Rigatoni Bolognese

This is SO GOOD. If you make it, you will look like a culinary master! :)

This recipe is adapted from the Wei.ght Watch.ers Pure Com.fort cookbook. It's a favorite of ours - a must-make at least once a month. It's a really flexible recipe - you can leave out the veggies if you don't like them (we never add the carrots), or add in others for a new taste.

Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1/2 lb ground lean beef (5% fat or less) or ground turkey
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
2 T dried parsley
1/4 C beef broth or dry red wine
1/4 tsp salt
ground black pepper
2 C rigatoni
1/4 C Parmesan cheese

optional ingredients (we usually add these in, but the points value given below doesn't include them so you'll have to adjust the points value accordingly)
1/2 lb bulk Italian sausage
small can mushrooms, drained
small can sliced or chopped olives, drained
dried basil

1) Heat the oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the celery, carrot, and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the beef (and sausage if you choose to have it) and cook until brown, about 5 minutes, breaking it apart as it cooks. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, wine/broth, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until bubbly, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 45 minutes.

2) Meanwhile, cook the rigatoni according to package directions. Drain and add pasta to sauce mixture. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes until sauce cooks into the pasta a bit. Sprinkle with the cheese and serve.

Point info (does not include optional ingredients):
6 points per serving
serving = 1 1/2 C with 1 T cheese

You can also make the sauce portion ahead of time and freeze it and it's ready to go when you reheat and add the cooked pasta.

lasagna

This is a family favorite recipe, it's so good and completely easy to make. I so don't know exact measurements on most of this stuff, but it's fool-proof I promise.

*Note: I use 1 lb of ground beef for my little fam, but if we're making it for company, I'll use 2 lbs. It's easy to add a bit more of the additional ingredients to stretch it.

What you need:
1 lb. uncooked ground beef
1/4 C chopped onion
1 normal size jar spaghetti sauce
uncooked lasagna noodles - 6 is usually fine for the smaller version, I'll use 9 noodles for a 9x13 pan
1 (ish) C Cottage Cheese (I suppose you could use Ricotta, I never have)
2 (ish) C shredded mozzarella, divided

Optional (chopped):
mushrooms
green peppers
black olives

What you'll do:
Brown the ground beef and onion in a skillet. Meanwhile, cook lasagna according to package directions. You can take it out a couple minutes early if you want, the noodles will finish cooking in the oven. In a small bowl, combine the cottage cheese with about 1 cup of the mozzarella. Obviously, increase or decrease the cheeses to your own liking, but it should be mixed well and not too wet/not too dry. When the meat is browned, drain the grease and add in your spaghetti sauce and any of your optional veggie mix-ins.

Spray an 8x8" pan with non-stick cooking spray. Spread a spoonful of the meat mixture in the pan. Place one layer of noodles in the pan (you will need to cut 4ish inches off the noodles so they fit an 8x8). Spread 1/2 the cheese mixture on top of the noodles. Spread 1/2 the meat mixture on the cheese. Repeat the noodle, cheese, meat process once more. You will have the meat mixture as your top layer. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on top of the meat mixture.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the edges are bubbly.