Turkey Meatball and Spaghetti Soup

My family has never been huge on soups, unless they are hearty and the broth is pretty much nonexistent. Back when my daughter was born a neighbor delivered this delicious soup to me. I literally ate the entire container by myself. I have been dreaming of this soup for over 2 years and finally decided to make it. I added extra noodles and less broth in hopes to please my picky people. The verdict? They ate it and didn't complain! I even convinced Rich to keep some broth in his bowl (he tends to drain it all and go for the chunks) and he had seconds! I'm slowly converting them :) 

 

Ingredients:

For the soup:
7 cups low sodium, fat-free chicken broth
2 cups water
2 chopped cloves garlic, divided
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 onion, chopped, divided
8oz can of tomato sauce
pinch crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
kosher salt and fresh pepper
12 oz dry cut up whole wheat spaghetti

For the meatballs:
16 oz 99% lean ground turkey
1 small egg
1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tsp italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder

Directions:
In a soup pot over medium heat, bring chicken broth, water, crushed garlic, italian seasoning, 1/4 of the chopped onion, tomato sauce, crushed red pepper flakes and fresh black pepper to a boil; simmer about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the meatballs by combining ground turkey, parmesan cheese, egg, garlic powder, remaining onion, italian seasoning, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Form into little 1 inch meatballs (about 36).

Drop meatballs into the broth, cook about 3 minutes; add pasta and cook according to package directions. Adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve with grated parmesan cheese.

recipe adapted from Skinny Taste

Baked Meaty Pasta with Cheese

Had a last minute guest coming to dinner so I had to scratch the planned dish and make something that I had more of.  This makes A LOT so be prepared to freeze some or invite extra people to dinner.  This is super easy to make and always a hit.  Also,  I love that I can make it a head of time and just pop it in the oven when we are ready to eat. Serve it with italian bread and dinner is done! 

Ingredients:
1 box of pasta (I usually use rotini or elbow macaroni)
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I use Ragu meat flavored)
1 lb lean ground turkey (or beef)
1/4 finely chopped yellow onion
2 TBS Italian Seasoning
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups part skim mozzarella cheese

1.  Cook the pasta according to box instructions.  Drain well. 
2.  While the pasta is cooking, brown the meat in a large non stick skillet.   Add the 2 TBS italian seasoning, black pepper and chopped onion to the meat and stir well.   Once cooked, drain the grease and set aside.
3.  Heat the spaghetti sauce in a pot until warm. Season to taste if necessary. 
4.  Heat oven to 400.  
5.  Spray a large casserole dish with cooking spray. 
6.  Add the well drained pasta to the dish.  Then add some of the spaghetti sauce and stir well, until the pasta is covered (just use enough to coat the pasta, keep the extra sauce on the side.)
7.  Add the meat and onion.  Stir into the pasta until it is spread throughout.
8.  Top the meat and pasta with the cheese.
9.  Put in middle shelf of oven until the cheese is melted.  Serve with bread and the extra sauce for dipping. 

Turkey Pepperoni Pizza Mini Muffins

This recipe came from Everyday with Rachel Ray and has circulated around Pinterest. My kids have been complaining about their almost daily lunch of PB&J so I decided to give these a try, with my own changes, to give them a lunchtime variety. One great thing is they freeze so you can make them whenever and then just pop them in the microwave or toaster oven when you're ready to use them!

This recipe makes 48 mini muffins

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
pinch of salt (my addition, optional)
pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
1 1/2 cups 1% milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten (can use egg substitute)
2 cups part skim shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup turkey pepperoni, diced into small pieces
1 cup store-bought pizza sauce

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning, salt and red pepper flakes (if using) ; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella, Parmesan and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.

2. Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.

To Freeze
Arrange pizza muffins on a cookie sheet. After they are completely cooled, freeze for 1 hour. Then place in air tight freezer safe container or zip-lock bags.

Baked Tortellini

I've never had baked tortellini, but have wanted to try it because it sounds so yummy. I found this recipe and it seemed like just what I was looking for. WARNING: Make this recipe on a night when you aren't counting calories. It isn't terrible for you if you watch portion control (which you won't have a choice because it's very rich) but it's not light or "skinny." I usually go full steam ahead on Friday night with the carbs and filling foods because I run so much on Saturdays. I digress...make this. It's GOOD.

