Ziti reform

Here's where my EXCEL spreadsheet is worth the effort.

• A can of tomato sauce is only 14.5 ounces
• That could be too much pasta for 14.5 ounces of sauce
• And too much ricotta. A pound should feed 10 people.

I quickly cut the pasta to 5 ounces, ricotta to 7.5 ounces, and mozzarella to 1/3 pound. Now I have exactly 1 grain and 1 dairy. Perfect! On to the vegetables. I like main-dish casseroles to have at least 2 vegetables per serving. I like mushrooms. The USDA list says 1 cup of chopped mushrooms weighs 70g. That's 2.5 ounces. So 5 ounces of mushrooms is 4 servings, or .8 serving per person. Add that to the 1.2 servings I had from onions, green pepper, and garlic, and I get 2 servings of vegetable per person. There's my new recipe.

I'll have no trouble using up half a basket of mushrooms or the odds and ends of the other vegetables, but I will have to get a little creative to come up with a good use for the half-tub of ricotta.

Here's my recipe. It is also available from the BigOven archives.

-= Exported from BigOven =-

Baked Ziti with ground turkey for 5

http://www.bigoven.com/recipe160397

Recipe By: Family Nutritionist
Serving Size: 5
Cuisine: Italian
Main Ingredient: Pasta
Categories: Low Fat, Kid Friendly, Bake, LOW SODIUM, DASH, Pasta, Main Dish

-= Ingredients =-
15 ounces lean ground turkey
1/4 teaspoon fennel seed
5 ounces ziti pasta
7 1/2 ounces ricotta cheese, part skim milk
1/3 pound shredded lowfat mozzarella cheese
~~ Sauce ~~
4 cloves garlic ; minced
1/2 cup onion ; chopped
14 1/2 ounces low-sodium crushed tomatoes ; chopped (1 15-oz can low-sodium tomatoes)
1/2 cup green bell pepper
5 ounces button mushrooms
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

-= Instructions =-
Mix ground turkey with fennel seeds. Brown turkey in large saucepan. Remove from pan.

Spray saucepan with cooking spray or brush with small amount of olive oil. Saute onions, garlic, and peppers, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining sauce ingredients. Raise heat to a boil, then lower to simmer for 45 minutes (or however long you''ve got!)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cook ziti in boiling water until tender, according to package directions.

Reserve 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Mix browned meat with ricotta and remaining mozzarella.
Ladle 1/3 of sauce in bottom of pan. Add 1/2 of pasta. Spread 1/2 of cheese mixture. Layer again with 1/3 of sauce, 1/2 of pasta, 1/2 of cheese mixture. Use a spoon to remove trapped air and get a little bit of mixing in the layers. Add the final 1/3 of sauce to the top. Top with the reserved mozzarella cheese.

Bake for about 1 hour, or until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted.

If necessary, reheat at 350°F until hot through.

Nutritional Information
Servings: 5: Serving Size: 1/5 of pan (333 g): Calories: 410: Fat(g): 18: Sodium (g): 284

Food Group Serving(s)
DASH: Vegetables: 2.0: Fruits/Juices: 0.0: Dairy: 1.0: Grains: 1.0: Meat/Fish: 1.0: Seeds: 0.0: Fats: 0.0: Sweets: 0.0
USDA: Vegetables: 1.0: Fruits/Juices: 0.0: Dairy: 1.0: Grains: 1.0: Meat/Fish/Seeds: 3.0: Fats: 0.0: Sweets: 0.0


** This recipe can be pasted into BigOven without retyping. BigOven.com ID= 160397 **
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DASH portion control low sodium low fat