LOW-FAT CREAMY PEAS, PASTA AND PROSCIUTTO

Some of you may eat this as a main dish, but I like it as a side dish.  Either way, this is an easy and delicious recipe that brings comfort to my soul on a cold wintry night.  The bonus, of course, is that it tastes richer than it actually is.  You can use any pasta that suits you and the mushrooms are optional, though I think they add something wonderful to the dish.  Originally from Taste of Home, the recipe has been tweaked by me to be lower in fat and to include mushrooms.  Hubby loved this, as did I.

Low-Fat Creamy Peas, Pasta and Prosciutto Inspired by Taste of Home Rating:  9 out of 10 Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

(Recipe serves 2-3 as a main dish, 4-6 as a side dish) INGREDIENTS:  8 oz. medium shell pasta, or other pasta of choice 1 cup frozen peas 1 Tbsp. Smart Balance buttery spread, or margarine or butter 3 large mushrooms, chopped 1 garlic clove, grated 3/4 cup Smart Balance nonfat milk, or other milk of choice 4 oz. Neufchatel cheese 2 oz. Prosciutto, cut in thin strips (may substitute ham) 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese white pepper (may substitute black pepper) In 3-quart heavy pot, cook pasta according to package directions, adding peas during the last two minutes of cooking.  In the meantime, in a large heavy skillet or saute pan, melt Smart Balance over medium-high heat.  Add mushrooms; cook 5 minutes, or till mushrooms are cooked through.  Reduce heat to medium.  Add garlic; cook 1 minute.  Add milk and Neufchatel, whisking till Neufchatel is incorporated.  Stir in Prosciutto and Parmesan and remove pan from heat.  Drain pasta and peas, reserving 1 cup pasta water.  Add drained pasta and peas to pan sauce with enough pasta water to create a creamy sauce.  (Add a little at a time till you get the consistency you want.)  Sprinkle with white pepper and serve.  (P. S., Leftovers reheat beautifully and make a great lunch or next night’s side dish.)

A YUMMY SHRIMP-PASTA TOSS

Allrecipes.com had a recipe for Fresh Tomato Shrimp Pasta, which I adapted for the ingredients I had on hand. The shrimp were in the freezer, but we caught them ourselves a few months ago. Instead of fettucini, I used thin spaghetti: you can use whatever pasta suits you. The thin spaghetti worked very well with this recipe, especially with the additions of Smart Balance, cream and parsley. For the sauce, I added mushrooms, white wine and some heavy cream. Luckily, my oregano has survived the freezes we've had, so I was able to harvest enough for this recipe, and IMHO, it made the dish superb. Of course, you can use dried oregano, but be sure it's a fresh jar of good-quality oregano, and only use about 1/4 of the amount listed, since dried herbs are more concentrated.

This dish was exquisite -- one that I'll definitely make again. We both liked it. And here's a real bonus for small eaters like us: this recipe made enough for 2 meals. So we had two dinners out of it. It was every bit as good when reheated, two nights later. How's that for efficiency?

Since there is a bit of chopping to do, you can prep all the veggies in the AM, then when you're ready to start dinner, it's a breeze to finish.

Pasta with Shrimp Sauce

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Rating: 10 out of 10

INGREDIENTS:

Pasta: 8 oz. dry thin spaghetti, or other pasta of choice

1 Tbsp. Smart Balance buttery spread or butter

1 Tbsp. heavy cream

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Shrimp Sauce: 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided use

1 lb. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, patted dry with paper towels

1/2 cup chopped sweet onion

1 cup sliced mushrooms

4 tsp. chopped fresh garlic

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano leaves (or 1 tsp. dried crushed oregano)

1/2 tsp. crushed dried basil

1/4 cup drinking-quality dry white wine

salt and pepper to taste (taste before using -- I used about 3/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper)

3/4 cup canned, diced tomatoes in juice

1 cup chicken broth

2-3 cups chopped fresh spinach (I used 2 cups baby spinach)

2 Tbsp. heavy cream

1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

In a large, heavy skillet, heat 2 Tbsp. oil till very hot. Add shrimp and quickly par-cook on both sides, but don't cook through. Remove shrimp to a dish and keep warm.

Add remaining 1 Tbsp. oil to pan with onions and mushrooms and saute over medium heat till soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano and basil and cook for another minute, stirring as needed. Pour the wine over the veggies and let it bubble for about 30 seconds while scraping up the bits on the bottom of the pan. Add salt and pepper, tomatoes and broth and bring mixture to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, uncovered, till mixture reduces. Cover pan and continue to cook sauce on low heat.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook per package directions, until tender.