Ingredients:

3 cups or 1 (13 oz) bag fresh cheese tortellini (I used 20oz and shared with the neighbors. It made a ton)
1  (24 oz) jar of marinara sauce of your liking
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup fresh grated reduced fat Parmesan cheese, divided
salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease an 11 x 7-inch baking pan.

In a pot of boiling water, cook tortellini for 3 minutes. You don’t want it fully cooked because it will cook more in the oven. Drain and place in a bowl. Toss with 1 tablespoons of butter to prevent sticking.

Combine the the marinara, cream, and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Then add to the pasta and gently toss until coated. Season with salt and pepper if desired.

Place the tortellini into the greased baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and mozzarella. Then bake uncovered for 25 minutes at 350 degrees or until lightly browned.

Serve with a nice hunk of french bread of garlic bread. YUM!




recipe adapted from: http://realmomkitchen.com/6852/easy-baked-tortellini/

Slow Cooker Stuffed Pepper Soup

This soup is only 300 calories and 7 grams of fat per serving (2 cups!) It has all of the flavor of stuffed peppers but it takes half the time to prep! Also, it's great comfort food without being unhealthy. We all really enjoyed it (even the kids ate it without complaint!)

1 lb. lean ground turkey
1 cup diced onion
1 - 2 tsp minced garlic
28 oz can diced tomatoes w/ the juice
6 oz can tomato paste
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
3 cups chopped green pepper (i used 1 green pepper, 1 orange, 1 yellow
and 1 red)
2/3 cup uncooked brown rice
2 TBSP brown sugar, packed
1 tsp dried basil
ground black pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese (optional)

(it calls for 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon but i didn't add it)

In a large skillet, cook turkey, onion and garlic over medium heat
until browned / drain any juices and transfer mixture to a slow
cooker

Add remaining ingredients and stir gently to mix. Cook on low for 8-9
hours / add water to thin if necessary. The soup will really thicken up over the cooking period.

Serve over additional brown rice* and sprinkle with Parm cheese

Makes 6 cups.

I made additional brown rice to place in the bottom of our bowls to make it more hearty.

Baked Chicken Parmesan

I have died and gone to Italy. No, really. OK, not really - I'm sitting in my kitchen in PA but it smells like what I would think Italy smells like. Enough of that, let's discuss this dish. This was too easy to taste as good as it did. I was skeptical about using croutons to replace the breading on the chicken but they were amazing. They were so crunchy on the top but soaked up the marinara sauce on the bottom to create the most melt in your mouth flavor. Really, the chicken didn't even have to be in this dish. Cheese, marinara and croutons - you've got yourself a winner. Also, I threw it together in under 10 minutes!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
hot red pepper flakes, to taste  (optional)
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cups marinara sauce
1/4 cup chopped basil
8 oz mozzarella, shredded
4 oz Parmesan, grated
1 (5-oz) package garlic croutons (I used Texas Toast brand Garlic & Butter)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Drizzle olive oil on the bottom of a 9x13 dish. Smoosh around the crushed garlic. If using them, sprinkle the red pepper flakes on top of the garlic and olive oil.

Place chicken on top. Then marinara sauce. Then basil.

Sprinkle 4oz of mozzarella cheese and 2 oz of Parmesan on top of the marinara. Top with croutons and sprinkle the remaining cheeses on top.

Bake for about 30 minutes - depending on the thickness of your chicken.

Serve over a bed of spaghetti.

recipe comes from Chef John at Food Wishes

Pepperoni Pizza Monkey Bread

I am having a blast making new pizza recipes to bring a little pizazz to our mundane Friday night pizza nights. A few weeks ago I made this pizza monkey bread and we all loved it! I used my homemade whole wheat pizza dough and it turned out delicious! I will say that it was very time consuming but it's a mindless task and drinking a glass of wine helps the time go by faster.

