Category: Pasta

Easy Healthy Tuna Casserole

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Easy Healthy Tuna Casserole

  • Servings: 8
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Tuna casserole is a staple in many households. Recipes vary using Campbell’s condensed soups to heavy creams and cheeses. This one has a couple of twists that really help make it healthy. Hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp of olive oil
  • 170 g of chopped mushrooms
  • 1 white onion chopped
  • 1 green pepper chopped (or any bell pepper)
  • 2 tbsp of minced garlic
  • 1/2 tsp of black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp of salt
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1/4 tsp of cayenne
  • 267 g frozen peas (thawed)
  • 10 ounces of dry pasta of choice
  • 226 g of greek yogourt
  • 3 cans of tuna (in water) do not drain it
  • 8 tbsp of parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup of cheddar cheese
  • 8 ounces of bone broth
  • 4 ounces of milk
  • 1 serving of bread crumb
  • 2 avocados mashed

Directions

  1. Add oil to a large saute pan on medium-high heat.
  2. Add mushrooms, onions, garlic and bell pepper.
  3. Add in salt, pepper, cayenne and thyme. Mix well and let cook for a couple of minutes.
  4. Add the peas and let cook for another couple of minutes.
  5. Prepare your pasta. Cook it a couple of minutes less than what the box suggests (very al dente)
  6. In a large bowl add your pasta, vegetable mix, yogourt, tuna (with it’s water), 6 tbsp of the parmesan cheese, cheddar cheese, avocado, bone broth and milk.
  7. Mix everything together until well incorporated.
  8. Pour into a 2 quart casserole dish.
  9. Top with remaining parmesan cheese and bread crumbs.
  10. Cover with foil and put into preheated oven at 375 for 35 to 40 minutes.
  11. Remove foil and put it on broil for 3 to 5 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Nutritional facts

  • Calories 430
  • Fat 11.7 g
  • Sugar 6 g
  • Carbohydrates 39.25 g
  • Protein 29.25 g
  • Fibre 8.85 g

Ok so what makes this healthy? This meal is a great source of protein, between the tuna, greek yogourt, bone broth, there is enough for the average meal. Avocado is known to help with cholesterol and fiber. Bone broth is a natural broth that is high protein per serving. Now if you don’t have bone broth you can still use low sodium fat free chicken or vegetable broth. It will only reduce your protein by 1 g.

You want to make a change, go with cooked shredded chicken and add a half cup of milk. You can make this ahead of time and just reheat. This is what I call comfort food. Serve this up with a nice salad or veggie on the side and you have a complete meal. Also it’s relatively inexpensive to make.

Change it up, change the spices, vary your noodles, but most of all, have fun and make it your own.

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

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Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: Easy
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No two recipes for aglio e olio are the same, but this one is pretty true to the classic. The key is roasting the garlic to perfection, a golden brown. If it’s too light, you don’t get the full flavour and if it’s too dark it gets bitter. My advise, do this slowly and you will succeed.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb of spaghetti
  • 1/3 cup of olive oil
  • 6-8 cloves of garlic thinly sliced
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup of fresh italian parsley chopped
  • 1 cup of finely grated parmesan cheese

Directions

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, cook spaghetti until al dente. Drain and transfer to a large pasta bowl.
  2. While pasta is cooking, combine olive oil and garlic in a cold skillet. Cook over medium heat to slowly toast garlic, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat when the oil starts to bubble and continue to cook until garlic is light brown.
  3. Stir red pepper flakes, salt and pepper into the pasta.
  4. Pour in hot oil and garlic and sprinkle the italian parsley and half the parmesan, toss until well combined.
  5. Serve pasta topped with the remaining parmesan.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 755
  • Fat 35 g
  • Sugar 3 g
  • Carbohydrates 87 g
  • Protein 23 g
  • Fibre 4 g

This is not a recipe to do if you are on a diet. I am a firm believer that everything in moderation’s is ok. You can serve it as a sided and then it’s only a half guilty pleasure. I have the nutritional facts as 4 smallish servings. You can make it quite spicy, you can add toasted pine nuts. Just have fun and make it your own.

Easy Stroganoff

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Easy Stroganoff

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Quite a few people are intimidated by stroganoff. I’ve seen recipes that are tricky, need so many ingredients, and hours of work. Here is a quick, easy, great tasting version that is on your table in just over an hour.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb extra lean ground beef
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves chopped
  • 1 tbsp of spicy steak spice
  • 1 cup chopped white mushrooms
  • 1 cup 5% sour cream
  • 1 cup of beef broth
  • 2 tbsp of non fat half and half cream
  • 2 tbsp of all purpose flour
  • 1 package of extra broad extra large Egg White Noodles (no yolks)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Brown meat in large stock pot on medium. Make sure to crumble meat.
  2. Leave about 1 tbsp of fat and drain the rest.
  3. Add onion and mushrooms. Stir regularly.
  4. Once mushrooms are soft, add the spicy steak spice, beef broth and sour cream.
  5. In a separate bowl, add flour, cream and mix well.
  6. Add to meat mixture.
  7. Simmer for about an hour.
  8. Cook egg noodles per package instructions.
  9. Serve meat mixture over noodles.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 603
  • Fat 10.8 g
  • Sugar 5.9 g
  • Carbohydrates 71.3 g
  • Protein 51.3 g
  • Fibre 4.0 g