When pasta is almost done cooking,

stir in the spinach, par-cooked shrimp, and cream, cooking just till heated through.

Drain the pasta and toss with Smart Balance, cream and parsley.

Place in serving bowls and spoon shrimp sauce over the pasta. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over top of shrimp sauce. Enjoy! Yield: 2-4 servings

ONE-PAN BAKED PENNE WITH SAUSAGES

Here's an easy recipe for baked ziti. I used penne, but any tubular pasta will work. By adding extra liquid to the pan, you can cook the pasta right with the sauce, then put the pan in the oven to finish it off. I cooked sausages with the penne, so the meat and pasta are all in the same pan. All you need is a salad for a complete meal. This is very tasty and quite easy.


One-Pan Baked Penne with Sausages
Rating 9 out of 10

INGREDIENTS:
2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided use
1-1/2 lbs. Italian sweet sausage
3 cloves garlic, grated or chopped
1" slice onion
2 hot pepper pods, seeded (or 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper)
1 Tbsp. dry red wine
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano in thick puree (I used Red Pack)
1/4 tsp. crushed anise seed
14.5 oz. can low-sodium chicken broth
10 oz. penne (or other tubular pasta, such as ziti)
3/4 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated Mozzarella cheese

In a large heavy skillet, heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat and add the sausage, cut into 5" links, browning them on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer sausages to a plate; keep warm. Wipe skillet with paper towel; add remaining olive oil to pan; reduce heat to medium; add garlic, onion, and pepper; cook 1 minute, stirring as needed. (You can remove the onion pieces when the pasta is done cooking, or you can just leave them in. You can also chop the onion if you prefer.) Add wine, tomatoes, anise seed and broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to a low boil and cook for 15 minutes, stirring as needed. Add sausage to pot; cover; reduce heat to simmer; cook for 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 450F. Remove pan cover; raise heat to medium-high; add pasta, salt and Parmesan cheese; stir; cook for 15-18 minutes, uncovered, or till pasta tests done, stirring often to prevent bottom from burning. (Keep heat to a low boil.) Sprinkle Mozzarella over top of pasta and place in preheated oven for about 10 minutes, or till cheese is bubbling and browned. Serves 4

SHRIMP FRA DIAVOLO, ADAPTED

My life is not my own. Two days a week belong to my Physiatrist and Physical Therapist, and one day belongs to my Chiropractic Neurologist. And now I'm adding the dentist. On the plus side, I am getting to read a lot of magazines as I wait in medical offices. This recipe is from the January 2008 issue of Good Housekeeping Magazine, courtesy of my Physiatrist. Good Housekeeping has their own website, and this recipe is posted there. Guy and I both enjoyed this. (My changes: I added 1/2 of a green and 1/2 of a red pepper. And I didn't have the oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, so I used what I had: regular sun-dried. I rehydrated them in hot water, and added 2 tsp. of EVOO.) A word of caution: don't skimp on the basil; it's important to the flavor of this dish. I made the full recipe, and we got 2 meals out of it. Since I have to cook two pots of pasta, one white for him, and one whole-wheat for me, that was a nice bonus to not have to cook when we had the leftovers. And nothing else is needed with this dish, since it's a completely balanced meal in itself: protein, whole grains and veggies.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo, Adapted

Rating: 8 out of 10

INGREDIENTS: 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped (or rehydrated tomatoes with some oil added)

2 cloves garlic, chopped or grated

1/4 to 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

1 red or green bell pepper, sliced in strips (or half of each)

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1 pkg. (13.25 oz.) whole-grain spaghetti

1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes in puree (I used Red Pack plum tomatoes in puree and chopped them)

1 lb. fresh or frozen and thawed shelled and deveined jumbo raw shrimp

1-1/2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves, chopped

Heat large saucepot of salted water to boiling on high.