Ingredients
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
4 Tbsp butter
2 lbs pizza dough
6 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes (you'll need ~48 pieces)
48 slices of Turkey pepperoni (from 1 package)
2-3 cups pizza sauce, warmed, for serving

Instructions
Heat garlic and butter over medium heat just until the garlic begins to brown. Remove from heat and let sit.
Lightly brush the inside of a bundt pan (or other oven-safe dish) with garlic butter.
Pull off large marble-sized balls of dough and flatten (~2/3 of an ounce, a kitchen scale makes this very easy). Top with a slice of pepperoni and a cube of mozzarella.
Wrap the dough around the pepperoni and cheese, pinching well to seal.
Very lightly brush the pizza ball with garlic butter and place into the bundt pan (I dabbed the pizza balls on a butter-dipped silicon brush to keep butter use low - there will be 1+ Tbsp leftover - and my hands butter free. Buttery hands make it hard to get the pizza balls to seal).
Repeat until all of the dough is used.
Cover and let sit for 30 minutes, while preheating the oven to 400.
Bake for ~35 minutes, until the top is very brown.
Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes.
Turn out onto a platter and serve with warmed marinara sauce for dipping.

recipe from Confections of a Foodie Bride

Baked Spaghetti

This spaghetti was so tasty. It reminded me of a spaghetti with bolognese sauce, because of the cream cheese. I like that you can sneak in veggies and the kids won't even know. I didn't use the french fried onions (I couldn't find them) but I think they would have added amazing flavor. The dish definitely doesn't need them though. The recipe makes a lot so you can freeze half, too! I'll definitely make this again, the kids inhaled it! 

Ingredients
1 box whole wheat spaghetti, cooked al dente
1 pound turkey ground (you can use lean ground beef)
1 large can spaghetti sauce (26.5 ounces)
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped red peppers
1/3 cup chopped onions
8 ounces fat free cream cheese
2 tablespoons fat free milk
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese
French Fried Onions (small can)

Directions
Cook spaghetti according to directions on the package. Cook to al dente, drain and set aside.
Brown turkey ground. Add spaghetti sauce to skillet and heat.
Combine onions, peppers and butter in pan and sauté until soft. Add cream cheese and milk to vegetables and stir well.
Using a 9x13 dish, assemble in the following order:
Thin layer of meat sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish.
Spaghetti
Cream cheese/vegetable mixture
Spaghetti sauce
Parmesan Cheese (amount subject to your own taste)
French Fried Onions (added during last 5 minutes of cooking)
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Top with French Fried onion and continue baking 5 more minutes. (This is the secret ingredient–don’t let them burn.)


Notes:
Make this ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze without the French Fried onions. Don’t forget to add them 5 minutes before casserole is finished cooking.



recipe adapted from Salad in a Jar

Pull Apart Pizza Bread

I made this last night for a get together with the girls. The way we tore into this, you would have thought we were going to fight for the last bite. It is so easy, so delicious, and fun to eat! I made mine with only cheese and pepperoni, but you could really personalize it and add whatever your favorite pizza toppings are.

Ingredients:

1 unsliced round loaf sourdough bread
 12-16 ounces mozzarella or Provolone cheese, thinly sliced and torn apart
1 package mini pepperoni or turkey pepperoni
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasonings
2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
 pizza sauce for dipping

Some other options: ham and pineapple, crumbled sausage and peppers, mushrooms, banana peppers.


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the bread lengthwise and width wise without cutting through the bottom crust.

Place bread on a foil-lined baking sheet and insert cheese slices and pepperoni between cuts. Combine butter, garlic powder, and Italian seasonings. Drizzle or brush over bread with a pastry brush. Sprinkle bread with Parmesan cheese.

Wrap bread completely in foil and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Unwrap the bread and bake 10 more minutes, or until cheese is melted and pepperoni is a little crispy.

recipe courtesy of the girl who ate everything

Buffalo Chicken Lasagna Roll-Ups

This recipe is absolutely delish. You can adapt the recipe to make a traditional lasagna, but the roll-ups give a nice portioned piece for each person. You can also make this recipe with any meat and flavorings that you like. I made ours buffalo because we love anything with buffalo flavoring. They freeze well so feel free to double or triple the recipe to make extras!

