FC Day 11 – Baked Ziti

I don’t usually make a lot of Italian dishes, because they usually are not easy to make “low fat” or “healthy”, but I was able to come across a few while making this round of the Food Calendar. One of those, that I actually picked out for T and the Care Calendar is Baked Ziti with Fire Roasted Tomatoes from Betty Crocker. I made it once before a long while ago, and I remember liking it, and it’s easy to re-heat (for T).

As it turns out, T wanted to make me dinner last night, to thank me for everything I’ve done for them since Colton’s arrival. Totally unnecessary, but I let her anyway 🙂 But, that meant that, again, I would be a night behind on the food calendar. Not to worry, I’m pretty good at making up time. We have to eat lunch at some point, right? I can catch up that way!

I happened to be off of work today, for Good Friday, so after I spent the entire day cleaning our house from bottom to top, I made my way into the kitchen to prepare some nourishment. It definitely hit the spot.

At only 320 calories…you can’t beat this dish!!

Baked Ziti with Fire Roasted Tomatoes
Source: Betty Crocker

Ingredients

2 1/2	cups uncooked ziti pasta
1/2	lb extra-lean ground beef
1	large sweet onion, chopped (1 cup)
2	cloves garlic, finely chopped
1	medium zucchini, cut in half lengthwise, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1	can (15 oz) Muir Glen® organic tomato sauce
1	can (14.5 oz) Muir Glen® organic fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained
2	teaspoons chopped fresh oregano leaves
1/4	teaspoon coarse (kosher or sea) salt
1/4	teaspoon pepper
3/4	cup shredded mozzarella cheese (3 oz)

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Cook and drain pasta as directed on box.
2. Meanwhile, spray 12×8-inch (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat, stirring frequently, until beef is thoroughly cooked.
3. Stir zucchini into beef mixture; cook 2 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper. Heat to boiling. Add drained pasta; toss to coat. Spread in baking dish.
4. Cover dish tightly with foil; bake 20 minutes. Remove foil; sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered about 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.