Sunday, March 11

The best healthy baked ziti ever!

Baked ziti.  Perfect dish to bring to a party, to a new neighbor, to a grieving friend.   But it's also the perfect dish to increase your waistline tenfold.

Here is my healthy version to the classic baked ziti, and truthfully, you won't miss the calories and fat - it's delicious!

INGREDIENTS: 
  • 1 box (1lb) of whole wheat pasta (i like using half a box of spirals and half of penne, but whatever you have works) 
  • Olive oil
  • 1 diced onion
  • 3 tsp minced garlic (or fresh garlic finely chopped, or if you must 5 tsp of garlic powder)
  • Rosemary
  • Thyme
  • Oregano
  • 3 medium size mushrooms, very thinly cut
  • 1 Zucchini & 1 Summer squash, cubed 
  • 1 jar of flavored tomato sauce (i like Classico spinach and cheese, but any sauce and and brand would work)
  • I can flavored diced tomatoes (hunts garlic and herb will do perfect)
  • 3/4 cup fat free sour cream
  • 3/4 cup fat free cottage cheese
  • 1 cup italian blend of cheeses -- shredded (really whats best if you buy a block of really sharp romano, block of parm and some fresh mozzarella, but if you must, then the shredded bags of cheese will be ok)
  • 1-2 cups of Mozzarella 

DIRECTIONS:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil & cook the pasta 8-10 minutes

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet and add diced onions, zucchini and squash. Add minced garlic, rosemary, thyme and oregano, stirring until onions are browned.

3. Add in spaghetti sauce, tomatoes and mushrooms and simmer on med-low heat for 10 minutes.

4. In a bowl, mix together the sour cream, cottage cheese and Italian blend shredded cheese.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease your baking dish.

6. Add cooked pasta to the pot of simmering sauce and thoroughly mix together. Taste the sauce, you might need to add some more garlic and here I like to use some fresh ground pepper too.

7. Add half the pasta/sauce mixture to the baking dish and cover with the sour cream/cottage cheese blend. Layer the remaining pasta/sauce on top and evenly cover with shredded mozzarella.

8. Bake for 25 minutes, then turn the oven to broil and brown the top -- no longer than 2 minutes! Let cool 10 minutes, and serve with fresh grated parmesan cheese!






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