Ingredients for 15 roll-ups

15 lasagna noodles, cooked as directed
2 cups of shredded chicken (I used chicken from a rotisserie crockpot chicken)
16 oz of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup hot sauce - I use Frank's Red Hot
1 TBSP vinegar
16 oz fat free cottage cheese
1 cup skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup reduced fat parmesan cheese
1 container of blue cheese crumbles
2 eggs
1/2 TBSP Italian Seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder

Directions:
In a small pot, combine spaghetti sauce, hot sauce, vinegar and 1/2 cup of chicken - simmer for about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine cottage cheese, eggs, italian seasoning, garlic powder, mozzarella cheese and remaining chicken. Toss together.

In a 9x13 glass dish (or 2 8x8's) spread half of spaghetti sauce on the bottom.

On each cooked lasagna noodle pile 1 1/2 to 2 TBSP of cottage cheese mixture at the bottom. Carefully roll them and place them seam side down in the glass dish. Top with blue cheese crumbles, remainder of sauce and 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese.

Bake 30 to 40 minutes on 350 until bubbly and cheese has browned.

Mozzarella Tomato Caprese Salad

Super easy & yummy! Plus this looks pretty! Perfect side dish or appetizer for any Italian meal. The only thing is that you can't make it too far ahead of time. Prep the mozzarella and cut the tomatoes but wait until you are within an hour of serving before adding anything else.

Ingredients:
Grape Tomatoes cut in half
Fresh Mozzarella Pearls (drained & laid on a plate lined with paper towels with another paper towel on top, at least 3-4 hours before serving to dry out)
Dried basil
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
Balsamic Vinegar

Dry the mozzarella as directed above and wash the tomatoes. When ready to serve, cut the tomatoes in half, add them and the mozzarella to a serving dish. Add about 2 TBS of dry basil (more or less depending on your liking). Add 1 TBS EVOO, then 1 TBS Balsamic Vinegar. Toss well. Enjoy!

Chicken & Pasta with Roasted Garlic, White Cheddar & Wine Sauce

This recipe reminded me of something you could get from The Olive Garden (which I, Holly, thinks is authentic Italian even if it isn't to some of you out there!). The flavor is amazing and it tastes worse for you than it is, who doesn't love that?

Ingredients:
12 oz pasta (I used orecchetti)
1½ tbsp. butter
¼ cup roasted garlic paste*
1½ tbsp. flour
¼ cup dry white wine
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
1 head of broccoli, cut into florets and blanched until crisp-tender

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup liquid egg substitute
1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp paprika

Salt and pepper, to taste

*To make roasted garlic paste, peel the outer papery skins off two heads of garlic, leaving the heads still intact. Slice about a quarter off the top of each head so that all of the cloves are partly exposed. Wrap the heads in foil and bake at 350˚ F for one hour. Remove from the oven and let cool. Once cool enough to touch, squeeze the garlic cloves out of the peels and smash with a fork to make roasted garlic paste.

Directions:

Combine bread crumbs, italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika in a small dish. Dredge chicken in egg and then coat with bread crumb mixture. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake on 375 until cooked through (about 30 to 40 minutes depening on thickness of chicken). I cooked my chicken while roasting my garlic.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta until al dente according to the package directions.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet or saucepan set over medium heat, melt the butter. Once the butter is melted, whisk in the roasted garlic paste and cook just until fragrant, 30-60 seconds. Whisk the flour into the mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to turn golden brown, 1-2 minutes. Stir the white wine and broth into the pan. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the cheddar and stir until melted. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.

Mix in the broccoli florets and cook just until heated through. Mix in the cooked pasta until evenly coated with the sauce. Serve warm with the baked chicken.

*recipe adapted from Annies Eats 

Skinny Italian Spinach Meatballs

We absolutely love these meatballs. They are delicious, packed with flavor, healthy, super easy to make and they sneak in veggies, too! We like to place ours on top of a bed of whole grain ziti, sprinkled with a little shredded italian cheese. Yum!

With 1 pound of ground turkey you can get anywhere from 24 to 30 meatballs.

