Sausage and Roasted Vegetable Pasta

When my sister, a fabulous cook, came to visit this summer, she prepared a wonderfully delightful dish! The dish mainly consisted of roasted vegetables, orzo, feta, olive oil and sausage, and it was delicious! I have made my own version of this dish, in a more heart healthy way, and I found it to be fantastic. I must admit, the original recipe was a bit tastier, but my version is nothing to turn up your nose to. ;-)

Edible Elements

• 1 box Whole Grain Medium Shells (if you can find whole grain Orzo, use that!)
• 1 oz Pine Nuts
• 5 oz Feta
• 2 Tomatoes
• 1/2 White Onion
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion
• 1 medium/large zucchini
• 1 medium/large yellow squash
• 8 oz Chicken and Sage Breakfast Sausage
• 4 tbsp EVOO
• Salt
• Pepper

Combine the vegetables and pine nuts in a pan and roast in the oven for 30 mins on 350 or until they begin to slightly brown. Cook the sausage links on the grill or in a griddle. Boil the pasta until the desired consistency. Mix the vegetables into a large bowl with the pasta and the feta. Slice the sausage into small pieces and add to the mixture. Stir in olive oil and add salt and pepper.

Voila! You are done. This easy dish is delicious, and it can stretch out over many meals.

Yields: 10 servings

284 Calories/12 g fat/4 g fiber/12 g protein

Chicken Casserole

This is an extremely easy and cheap dish to make. I made it for a Patriots gathering on Sunday, and it was a huge hit, surprisingly enough. If you are looking for low phat comfort food on a cold day, this is your dish!

Edible Elements

1 can 98% FF cream of chicken soup
1 can 98% FF cream of mushroom soup
1 bag of reduced fat cheese (cheddar, Monterrey jack, you pick - feel free to mix!)
3/4 cup of skim milk
1 can of chicken
1/2 box of whole grain macaroni or cavatappi pasta
1-2 servings of whole grain Wheat Thins

Cook the pasta first, then blend with the remaining ingredients. Crumble the wheat thins and sprinkle over the top.

Bake covered on 350 for 15 minutes, then uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes..

Yields: 9 servings

Nutrition information: 233 calories/7.5 grams of fat/3.5 grams of fiber