Meanwhile, heat a 12-inch skillet on medium until hot. Add sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and crushed red pepper, and cook until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add pepper strips and salt; cook and stir another minute or two. Add tomatoes with puree; heat to boiling on medium-high and cook 5 minutes to blend flavors, stirring and breaking up tomatoes with side of spoon. Cover and simmer. When water boils, add spaghetti and cook as label directs. About 3-4 minutes before spaghetti is done, turn up heat under skillet and add shrimp. Drain pasta and return to saucepot. Add shrimp mixture and basil to pasta in saucepot; toss to coat. Yield: 4 servings

JUDY'S SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS

We're getting ready to head out to San Diego to visit our son with a side trip to Vegas, so this is going to be my last post for a few weeks. I thought I was going to post a dessert, but the dessert never got made. Instead I ran to three stores to find ingredients for a cookie recipe to enter a contest that has a looming deadline.

Anyway, here's a good recipe for spaghetti and meatballs that I developed. The real secret to good spaghetti sauce is the tomatoes -- use the best qualilty tomatoes you can find and afford. I used Furmano's this time, but Tuttorosso are better. (I've been told that Muir Glen and San Marzano are also very good, but haven't tried them yet.) Roasting tomatoes brings out a more intense flavor and really enhances the sauce. (BTW, we have an even better recipe for sauce, but Guy won't let me share it. I'm working on him, though.)

Judy's Spaghetti and Meatballs

Tomato Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

28-oz. can whole Italian-style plum tomatoes, divided use

salt and pepper

5 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided use

3/4 cup chopped sweet onion

1 Tbsp. minced fresh garlic (I grated it)

4 Tbsp. tomato paste (I used Contadina plain tomato paste, not flavored)

15-1/2 oz. can tomato sauce (I used Contadina plain tomato sauce)

2 cups chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp. crushed anise seed

1 Tbsp. crushed dried basil (or 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil)

1/2 tsp. crushed dried oregano

pinch cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray a 9x12 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Take whole tomatoes out of can, slit each open and squeeze or cut most of the seeds out. Place the tomatoes in the baking pan and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and 2 Tbsp. olive oil. Roast for 1/2 hour; transfer to cooling rack.

In large heavy stockpot, saute the onions in the remaining olive oil over medium heat, till transparent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute, taking care not to burn the garlic. Add the paste, reserved can juice from the tomatoes, the can of sauce and the roasted tomatoes and stir well, mashing down the roasted tomatoes with spatula or spoon. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, then lower heat to a high simmer. Cook sauce uncovered for about 1 hour, or to desired consistency, stirring as needed; then cover and simmer on low for another half hour or till sauce ingredients have blended.

Meatballs

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 lb. lean ground pork

1 lb. lean ground turkey

salt and pepper

2 eggs

1-1/2 tsp. minced garlic (I used McCormick California garlic blend with parsley)

1/4 tsp. crushed anise seed

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup Italian flavored bread crumbs

1/2 cup dried in the oven, then crumbled whole-wheat bread (I used Peppridge Farm WW)

1/4 cup ground flaxseed, preferably golden

1 tsp. crushed dried basil

1/4 tsp. crushed dried oregano

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 - 1/2 cup water

1/4 cup olive oil for rolling meatballs

DIRECTIONS: Reduce oven heat to 350F after taking tomatoes out. Spray a 10 x 15-1/2 pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spread the meat in a large bowl or in the 10 x 15-1/2 pan. Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper, using about 1-1/2 tsp. salt, and about 1/2 tsp. pepper. Add remaining ingredients and mix well, using a wooden spoon, spatula or clean hands. Add more water if mixture is too stiff. Pour the olive oil into a small custard cup. Using an ice cream scoop dipped into the oil, scoop out a portion of meat, then roll into a ball with hands that have been dipped into the oil. Bake for 1/2 hour - 40 minutes, shaking the pan or turning meatballs over with spoon halfway through. Transfer to sauce pot and finish cooking the meatballs with the sauce.

TIPS: Best pastas: DeCecco, Barilla, Ronzoni (Ronzoni makes a line called Healthy Harvest, which is a 7-grain blend and it's very good. Guy won't eat it because he says pasta is supposed to be white, to which I responded that brown whole grains came before white, but he doesn't buy it. So I cook two pots of pasta when we have it; one for me, one for him. I am happy to say that he did not taste the turkey, flaxseed or the whole wheat bread in the meatballs, and I'm not talking.)

