Spinach and Potato Frittata

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
4-6 small potatoes, sliced
1 cup fresh spinach, torn
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Place potatoes in the skillet, cover, and cook about 10 minutes. Potatoes should be tender but firm. Mix in spinach, onions, garlic and season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking 1-2 minutes, until spinach is wilted.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs and milk. Pour into the skillet over the vegetables. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook 5-7 minutes. Heat oven to broil. Remove skillet from stove top and place in oven to broil for 7 minutes, or until eggs are firm.

For this recipe, you're going to want a heavy duty pan. If you use a skillet with a plastic handle, you should cover the handle with foil before putting in the oven.

I tend to like more potatoes so I load it up.

Don't worry if your potatoes get a little stuck to the pan. Once the dish is complete, it comes right off with the frittata.

When you pour in the eggs, they will seep in throughout. You don't need to mix much - just enough to spread it all out.

After seven minutes on the stove top, your cheese should be melted but the eggs will still look wet.

After broiling in the oven, it should look something like this.

Meatballs

I feel like I'm not very authentic when it comes to spaghetti and meatballs. The reason being that I don't really have any desire to make my own tomato sauce. But I love these meatballs and don't mind taking time to make them. In most recipes I've switched over to ground turkey or ground chicken but I can't cheat for this recipe. I did it once and will never do it again. Also, this recipe is based on 1 lb. of ground beef. I typically only use half a pound of ground beef when cooking for my family. So, when I make these, I'll freeze half of the meatballs to use later.

Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 egg
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 slices wheat bread
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp.salt
dash of garlic powder
dash of red wine vinegar
1 tsp. basil

In medium bowl mix beef, parsley, egg, garlic and Parmesan cheese. Take the bread and get it wet under running water. Squeeze to get out the water and break up into bowl. Also add black pepper, salt, garlic powder, red wine vinegar and basil. Mix all ingredients together for a few minutes - the mixture should be firm. Roll into 1" meatballs.

Using a non-stick frying pan (there should be no need to add cooking spray if using a non-stick pan), brown the meatballs on medium high heat. Meatballs should be seared to a dark brown. After the meatballs are browned, turn heat down to medium and finish cooking or add them to tomato sauce to finish cooking.