Spinach & Ricotta Pasta Bake

November 9, 2022 Amanda Plott

Dinner is SERVED. This Spinach & Ricotta Pasta Bake is super simple to make, it’s meatless vegetarian, and it only has a few ingredients. It starts off with a whole wheat pasta. I used some odds and ends of small pasta that I had on hand; some elbow and some shells that I put together to make a full 10 ounces of noodle. Of course, it’s lightened up with reduced fat cheeses, both with the mozzarella and with the ricotta which goes along with a full 16 ounces of spinach!

I did decide to use a jarred pasta sauce to keep it extra simple. But if I had any leftover sauce stored in the freezer, I would have used that instead. So feel free to use your favorite tomato based spaghetti sauce or marinara here. And you’ll want to reach each part individually so that you really get the flavor through it all that you want…

Mozzarella & Basil Stuffed Meatloaf

October 7, 2022 Amanda Plott

Meatloaf is one of those tried and true dinners that has withstood the test of time through the generations. I saw the idea for stuffed meatloaf a while back though and thought it would be pretty fun to play around with that idea. So. Enter this Mozzarella & Basil Stuffed Meatloaf. The original called for some ham to be among the things rolled up in the meatloaf, but I decided against it to save on not only the calories, but also the sodium!

This meatloaf itself starts off pretty standard with ground beef, egg, breadcrumbs and some veggies and seasonings, so it’s good stuff all the way around. After that you flatten out the meat and top it with cheese and fresh herb then roll it all up together to bake.

It’s lightened up with using a lean ground beef, and of course a fat free mozzarella. Other than that, it’s fairly straight forward. This will give you 8, count them 8, fairly big servings of meatloaf, and as you can see below, that loaf pan is pretty damn full! Another nifty thing? You can make this meatloaf ahead of time. I put mine together the night before and stored it in the fridge until I was ready to bake it for dinner the next day.

I served mine with what my kiddo is dubbing ‘space broccoli’ which is AKA romanesco that I roasted. I also topped mine off with just a little more marinara sauce for good measure.

Mozzarella & Basil Stuffed Meatloaf

Yield: 8

Author: The Skinny Fork (Amanda Plott)

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 1 H & 30 MTotal time: 1 H & 45 M

A fairly traditional meatloaf that's rolled up and stuffed with mozzarella cheese and fresh basil. Delicious. Easy to make. And great for a weeknight dinner!

Ingredients

1 Red Bell Pepper, Chopped
1 Red Onion, Diced
2 Minced Garlic Cloves
2 Lbs. Lean Ground Beef
3/4 C. Whole Wheat Breadcrumbs
1/2 C. Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 Whole Large Eggs
2 Tbsp. Tomato Paste
1 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Tsp. Pepper
2 Tbsp. Chopped Fresh Parsley
12 Fresh Basil Leaves, Chopped
1 1/4 C. Shredded Fat Free Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 C. Marinara Sauce + More for Garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and lightly coat the inside of an 9x5" loaf pan with non-stick spray; set aside.
In a large skillet, cook the 1 Red Bell Pepper and 1 Red Onion over a medium-high heat until soft and tender.
Add in the 2 minced garlic and continue to cook until fragrant; set aside to cool slightly.
In a large bowl, add in the 2 Lbs. Lean Ground Beef, 3/4 C. Whole Wheat Breadcrumbs, 1/2 C. Grated Parmesan Cheese, 2 Whole Large Eggs, 2 Tbsp. Tomato Paste, 1 Tsp. Salt, 1/2 Tsp. Pepper, and 2 Tbsp. Chopped Fresh Parsley along with the pepper and onion mixture. Stir to combine until well mixed.
Set the meat mixture out onto some parchment paper and flatten it out into a rectangle shape, making sure the width is no larger than the loaf pan.
Top the meat with 12 Fresh Basil Leaves and 1 1/4 C. Shredded Fat Free Mozzarella Cheese.
Using the parchment paper and your hands, roll the meat up.
Transfer to the loaf pan and top with the 1/2 C. Marinara Sauce.
Place it in the oven to bake for about 1 1/2 hours or until cooked through.
Once done, remove from the oven, slice into 8 pieces, and enjoy right away with more marinara sauce if desired!

Nutrition Facts

Calories

271.41

Fat (grams)

8.94

Sat. Fat (grams)

3.89

Carbs (grams)

13.73

Fiber (grams)

2.35

Net carbs

11.36

Sugar (grams)

2.9

Protein (grams)

34.89

Sodium (milligrams)

781.73

Cholesterol (grams)

119.85

Nutritional Claims: Low Carb • Sugar Conscious • Peanut Free • Tree Nut Free • Soy Free • Fish Free • Shellfish Free • Pork Free • Crustacean Free • Celery Free • Mustard Free • Sesame Free • Lupine Free • Mollusk Free • Alcohol Free

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Skinny Classic Meatloaf

Instant Pot Meatloaf Bites

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The only real thing I did here to make them ‘Halloween’ was the sprinkles that I used. So honestly, you could swap out sprinkles for other seasonal colors and themes to change these cookies up! These also call for cake batter extract, which can be tricky to find in some places. If you don’t have it and can’t find it, no big deal, just use some vanilla extract instead!…

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Now, I’ve never made a béchamel sauce, and even with this being my first time doing so I found it to be pretty easy to do and is very similar to any sort of roux based sauce. The béchamel gave this dish life. There’s so much flavor packed into the sauce that the béchamel is needed to sort of cut through that intense flavor…

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A caprese salad is tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and usually some sort of greens to go along with it. I started this one off with an Italian based dressing along with some basil pearled couscous to make the salad just a touch more filling…

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The end result is a curry that comes together really quickly and tastes amazing. The only thing I might do differently next time, is to add in some jalapeño for added spice and warmth. Every bite of this curry has new tastes and textures that all pair really well together…