Ingredients:
1 lb turkey ground
1 tbsp olive oil
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained of all liquid
2 slices whole wheat bread
1 large egg
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp fresh parsley
1/2 cup Reduced Fat Parmesan Cheese
salt and pepper

Directions:
Wet bread with water then mash up with your hands. Add to large bowl and combine with ground turkey, chopped spinach, egg, garlic, parsley, grated cheese, salt and pepper. Mix all ingredients well until thoroughly combined. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, measure meat, then divide in two so that each meatball is 1/8th of a cup. Roll into little meatballs.

Heat oven to 400. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and drizzle with EVOO. Place each meatball on the baking sheet. Bake until meatballs are golden brown and reach 170 degrees internal temperature, about 30 minutes.

recipe adapted from Skinny Taste 

Italian Sausage Rigatoni

One word - YUM.   Also not bad on the wallet.   Fed 4 of us for dinner and gave us lunch leftovers the next day.


Ingredients:
1 package of Italian Turkey Sausage (sweet or hot - I prefer sweet for the kids)
1 package of Rigatoni pasta
3 TBS olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce (we used Classico Tomato & Basil)
2 TBS parsley, chopped

Cook sausage according to directions.  Sometimes I grill them but usually I cook them on the stove with a little bit of low calorie Italian dressing.  Enhances the flavor even more!

After cooking, coin slice them and keep warm.

Cook pasta according to directions. Drain well.

 In a large pan, place olive oil and garlic, saute lightly for 2 minutes. Add the red peppers and cook until tender-crisp. Stir occasionally. 

Add the cooked sausage and pasta sauce to the pan with the peppers and stir well.  Saute for 3-4 minutes.  Then mix with the drained pasta in a large bowl. Top with parsley.

*Recipe adapted from Taste of Home Magazine

Chicken Bolognese - 410 Calories

This was an amazing pasta dish. It has great flavor, loaded with veggies (that the kids won't even know are in there) and is light on the waist! I will definitely make this again and substitute fresh summer veggies when they are in season.

Serves 6

Ingredients:
12 oz whole grain linguine
4 tsp olive oil
1 lb ground chicken breast
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 medium stalks celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 can (28oz) crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup reduced fat 2% milk
1/3 cup freshly grated Parm cheese
1/4 cup parsley leaves, chopped

Directions:
Heat large covered sauce pot of salted water to boiling on high. Add pasta and cook as label directs.

Meanwhile, in 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 2 tsp olive oil on medium 1 minute. Add chicken to skillet; sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt. Cook chicken 8 to 9 minutes, or until no longer pink, stirring occasionally. Transfer to medium bowl.

To same skillet, add remaining 2 tsp oil with carrots, celery, onion, and garlic; cook 10 to 12 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomatoes, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cooked chicken and milk; heat through.

Reserve 1/4 cup pasta cooking water. Drain pasta and return to sauce pot; stir in sauce from skillet, Parmesan, parsley, and reserved cooking water, and toss to coat.

Chicken, Cheese & Spinach Manicotti

This Manicotti was so much better than I ever expected. It's very light tasting (thanks to the cottage cheese) compared to most. I was unsure about adding the chicken but very glad I did. It added great flavor and texture. This is also one of the one of the only ways I have ever gotten my son to eat spinach!

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups finely chopped cooked chicken breasts (I seasoned mine with Italian Seasoning)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained

3/4 container (16 oz.) Low Fat Cottage Cheese
3/4 containter Part Skim Ricotta Cheese (15oz)
3 TBS Italian Seasoning
3 TBS grated parmesan cheese
2 tsp ground black pepper

2 egg whites

1 1/2 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided

10 manicotti shells, cooked, drained

2 cups spaghetti sauce

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

How to Make:

Heat oven to 350°F.

Combine chicken and garlic in large bowl. Add spinach, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, egg whites and 1/4 cup mozzarella. Stir in Italian seasoning, grated parmesan cheese and black pepper. (I always taste the filling at this point so you can add a bit more of anything if necessary). Spoon into manicotti shells.

Put in baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Cover with spaghetti sauce.

BAKE 25 to 30 min. or until heated through. Top with remaining mozzarella; bake 5 min. or until melted. Sprinkle with basil.

