A lazy day cooking that saves the day! But did it kill my diet?

 We all have those days.  I just didn't want to cook.  Was nearly stomping my feet about doing it!  And this coming from someone who LOVES to cook. 

I was exhausted from all the mental drains of the week and just wanted a simple easy dish that I could fix in a few minutes for the kids.  That is a lot harder to find than most people realize, especially when you're trying to stay on a healthy diet. 

I love pasta.  And when I came across this dish, its seemed a great addition to the recipe review family.  Italian sausage and pasta, and the cooking time only was a few minutes!  This mom was in HEAVEN.

The recipe was tweaked from the get go.  I do not have, nor will my children eat sausage links, and I wasn't about to take them out of their casings, especially when you can just buy a pound of Jimmy Dean Premium Italian Sausage that is just as great.

Another tweak that I made to the recipe, was the pasta.  This recipe is a penne sausage bake.  I don't find that kid friendly at all, so I immediately made the change to elbow pasta. 

So, how does this recipe stand up?  Here is the recipe review!

Ease of Making: The mood I was in called for easiness and if this recipe failed, I was going to unlease a very bad review, but guess what?  This was one of the fastest recipes I have ever literally thrown together.  The longest thing I did was chopping the onion and pepper, which if you own a food processor, you can just throw it in there and then its all good!  I literally had this recipe put together and in the oven in 15 minutes.  That is fast!  The only problem I have is that I think that the turkey sausage links with the casings removed could be substituted for another ingredient, like just plain turkey sausage.  So for ease of making, this scores a HUGE A+ for me!

Likeability:  I was nervous, because my oldest son does not like any sort of veggies in his spaghetti or pasta dishes.  I usually have to endure some pretty harsh criticism from him if he discovers that I have soiled his beloved pasta with an onion or pepper.  And yes, I do say just eat it any way, but you know kids, they're pretty hard critics to our meals.  And then there is my middle son.  Let's just put it this way, he scowled at me the moment he learned that I was going to be making a pasta dish.  He cannot stand pasta, yet he still has to eat it as well.  So when I asked my children to give the pasta an open mind and eat it, despite both of their objections to the ingredients, I was pleasantly surprised with the ensuing commentary.  They LOVED it, not just loved it, but wanted seconds.  I was very shocked.  So, for likeability, this is also a huge A+.  If all my children will eat one dish with such vigor, then it definitely sticks in our remaking section again!

Diet or Fail:  This is the age old question of pasta.  With the trickiness of eating carbs in my diet, I cannot eat much pasta.  I read the nutritional information on this recipe and could barely believe my eyes.  This again is a major diet PASS.  To be able to enjoy an entire cup of pasta bake and an additional serving of either fruit or veggies with overdoing my budget of carbs for that meal, I was very pleasantly surprised.  25 carbs is all one serving this dish has.  That is INSANE!  Insane in a great way!  I am very happy with this recipe and would recommend you make this for your family!  This scores an A+

Total Score for the Pasta Sausage Bake: A+.  I have some suggestions to make.  If you do stick with this recipe, please go for a whole grain pasta.  This recipe does not advocate adding that to the recipe.  Whole grain pastas can add a huge serving of fiber into your diet and it is so healthy for your family!  Other than that, this recipe is outstanding!

Penne Sausage Bake

Obtained from the Taste of Home Guilt Free Cooking Book

Ingredients:

1 package (16 ounces) uncooked penne pasta

1 medium green pepper, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound Italian turkey sausage links, casings removed

3 cups fat-free meatless spaghetti sauce

1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1/4 Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1.  Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.  In a large skillet, saute green pepper and onion in oil for 6-7 minutes.  Add sausage; cook and stir until sausage is no longer pink.  Drain.  Stir in spaghetti sauce and pasta.

2.  Transfer to a 3 qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Uncover; sprinkle with the cheeses.  Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

 Yield: 9 Servings

One Cups = 276 calories, 11 grams fat, 4 grams saturated fat, 40 mg cholesterol, 948 mg sodium, 25 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram fiber, 18 grams protein.

Stay tuned for my next post: Marbled Chocolate Cheesecake Bars!  Happy Healthy Cooking Everyone!!