This is my version of quick stroganoff. I was at the store and saw the packaged one and thought I could make this and probably a little healthier version. It is really high in protein, so a good meal to have after a hard workout. It reheats well. Serve it with a salad, or veggies, and you have a complete healthy meal. You can change the ground meat to chicken or pork, or even economical round steak sliced thin.

Have fun and make it your own!

Macaroni Cabbage Salad

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Macaroni Cabbage Salad

  • Servings: 10
  • Difficulty: Easy
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With summer finally here, macaroni salad seems to be a staple in the summer. Like everything else, if you always make it the same, it becomes predicable and ordinary. I always seem to have extra cabbage in the house so I thought, why not. It will give it a crunch. Also I was short on mayo so I thought I’d do oil and vinegar and lemon juice. Here is the end result.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 head of a medium cabbage sliced really thin
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 1 large carrot chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper chopped
  • 1 orange bell pepper chopped
  • 4 medium branches of celery chopped
  • 10 oz (uncooked) elbow macaroni
  • 3 tbsp of granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup of lemon juice, fresh preferred but Realemon Lemon Juice is a good substitute
  • 1/4 cup of white vinegar
  • 1/4 cup of vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp of chilli flakes (optional)
  • 1 tsp of paprika
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook elbow macaroni to al dente.
  2. Once pasta is cooked, drain and immediately rinse with cold water until pasta is cool to the touch.
  3. In a very large mixing bowl put cabbage, garlic, onions, carrot, all three peppers, celery and cooled pasta. Mix well.
  4. In a smaller mixing bowl, put vinegar, lemon juice, oil, sugar, chilli flakes, paprika, salt and pepper and mix very well until sugar is dissolved.
  5. Pour over pasta and vegetable mixture and coat well.
  6. Chill for an hour and serve.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 197
  • Fat 6.3 g
  • Sugar 6.5 g
  • Carbohydrates 30.7 g
  • Protein 4.5 g
  • Fibre 3 g

Pot lucks, picnics, and BBQs just scream for macaroni salad. Well at least they do here. I’ve always worried about it being out too long because of the mayo and feared it would turn bad. This recipe put my mind at ease. Now of course, this is one recipe that you can play with a lot. You have extra avocados, throw that in, it won’t go black because of the vinegar and lemon juice. You want asparagus that you have left over in the fridge, in it goes. Same with broccoli. This is a great way to use up your left over veggies. The only one I would really want to cook is the asparagus (too tough if not cooked).

This recipe screams for you to have fun and make it your own.

Velvetta Tomato Mac and Cheese

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Velvetta Tomato Mac and Cheese

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Mac and Cheese is very popular right now. You go to almost any restaurant and it’s on the menu. This recipe is actually quite old. I’ve used variations of this recipe for at least 40 years. It is economical, relatively healthy and can be modified in so many ways, we could probably fill up a whole recipe book with all it’s versions. You can use this as a base or as is.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb of elbow macaroni
  • 300 g of velvetta light cheese chopped into small pieces (11 ounces)
  • 1 cup of low fat milk (I used almond milk)
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 1 can of tomato condensed soup (I used Alymer low sodium)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp of butter or margarine
  • 1 tbsp of cajun spices

Directions

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
  2. Cook pasta until al dente and drain (reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta water. Set aside.
  3. In the same pot, melt butter and add onion. Stir until translucent and tender.
  4. Reduce heat to medium low, and add milk, water, tomato soup, and cheese.
  5. Stir until cheese is melted and this is a nice smooth sauce. If too thick, add a little milk. It might seem a little runny but don’t worry it will get absorbed into the pasta,
  6. Add spices, salt and pepper.
  7. Add pasta and stir to cover all of the pasta and make sure that the pasta is warm.
  8. Serve. That easy.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 437
  • Fat 8 g
  • Sugar 12 g
  • Carbohydrates 67 g
  • Protein 19.5 g
  • Fibre 5.1 g

So as you see this was easy peasy. This is a very economical meal. I looked at the prices for the cheese and the pasta vs Kraft Dinner. Mind you there is nothing wrong with Kraft dinner but there is more sugar, less calcium and vitamins and if you are not using generic mac and cheese, can actually be more expensive with Kraft Dinner. I’ve written a comparison between Kraft Cheez whiz, Kraft Velvetta light and Kraft dinner, see Economical Comparison of Velvetta, Cheez Whiz and Kraft Dinner. On the average you can make this for approximately 1.10 a plate. Now is the fun part, I was asked what about veggies. This is not a balanced meal and they were right. I suggested a nice green salad with this, or you can add spinach, steamed broccoli or streamed cauliflower. You can also add drained canned veggies or thawed and drained frozen veggies. All depends on your budget and/or tastes. If you want to add protein feel free to do so, including a very economical black bean or white kidney bean drained. This is where I tell you have fun and make it your own.