*recipe courtesy of Cooking Light Magazine

Best Ever Meatballs

These meatballs are soooo easy to make and have the best flavor. The ingredients definitely sounded weird to me at first but I'm so glad I tried them. These are the first homemade meatballs I ever made that actually tasted great (and I've tried a few recipes!). Plus one batch gives you plenty leftover to freeze, which are great for meatball sandwiches at a later date!

**Highly recommend letting them sit overnight if possible (still great without doing this) but even better when you do! ***

INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs LEAN ground beef (could also use ground turkey - havent tried it but i'm sure its great also)
1 1/4 cup water
2 eggs
1 package (6oz) stove top stuffing mix (for chicken)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbs italian seasoning (usually use mccormicks brand)
1 tbs garlic powder

**HEAT OVEN TO 400 DEGREES**
Line 2 baking pans with alum foil and spray the foil with cooking spray.

HOW TO MAKE:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Best way to mix well is to use your clean hands! MIX VERY WELL. Then shape the mixture into about 32 meatballs (about 1 1/2" each, 1/4 cup each to make). Bake 15-18 minutes or until cooked through (about 160 degrees in middle). Freeze any leftover cooled meatballs in freezer bags.

TO MAKE SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS:
Add the meatballs to your favorite sauce and let simmer for an hour or so.

TO MAKE MEATBALL SANDWICHES:
Add 2-3 meatballs (depending on size) to a slice of fresh baked italian bread. Top with marinara sauce and mozz cheese. Bake in oven until the cheese is melted and bread is slightly crispy.

Whole Wheat Pizza

This dough is really simple and can be altered to your liking. I often add different spices to change the flavor. I use 3 cups for a LARGE pizza pan. If you pans are smaller you will want to decrease the amount or make 2 pizzas. Make sure to spread the dough thin because it does rise a lot when baking.

Ingredients:
3 cups of whole wheat flour
1 cup of warm water + more (about 1/2 cup)
1 packet of dry active yeast
1 tsp of garlic powder
1/2 tbsp of italian seasoning
1 to 2 tsp of EVOO


Pizza Sauce
Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese
Favorite pizza toppings
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425. Dissolve yeast in warm water for 10 minutes add EVOO. Slowly add the flour, garlic powder and italian seasoning mixture. Knead dough in bowl gradually adding more water until well blended and soft. Place dough in a well oiled bowl. Cover and let the dough rise for about 20 minutes. Spread onto a well greased pizza pan. Spread pizza sauce and top with cheese and favorite toppings. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until cheese is bubbly and edges of crust are brown and crispy.

Calzones with Homemade Marinara Sauce

This isn't a recipe I would recommend making after a long day of work. There are a good bit of steps and the dough has to proof for atleast 40 minutes before it's ready to be baked. It's totally worth the steps though and I'll be making these a lot!

Ingredients:

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour(substitute with whole wheat flour for healthy version), divided

1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup low fat ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups part skim shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup diced turkey pepperoni or your favorite calzone filler
1 cup chopped spinach
1 tablespoon dried basil leaves
1 egg, beaten

To Make Dough: In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water for 10 minutes. Add the oil, sugar, garlic powder and salt. Mix in 1 cup of the flour until smooth. Gradually stir in the rest of the flour, until dough is smooth and workable. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes, or until it is elastic. Lay dough in a bowl containing 1 teaspoon olive oil, then flip the dough, cover and let rise for 40 minutes, or until almost doubled.

To Make Filling: While dough is rising, combine the ricotta cheese, mozarella cheese, pepperoni, spinach and basil leaves in a large bowl. Mix well, cover bowl and refrigerate to chill.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). When dough is ready, punch it down and separate it into 8 equal parts (they will still be quite a bit larger than a hot pocket at this size). Roll parts out into thin circles on a lightly floured surface.
Fill each circle with 1/8 of the cheese/meat filling and fold over, securing edges by folding in and pressing with a fork. Brush the top of each calzone with egg and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Marina Sauce:

1/2 can of tomato paste (a larger can, not the tiny ones)
1 can of tomato sauce
1 tablespoon or so of dried basil
1 tablespoon or so of olive oil
1 tsp of garlic
1 tsp of minced onion
a dash or so of sugar
a dash or two of salt