I tell you folks, especially you Southerners who were reeling under your recent snow event, it's February.
Yes, February. That means snow, not flowers. Short days, cloudy days, and cold air.
But it also means comfort food to the max!
My most recent comfort-food craving sent me to one of my Taste of Home publications. I buy these every once in awhile. I enjoy browsing through them to find new recipe ideas.
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| Learn about Taste of Home magazine here |
On a recent browse-through (not in the magazine pictured) I found a recipe for spaghetti pie - something I had never made before - but it sounded delicious! I adjusted the recipe to match the items I had on hand, and the result was delicious!
Lighter Spaghetti Pie
ingredients:
4 oz uncooked angel hair pasta
2 large egg whites, slightly beaten
1 Tablespoon butter (softened or melted)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 pound ground beef, cooked and drained (you can substitute ground turkey)
1/4 cup chopped onion
8 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup lowfat cottage cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
Preheat your oven to 350°.
Cook the angel hair pasta according to directions and drain. In a medium bowl, mix the butter and egg whites. Add the cooked pasta and stir until the pasta is coated (using two forks instead of a spoon works well.) Add the 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and mix in well.
Distribute the pasta in the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate.
Meanwhile, brown the ground beef, adding the onions when the beef is about halfway done. When the meat is cooked, drain it, then put it back in the pan.
Add the tomato sauce and herbs, mixing well.
Spread the cottage cheese in the bottom of your spaghetti crust.
Then add the meat and tomato mixture.
Bake for 20 minutes at 350°, then sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top. Bake for another 5 minutes or so, or until the cheese is melted.
What makes this recipe "lighter?" If you notice, the recipe had very little fat in it - only 1 Tablespoon butter (if you drain your beef well or use ground turkey white meat.) Using egg whites instead of a whole egg and low fat cottage cheese all help keep the fat content down. Angel hair pasta instead of regular spaghetti helps lighten up this recipe, too.
This dish met my comfort-food cravings! Easy and delicious!
While I cook, I often watch the sunset in the western sky.
It's worth every second! And Jack enjoys the deck in the evening, too. He watches the deer walk by and the neighbors as they drive home.
Does he look a little bit lonely to you? Maggie-Cat doesn't play with him as much as he'd like her to.
Maybe he needs a playmate closer to his own age (and energy level?)
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| Border collie puppy at 5 weeks - we are waiting to give him his name after we meet him. :) |
You can find Jan on Facebook, Jan Drexler, author, or her website, Jan Drexler.com
