Baked Ziti Casserole

When I was doing weight watchers i managed to find some pretty amazing recipes on the online forum.  This is one of them.  Unfortunately, i like to make it with ground meat instead of turkey breast and this is why the calorie intake is higher than usual.



WW

Baked Ziti Casserole

To streamline the recipe, we skipped the traditional step of browning the meat before it's combined with the rest of the ingredients; it cooks fully as the casserole bakes. This recipe easily doubles to feed a crowd; bake in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish for 35 minutes.

YIELD

 4 Servings

CATEGORIES

 pasta, casserole, 300cal

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INGREDIENTS

• • 6 ounces uncooked ziti (short tube-shaped pasta)
  • 2 cups Basic Marinara
  • 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
  • 1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded Asiago cheese, divided
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
  • 6 ounces ground turkey breast
  • Cooking spray

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INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain.
  3. Combine pasta, Basic Marinara, 1/2 cup mozzarella, 2 tablespoons Asiago, salt, pepper sauce, and turkey in a large bowl. Spoon into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons Asiago. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

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NOTES

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

CALORIES 362 (26% from fat); FAT 10.5g (sat 5.5g,mono 3.4g,poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 26.3g; CHOLESTEROL 39mg; CALCIUM 311mg; SODIUM 546mg; FIBER 3.5g; IRON 2.3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 41g 

This is by far one of my favorite crockpot recipes and its very filling.  I found this recipe at Skinny Taste.  She has some really amazing recipes.

Slow Cooker Picadillo
Skinnytaste.com 
Servings: 11 • Size: 1/2 cup • Old Points: 4 pts • Weight Watchers Points+: 4 pts
Calories: 170 • Fat: 7 g • Protein: 22.5 g • Carb: 4.5 g • Fiber: 1 g • Sugar: 1.5 g
Sodium: 237 mg (without the salt)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 lbs 93% lean ground beef
• 1 cup minced onion
• 1 cup diced red bell peppers
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup minced cilantro
• 1 small tomato, diced
• 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup alcaparrado (manzanilla olives, pimientos, capers) or green olives
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 2 bay leaves
• kosher salt and fresh pepper, to taste

Directions: 

Brown meat in a large deep skillet on medium-high heat; season with generously with salt and a little pepper. Use a wooden spoon to break the meat up into small pieces. When meat is no longer pink, drain all the liquid from pan. Add the onions, garlic and bell peppers to the meat and cook an addition 3-4 minutes.

Transfer the meat to the slow cooker, then add tomato, cilantro, tomato sauce, 1 1/4 cups water, alcaparrado (or olives) [I usually add some of the brine from the jar for added flavor] then add the spices.

Set slow cooker to HIGH for 3 to 4 hours or LOW for 6 to 8. After it's ready, taste for salt and add more as needed [I added a little more cumin and garlic powder at the end as well since the crock pot tends to mute the flavors of herbs and spices]. Discard the bay leaves and serve over brown rice.

Makes about 5 3/4 cups.

Serve this with 3/4 cups brown rice for an 8 point meal and a salad on the side.