Gouda Mac ’N’ Cheese

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Gouda Mac ’N’ Cheese

  • Servings: 8
  • Difficulty: Easy
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A young chef (OSM) asked me if we could try this recipe together. Who doesn’t like Mac ’N Cheese? I said sure, why not. This turned out pretty good. We adjusted from the original recipe to reduce the fat content. This was made with left over cooked chicken.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups of cooked chicken (1.5 lbs)
  • 1 1/2 cups of frozen peas (thawed)
  • 5 ounces of Gouda grated (just under 1 cup)
  • 3 ounces of Sharp Cheddar grated (1/2 cup)
  • 1 1/2 cups of chopped spinach
  • 2 avocados smashed
  • 1/4 cup of light margarine
  • 1/4 cup of flour
  • 2 cups of chicken broth
  • 1 cup of milk (used nonfat)
  • 1/4 cup of panko
  • 1 lb of macaroni (454 g)
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Parmesean grated or shaved to taste (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Spray a large deep dish baking dish
  3. Cook macaroni until al dente and set aside in a very large bowl.
  4. Add chicken, avocado and peas. Stir well.
  5. Salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Place margarine in skillet, add flour and make a roux. Whisk until smooth.
  7. Add milk and chicken broth, keep stirring so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of skillet until thickened.
  8. Add the cheeses and stir until melted. (if sauce is too thick, add a little broth)
  9. Add in chicken, veggie and pasta and stir well to coat the pasta.
  10. Pour into baking dish.
  11. Sprinkle the panko on top evenly and add Parmesean if desired.
  12. Bake for 45 minutes.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 567
  • Fat 23 g
  • Sugar 3.6 g
  • Carbohydrates 54.3 g
  • Protein 43.3 g
  • Fibre 4.9 g

You can serve this with a nice salad. If you don’t have cooked chicken, you could use cooked turkey and if all else fails, use drained canned tuna. If you want some spice to it, add some cayenne or hot sauce. This recipe has so many possibilities. You can change the cheeses, the protein, the spices, so it’s all up to you. Have fun and make it your own.

Pasta Genovese CG Version

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Pasta Genovese CG Version

  • Servings: 6 portions
  • Difficulty: Easy
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I always try a recipe as written the first time. Then I have fun and make it my own. One of the last recipes I posted was a recipe I found, Pasta alla Genovese. It was good, nothing wrong with it but it lacked a little something. Here is my version.

Ingredients


– 1 tbsp of olive oil
– 1 blade roast or cross rib roast of approximately 2 lbs or 0.8 kg
– 2 onion thinly sliced
– 1 onion soup mix package
– 1 tbsp of steak spice
– 1 tbsp of chilli powder
– 1 can diced tomatoes 16 oz or 540 ml(I used aylmer accent chilli, if you do, omit chilli powder)
– 2 tbsp of all purpose flour
– salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 250.
  2. In a stock pot heat oil.
  3. Brown meat on all sides.
  4. Salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Cover with onions, spreading this evenly.
  6. Add onion soup mix.
  7. In a separate bowl, mix flour and beef broth until smooth.
  8. Add broth, steak spice, canned tomatoes, and chilli powder if you are using.
  9. Cover and cook for six hours.
  10. Once cooked shred meat with forks.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 260
  • Fat 10.9 g
  • Sugar 2.4 g
  • Carbohydrates 9.6 g
  • Protein 29.4 g
  • Fibre 1.2 g

You can serve this over a pasta of your choice (or someone told me over rice is nice too), not calculated in nutritional facts. A nice green veggie or salad complete the plate. Now is your turn to have fun and make it your own. Let me know how you have changed it.

Pasta alla Genovese

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Pasta alla Genovese

  • Servings: 8 generous portions
  • Difficulty: Easy
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You find recipes in different places, different books, for different reasons. This book was created as a fundraiser for the Fondation du CHUS during the pandemic. This is a University Hospital in Sherbrooke. The recipes were contributed and paid for publication by doctors, students, and celebrities. This one is from Neurologist Sylvie Gosselin.

