1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x7 baking dish with cooking spray. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
2. Combine the ingredients for the seasoning mixture. Lightly mist the chicken breasts with olive oil (or regular) cooking spray and sprinkle each side with the mixture. Grill until thoroughly done. Cut grilled chicken into bite-sized pieces.
3. Melt butter in a large skillet, add mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, stir together alfredo sauce, cream of mushroom soup, chicken broth, and Marsala. 
5. Add chicken, mushrooms, peas, and 1/2 cup parmesan.
6. Spoon mixture into baking dish and top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake for 35 minutes.

Instead of making the typical Super Bowl party foods, I decided on a hearty one-dish meal. My recipe for Baked Ziti is healthy and filling. Plus, reheated leftovers are delicious. In order to provide nutritious stats for this pasta dish, I made some of my typical swaps. I used ground turkey breast, fat-free cottage cheese, light pasta sauce, and fat-free mozzarella in place of these high calorie varieties. Baked ziti is incredibly easy to make; you don't even have to boil the noodles before baking. This would be perfect for a quick week night meal. I will definitely be making this again soon.

Also, for all of you weight watchers, I will be adding the weight watchers plus points to each nutrition analysis beginning with this recipe. Over time I will be going back to previous posts to add this calculation as well. Hope this helps!

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine pasta sauce, water, cottage cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, turkey, and penne.
3. Pour into prepared baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 55 minutes.
4. Remove dish from oven. Sprinkle with additional cup of mozzarella and bake uncovered for 5 minutes.

Nutrition: 276 calories, 32g carbohydrate, 34g protein, 2g fat, 5g fiber
weight waters points: 5
weight watchers + points: 7

Back in the day before I knew anything about nutrition, I would always order Fettuccine Alfredo at Italian restaurants. The creamy dish seems to be quite a popular choice. Besides the huge portions of pasta served in restaurants, a dish made with Alfredo sauce is guaranteed to be overflowing with calories and fat. Because I now know quite a bit about nutrition (more than 4 years worth), I usually order some sort of grilled fish entree with steamed veggies. I love seafood and would choose it over pasta even it weren't for the nutrition facts, but every now and then I just want noodles covered with a cheesy cream sauce. When that sort of craving strikes, I make my own lightened Alfredo sauce. Made from fat-free milk and light cream cheese, this sauce is amazingly delicious. Nobody would ever know that it doesn't contain heavy cream or that is light in any way. It is great over plain noodles but I also like to add grilled chicken, mushrooms, and green peas for a complete family meal. I plan to make it again soon to use for the sauce on a white pizza. The whole recipe of Guiltless Alfredo Sauce will cover 1 pound of pasta.

1. In a food processor or blender, combine milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt. Process until smooth and set aside.
2. In a medium-large sauce pan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute for about 30 seconds.
3. Add the milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly for about 3-4 minutes until the sauce begins to simmer. Keep stirring and let it cook for a few minutes more. It should become thicker.
4. Remove from heat. Stir in Parmesan until melted and cover the pan immediately.
5. Let stand for at least 10 minutes prior to using. It will continue to thicken to desired consistency. 

Eggplant is one of my absolute favorite vegetables (not to mention my favorite fall color). It is so versatile in cooking as it tends to absorb the flavor of its surrounding ingredients. The absorbency of eggplant can also be a negative aspect if it is fried, as it often is in restaurants. It acts as a sponge, drawing in large amounts of the oil and leading to high amounts of hidden calories. Eggplant parmesan dishes in restaurants typically contain close to 1,000 calories. While I would never order it out, I love to make my eggplant parmesan recipe at home. The recipe is baked in the oven without any oil, yet still full of the wonderful flavor combination of marinara and cheese. You can also prepare chicken parmesan by following the eggplant recipe. It turns out fabulous as well. I like to serve the Italian dish over couscous tossed with marinara sauce, alongside a large tossed salad or fresh broccoli.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Cut ends off of eggplant and discard. Slice eggplant into six sections (about 1" thick).
3. Brush both sides of each slice of eggplant with eggbeater.
4. Pour Shake N' Bake into the shaking bag (included in box). Drop each slice in the bag, one piece at a time and shake until coated.
5. Place slices in baking dish and bake for 20 minutes (do not flip).
6. Top each cooked eggplant slice with spaghetti sauce, 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, and 1 tbsp of parmesan cheese.
7. Return to oven and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cook pasta as directed on package, adding spinach to the boiling water for the last minute.
3. Cook and stir chicken and basil in large nonstick skillet, spray with cooking spray, on medium-high heat for 3 minutes.
4. Stir in spaghetti sauce, garlic, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. 
5. Simmer on low heat for 3 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in cream cheese.
6. Drain pasta mixture; return to pot. Stir in chicken mixture and 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese.
7. Spoon into a 2-qt. casserole or 8-inch square baking dish. 
8. Bake 20 minutes. Top with remaining Mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake for an additional 3 minutes    or until the cheese is melted.