THIN SPAGHETTI WITH WHITE CLAM SAUCE (Vermicelli Alle Vongole in Bianco)

When Guy and I got married in 1963, we ate pretty much the same things: pasta, steak, shrimp, pork roll, hamburgers, French Fries, etc. I never ate fruit. Instead I baked cakes and cookies and ate those. Fast forward to the present: Guy hasn't changed his eating habits much, but I have. I do eat fruit now, and I space my sweets. I still bake a lot, but I give it away or sell it. Some nights we can eat the same things, but then there are nights like tonight when I cook two separate meals. I had grilled salmon and tomatoed summer vegetables and he had thin spaghetti with white clam sauce and Caesar salad. Guy is a good chopper, so he chops everything, scrubs the clams and starts the grill. He also does dishes. I do everything else. I guess it's a pretty fair system, but cooking two meals at the same time can get very hairy. Tonight I actually managed to get the meals done at the same time, so maybe I am getting better at this. Could you call this multi-tasking? (P. S. For those who have never heard of pork roll, it is unique to Trenton, where Guy grew up. Taylor pork roll and Case's pork roll were the two brands, and Case's is out of business, but Taylor is still going strong. We can actually get some Taylor's down here in New Bern, but not in the big roll that Guy likes. FYI, it's about 98% fat, so of course it tastes wonderful as it clogs your arteries. The meat is cured, so in addition to clogging your arteries, it will also raise your blood pressure and fill you with carcinogenic nitrates. Bon appetit!)

Thin spaghetti with white clam sauce has many variations and there are plenty of recipes out there for it. We went to our local Ragazzi's (a southeastern Italian chain restaurant) a few years back and I ordered it. When it arrived, I was appalled -- it had a flour thickener in the sauce and it was full of mushrooms. I called the chef out and scolded him. I've ordered it a few times since then in other Italian restaurants and have always been disappointed and finally I've resigned myself to never ordering it out again because I'm never happy with it. Actually I'm kind of off pasta now anyway, trying to control carbs since I'm borderline diabetic. I do use the whole wheat-white mixed pasta but I still have to watch it. I've also gotten off clams since I found out that they are full of pollutants. Now I bet you can't wait for this recipe, (my version)which actually is quite delicious, so here goes:

Thin Spaghetti with White Clam Sauce (Vermicelli Alle Vongole in Bianco)

INGREDIENTS: 2 lbs. or more of fresh very small clams (Littleneck) (sometimes I use the

canned clams and clam juice in a bottle, and it's very good that way too)

4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil (I like Carapelli)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 large garlic clove, minced

1/4 - 1/2 cup dry white wine (good quality wine please)

Fresh ground black pepper to taste

1/4 tsp or more crushed red pepper (to your taste)

4 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

1/2 lb. thin spaghetti (or more if you like) (DeCecco, Barilla or Ronzoni)

sea salt to taste

DIRECTIONS: Scrub the clams and put aside. Throw away any that are cracked or broken. In a large frying pan or saute' pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onion right away. Saute till transparent, then add the garlic. Saute for a minute or two (garlic burns more easily than onions--it has a higher sugar content), then add the clams, wine, and peppers. Turn the heat up and let it come to a boil for a minute or two to evaporate some of the wine. Cover the pot and turn the heat to medium, so that it will continue to cook at a good pace and open up the clams. (Never, never add salt; the clams are already salty enough.)

Start a large pot (big enough so that the pasta can roll around with lots of room) of water on high heat, covered. When the water comes to a boil, add some sea salt. (I tend to undersalt, so use your best judgment on the amount you like.) Add the pasta. It only takes 6-7 minutes. In the meantime, do you hear the clams opening up? Get a big bowl and some tongs, and start taking out the clams that have opened up and put them in the bowl, then recover to let the others open. Continue to do this until all clams have opened. If there are any clams that are cracked or won't open, throw them out. When all clams have opened, put them in the oven (off of course) to sit till everything is ready. Watch the pasta and keep stirring it. Turn the heat up on the sauce the clams were in so you can reduce it slightly. Taste it. If it's very salty from the clams, don't reduce it too much because the more you reduce it the saltier it will be. This will be different with each batch of clams, that's why you have to taste. Of course, if you get farm-raised clams, they won't be as salty, but they also won't have much flavor. When you get the sauce the way you want it, turn the heat back down to low, add the parsley, put the clams back in, cover and let them sit a minute, then turn the heat off. Is the spaghetti done? Drain it and put it back in the pot with a little of the clam sauce. Stir it around, then put some in a dish and add some clams with more sauce. The sauce is runny, not thick. So what, it tastes wonderful. Why would anyone put flour in it to thicken it? No cheese, please -- let the flavor of the clams come through.