Ingredients


– 2 tbsp of olive oil
– 2 tbsp of butter
– 1 blade roast or cross rib roast of approximately 2.2 lbs or 1 kg
– 10 cups of thinly sliced onions, approximately 10 large onions
– 5 ounces of prosciutto, or 145 gr chopped
– 8 cups of large pasta as fettuccini or spaghettoni (2 lbs or 1 kg)
– Salt and pepper to taste
– Parmesean grated or shaved to taste

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 250.
  2. In a stock pot heat oil and butter.
  3. Brown meat on all sides.
  4. Salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Cover with onions, spreading this evenly.
  6. Top with prosciutto.
  7. Cover and cook for 7 to 8 hours. Baste meat occasionally.
  8. Once cooked, remove from broth. Remove bones and shred meat with forks.
  9. In a separate pot, heat salted water and cook the pasta, per package instructions.
  10. During that time, put stock pot on ring and bring to a boil and reduce the broth to approximately 3 cups. Return meat to broth (if necessary).
  11. Serve over pasta and sprinkle parmesan over it.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 435
  • Fat 14.7 g
  • Sugar 9.5 g
  • Carbohydrates 38.9 g
  • Protein 40.3 g
  • Fibre 5.6 g

You can serve this with a green veggie or a nice salad. I always make a new recipe as indicated the first time. Then I adjust to our tastes by adding spices and such. That’s the way to have fun and make it my own. Your turn to do the same.

Ham Linguini Tetrazzini

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Ham Linguini Tetrazzini

  • Servings: 8
  • Difficulty: Easy
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This is a feel good recipe that is quick, serves quite a few or has quite a bit left over. This is actually a pretty light version of this recipe. Some of us have to watch how much fat we take in.

Ingredients

  • 1 box of 1lb or 450 gr of catelli linguini
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 2 red bell peppers chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves chopped
  • 2 cups of ham chopped
  • 1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup (low fat)
  • 1-1/4 cup of skim milk
  • 1/4 cup of coffee cream (10%)
  • 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup of grated low fat sharp cheddar cheese
  • 3 tbsp of parmesan cheese
  • 2 tbsp of flour
  • 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper (optional)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp of smoked paprika

Directions

  1. In a large pot, cook pasta as indicated on package.
  2. Once cooked, drain pasta and return pot to stove.
  3. On medium heat, put 1 tbsp of oil in pot. Add onion, garlic and peppers and cook until almost tender approximately 5-7 minutes.
  4. Add the remaining tbsp of oil and add the ham. Stir around for about 3-5 minutes.
  5. Add milk, cream, both cheeses, cayenne and stir well.
  6. Add flour and stir constantly, bringing up the heat. If too thick, add a little milk a tablespoon at a time.
  7. Once at desired consistency (saucy but not too thick), add pasta and stir. Make sure to coat completely.
  8. Sprinkle smoked paprika on top and serve.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 424
  • Fat 13.9 g
  • Sugar 6.3 g
  • Carbohydrates 55.2 g
  • Protein 20.6 g
  • Fibre 3.3 g

This is a versatile recipe. You don’t have ham or you need to watch your sodium, you can sub for cooked turkey or cooked chicken breast. You can even do it with left over pork chops. You want creamier, and you don’t mind the fat or calories, change to whole milk and heavy cream. I serve this with a nice green salad on the side and it’s a great meal. Remember to have fun and make it your own.

Taco Pasta

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Taco Pasta

  • Servings: 8
  • Difficulty: Easy
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I like tacos, I like pasta, I had no tortilla shells or wraps, so I thought, what the heck. How can I go wrong. Here is a quick meal, hearty meal, a fun meal.

Ingredients

  • 1 box of penne 454 g or 1 lb
  • 1 lb of lean ground beef
  • 1 large red onion
  • 1/2 red pepper
  • 1/2 yellow pepper
  • 1/2 green pepper
  • 2 branches of celery
  • 1 cup of packed spinach
  • 1 cup of packed torn kale
  • 1 can of diced chili tomatoes (you can use standard but add 1 tbsp of chili powder)
  • 1 envelope of taco mix
  • 1 tbsp of white sugar

Directions

  1. Brown ground beef.
  2. Remove ground beef from pan and set aside. Put in vegetables in fat from beef and cook the veggies until still a little crispy.
  3. Add tomatoes and taco mix and stir until well blended.
  4. Add back the meat. Simmer on low heat.
  5. In another pot, cook pasta as per instructions on the box.
  6. Drain pasta once cooked, put back in pot and add the beef and vegetable mixture. Stir to coat completely.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 338
  • Fat 7.2 g
  • Sugar 4.3 g
  • Carbohydrates 50.2 g
  • Protein 20 g
  • Fibre 3.5 g

This is a quick meal. It is colourful. Nutritious. And most of all fun. If there are other veggies you’d rather, put them in. You can add jalapeño if you want spicy. You can sprinkle cheese on it if you want more of the taco feel to it. Serve it with a salad and you have a complete meal for 8. Remember have fun and make it your own.