Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

3 cups uncooked, medium yolk-free egg noodles
1 tbsp light butter
1 (12 oz) package fresh broccoli florets (not pictured, we were out...)
cooking spray
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken breast
1 cup nonfat buttermilk
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
2 tbsp dry ranch dressing mix
6 tbsp real bacon pieces, such as Oscar Mayer.  (I cooked regular bacon.)
1/4 cup (1 oz) shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp black pepper

Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting fat and salt.  Drain, add butter and stir to combine. Keep warm.
While noodles cook, microwave broccoli according to package directions. Heat a large skillet over med-high.  Coat with cooking spray and add chicken. Cook 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned.
Combine buttermilk, sourcream and dressing mix in a large bowl.  Whisk until smooth.  Add noodles, broccoli and chicken.  Toss to coat.  Sprinkle with bacon, cheese and pepper.

Makes 6 servings- 1 1/2 cups each.
From Weight Watchers (points value: 5)

Creamy Spaghetti Sauce

My two year old went crazy over this one! He said, "Yummy!" after almost every bite!  I find that traditional spaghetti noodles are hard for toddles to eat.  Try a noodle that is easier for them to pick up and put in their little mouths. Penne, Farfalle (bow ties), Fusilli (corkscrews), Route (wagon wheels) are all great for little ones. Especially if the 'wagon wheels' are race car wheels! 

• 1 jar of spaghetti sauce
• 1 8oz block of cream cheese, cut into cubes
• 1 lb box of noodles (I used Penne) 
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, pressed or finely chopped
• 1 lb of shrimp- I use a bag of frozen, peeled and deveined with tails off for convenience (you could use cubed chicken or ground beef or turkey as well)

Boil noodles according to package directions.  heat oil and garlic in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add meat to the skillet and cook through. (If you are using shrimp it only takes a few minutes per side.  Remove the shrimp from the skillet as soon as it is cooked to prevent over cooking. All other meats can stay in skillet while sauce is cooking.)
Add spaghetti sauce and cream cheese to skillet. Stir until cheese is melted and combined.  (Add the shrimp to sauce now)
Toss sauce with noodles and eat up!

Stuffed Shells

• 1 pkg frozen spinach, defrosted
• 3/4 cup ground beef
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 finely chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
• 1 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• Jumbo shell noodles, cooked and cooled
• spaghetti sauce
• 2 cups shredded Italian cheese

Defrost spinach and wring out.  Brown beef.  Put beef in a large bowl,  add spinach and cream cheese.
Saute onion and garlic in beef drippings until translucent.  Add to mixture.  Add parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste.  Let cool.  Once cooled, add the egg and mix well.  Stuff cooled noodles and smother with sauce in a baking dish.
 Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.  Top with shredded cheese in last 5 minutes of baking.

Spinach and Ham Baked Pasta with a Crispy Top

• 1 pound cavatappi, corkscrew pasta with lines or, macaroni with line in any short cut
• Salt
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive, divided
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• Black pepper
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole or 2 percent milk
• 1/2 pound sliced capocollo, hot ham, halve then slice into thin ribbons
• 1 box frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and excess liquid squeezed out
• 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, a few large handfuls, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, ground or freshly grated, eyeball it
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, a couple pinches
• 1 pound ball fresh mozzarella -- buy a piece wrapped, not packed in water, then cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 cup plain or Italian bread crumbs
• A generous handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the pasta, salt water and cook to al dente, with a bite.

While the water is coming up to a boil for the pasta, heat a medium, deep skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 turn of the pan, and the butter. When butter melts into the oil, add onions and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes then dust the onions with flour and continue to cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk. Gently bring milk to a bubble, allow the milk to thicken a bit, then stir in the capocola, spinach and 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano. Season sauce with nutmeg and cayenne and remove from the heat. Taste and add a little salt, if you like.

Combine the cooked pasta and the cubed mozzarella with the sauce, stir to coat completely by turning over and over. Transfer dressed pasta to a baking dish.

To make the breadcrumb topping, combine the breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the remaining 1/2 cup Parmigiano. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the top to cover the pasta from edge to edge. Bake 20-30 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Garnish with chopped parsley. 

From Rachael Ray

RIGATONI

1 box rigatoni noodles


1 pound ground hamburger (98% lean)

1 can Hunts spaghetti sauce (can sub your fav. sauce)

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

A little bit of all purpose flour (can omit but it helps to reduce the acidity in the tomato sauce)

Seasonings are optional, I use....

½ tsp. Powdered garlic

¼ tsp. Dried Italian seasoning

¼ tsp. Oregano

1 Tbl. Parmesan cheese

2 Tbl. Brown sugar


DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brown hamburger in large skillet with 1/2 tsp. minced garlic. Boil noodles per box instructions. When hamburger is done add a palms worth of white flour to it mix well, then add spaghetti sauce stir. Add garlic, Italian seasoning, Oregano, Parmesan cheese and brown sugar to the sauce mix. Use a 9x13 dish. Add half of the noodles and half of the sauce to the dish, mix well, cover with 2 cups mozzarella. Repeat with the remaining sauce, noodles and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes.

Serves 6

Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage

This is one of my family's favorite meals.  My 4yr old and 2yr old love it! I like to mix the noodles and sauce together, top it with cheese and bake it.  I make less noodles though because it's a little dry if you use a whole box (or double the sauce if you need all the noodles).  I also use chicken broth in place of the wine (because I never have any) and skip the bay leaf.  

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
• 1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
• 4 cloves garlic, cracked and chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
• 4 to 6 sprigs sage leaves, cut into chiffonade, about 2 tablespoons
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup (3 turns around the pan) heavy cream
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
• Coarse salt and black pepper
• 1 pound penne rigate, cooked to al dente 

Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and brown the sausage in it. Transfer sausage to paper towel lined plate. Drain fat from skillet and return pan to the stove. Add the remaining tablespoon oil, and then the garlic and onion. Saute 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are tender.

Add bay leaf, sage, and wine to the pan. Reduce wine by half, about 2 minutes. Add stock and pumpkin and stir to combine, stirring sauce until it comes to a bubble. Return sausage to pan, reduce heat, and stir in cream. Season the sauce with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer mixture 5 to 10 minutes to thicken sauce.

Return drained pasta to the pot you cooked it in. Remove the bay leaf from sauce and pour the sausage pumpkin sauce over pasta. Combine sauce and pasta and toss over low heat for 1 minute. Garnish the pasta with lots of shaved cheese and sage leaves.

From 30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray