Pasta Alla "Not-Ka"

I first started making this dish last summer. It is absolutely delicious and so easy and quick to make. The recipe comes from a show that Lifetime aired last year called "Cook Yourself Thin" which is also available as a cook book. The purpose of the show/book is to take fattening foods and make a few changes to make them healthier while still tasting good. I've made a handful of the recipes, with this one being the best and likely only one that will make it to the blog. I made a few changes as well which further reduces the amount of calories and makes it healthier by using whole grain instead of white pasta. This meal has become a go to meal for us, in fact I'm about to heat up some leftovers for dinner. Enjoy!

Pasta Alla "Not-Ka"
Source: Cook Yourself Thin
Serves 4: 8oz
Calories per serving: 371 in the original recipe
Weight Watchers 7 points per servings (based off my changes that are in bold)

Ingredients:
1-2 teaspoons olive oil (I use extra virgin olive oil or canola oil)
3 cloves garlic (I used 1 T minced garlic)
1/2 cup chopped red onion (I use yellow or white onion)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes or whole tomatoes in juice, pureed in a food processor
Pinch red pepper flakes
8 ounces penne (I used Barilla’s whole grain)
1/4 cup heavy cream
6 tablespoons evaporated nonfat milk
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I’ve also used an equal amount of Romano cheese made with goat’s milk)
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil (I didn’t measure the basil, I think I pulled about 6 leaves off of our plant)
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the penne.
2. In a large saucepan, heat the 2 teaspoons oil with the garlic over low heat until the garlic begins to brown, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt, cover, and cook until the onion is softened, about 2 more minutes.
4. Add the tomato, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the red pepper flakes.
5. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat and simmer very gently 10 minutes.
6. Stir in the cream and evaporated milk and simmer 1 more minute.

7. Meanwhile, after the sauce has cooked 5 minutes, add the penne to the boiling water and cook until just shy of al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup pasta water. Add the drained penne to the saucepan and simmer until the penne is al dente, 1 to 2 minutes, adding a little of the pasta cooking water if the mixture is dry. Stir in 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, along with the basil and black pepper.

8. To serve, divide pasta among 4 serving bowls. Drizzle each serving with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. (I didn’t drizzle oil over it and I mixed all of the cheese in while cooking)

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

This was oh so good, very comforting. This soup keeps for a week in the fridge, and reheats well. Perfect alone or with a grilled cheese sandwich. I will definitely being making this again, and I'm a bit sad that I'm out of leftovers. Also, I highly recommend using fresh tomatoes instead of canned, yes it's more work but very well worth it.

Cream of Tomato Soup:

Food Network: Sara Moulton

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small carrot, peeled and finely diced (I used 2 small carrots)
2 tablespoons flour
2 pound fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, or 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, juices reserved (I used fresh)
2 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon fresh basil or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
2 teaspoons fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
1 cup light cream or milk (I used 1/2 c. heavy cream & 2/3 c. milk-2%)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. In a large non-reactive saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.

2. Add onion and carrot and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes.

3. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes without allowing to color.

4. Add tomatoes with their juices, broth, tomato paste, basil, thyme and bay leaf.

6. Bring to a boil.

7. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer stirring frequently, 15 minutes.

8. Remove and discard bay leaf.
9. Puree soup until smooth using an immersion blender.

10. Return to pan and stir in cream.

11. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

12. Simmer until heated through, 3 to 5 minutes, and serve.

Tomato Basil Bread

Confession: Before making this bread I had not used our bread machine, ever. Dan had the machine before we met and he uses it when making pizza dough or bread. Before now I have always made bread by hand (with help from the kitchen aid), I'm excited to say that I will be baking bread from my couch again in the near future. Not to say that I will give up making bread the old fashioned way (I've made bread by hand too). The same day that I made this bread I also made Curry Lentil Soup for dinner, they surprisingly went together well.

Tomato Basil Bread

(Source: Brooke at ...And A Cookie For Dessert)

Ingredients:

1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

1/4 cup warm milk

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon onion powder

1-1/2 teaspoons dried basil (I used a basil paste)

1 teaspoon dried marjoram

1 teaspoon dried thyme

3 cups all-purpose flour

1-3/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions:
In bread machine pan, place all ingredients in the order suggested by manufacturer. Select basic bread setting. Choose crust color and loaf size according to bread machine directions (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed). I added 1 T of water.