I am on vacation at the beach for a week before jumping back into the school routine. While we are mostly dining out at local seafood restaurants, I planned ahead and saved some recipes that I cooked last week to post while I am away from my kitchen. Since I don't care to spend much time sitting in the condo on my computer, these posts will be short and straight to the recipe. Unlike with most of my other posts, you will be spared the rambling of nutrition information. Although, now that I think about it, I really want to share with you all the exciting ways to make a healthy spaghetti dish...okay it is just way too pretty outside. I'll save it for a rainy day.

This virtually fat-free dish is so delicious and cooks in a crock pot. You can prepare it, leave it, and come home to a warm Italian entree. Add a salad and dinner is served.

1. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray. Cook ground turkey over medium heat until completely cooked (no pink). Mix in minced garlic.
2. In crock pot or slow cooker, add cooked ground turkey, seasoning mix, water, tomato paste, and diced tomatoes. Stir to combine and add salt and pepper. Cook on the low setting for 4 to 6 hours.
3. Thirty minutes prior to serving, stir mushrooms into sauce mixture in crock pot.
4. Boil noodles and top with sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan if desired.

Layers upon layers of pasta, meat, and cheese- What's not to love about lasagna? Possibly the miserable feeling of fullness upon finishing a dinner portion at your favorite Italian restaurant. Or maybe the fact that your entree alone could easily contain about 870 calories and 50g of fat. Typically served while waiting for your meal to be prepared, if you munch on the bread with olive oil, you have met your daily caloric needs all in one sitting. If that is not bad enough, then your waiter tempts you with the chef's award-winning tiramisu (I will save the horrifying statistics for another time). You can see how this Italian classic can quickly turn into a diet disaster when dining out, but there are healthier ways to enjoy lasagna with your homemade touch.

My lasagna originated from a Kraft recipe, but has been altered to a healthy satisfaction and taste perfection. It makes for a perfect meal for guests and, in my opinion, is even better reheated the next day. I often assemble the lasagna ahead of time and refrigerate it until I am ready to bake the gooey dish. I have made substitutions such as using ground turkey breast to replace ground beef, fat free cottage cheese to replace ricotta, and fat free mozzarella cheese in place of full fat Italian cheeses. Make sure to use ground turkey breast, as some ground turkey has the same amount of calories and fat as ground beef. I also use egg beaters instead of eggs and whole wheat noodles to increase the fiber content. All of these simple swaps drastically reduce calories, fat, and carbs. To increase the nutrient content, I have added mushrooms and spinach, which also provide a more colorful presentation. The serving size is 1/8 of a 9x13 pan. It may not be quite as large as what you are accustom to at a restaurant, but it is a good size portion- perfect when paired with a healthy salad or side of veggies. In my earlier stages of learning to cook, I made this recipe using jarred pasta sauce. While it does save time and can contain nearly the same nutrition, store bought sauce cannot replace a fresh, homemade tomato sauce. The sauce must simmer for a while in order to allow the herbs and spices to disperse throughout the crushed tomatoes, but the hands-on time is very minimal and definitely worth it. If you are preparing this in advance, make the sauce a day or two early and keep refrigerated until you are ready to make the lasagna. This sauce is also great served over plain pasta or with meatballs. Whether you choose to make your own sauce or not, this lasagna proves that Italian food can be made healthy. Don't tell anyone that it is a lighter version, and they will never know. My family now prefers this recipe to high-fat lasagna, and I love being able to provide them with a delicious, nutritious meal.



***For carb counters or diabetics, there is a low carb, high fiber brand of pasta that can be substituted in this recipe. The pasta is made by Fiber Gourmet. I use their pastas as much as I can because it tastes exactly like regular pasta but contains 18g of fiber and only 130 calories per serving. The only problem is that very few stores carry this pasta. It can be ordered from Fiber Gourmet in a 6-pack or 12-pack. If you just want to try one box, you can find it at Netrition.

Nutrition: (1 serving with homemade tomato sauce and Fiber Gourmet noodles) 282 calories, 33g carbohydrate, 38g protein, 4g fat, 10g fiber, 23g net carbohydrate

***If you are using prepared pasta sauce, look for a brand that contains no more than 50 calories and 5g of sugar per serving. One of my favorites is Muir Glen Portabello Mushroom Pasta Sauce.