Tag Archives: meatless

Spaghetti with Creamy Butternut Leek Parmesan Sauce

Something magical happens to pasta when you combine it with a creamy butternut squash puree, a little Parmigiano Reggiano, leeks, garlic and sage.

I found this out by accident.

This started from a mistake, a butternut squash puree that was far too thin and liquidy. A very HAPPY mistake!

Sauteed leeks and a good quality cheese make this simple savory pasta dish a HUGE success, even if you’re not a fan of butternut squash. You’ll swear this is full of cream and butter… but it’s not. This is perfect for Meatless Mondays, or any night of the week.

It’s super easy to make with only a few ingredients, and is very filling. To speed this up, you can buy pre-cut butternut squash. I was craving a thick spaghetti, but any pasta shape would work. Whole wheat of gluten-free pasta would also be great! My family isn’t a fan of whole wheat, so I use Ronzoni Smart Taste or Dreamfield’s low carb pasta.

Spaghetti with Creamy Butternut Leek Parmesan Sauce
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 4 • Size: 1/4th of recipe • Old Points: 5 pts • Points+: 7
Calories: 266 • Fat: 3.5 g • Carb: 56 g • Fiber: 9 g • Protein: 9.5 g • Sugar: 2 g
Sodium: 97 mg (without salt)

Ingredients:

1 lb butternut squash, peeled and diced
1 tbsp light butter
8 oz spaghetti of your choice (use brow rice pasta for gluten-free)
1 (1 cup) large leek (white part only)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh shaved parmesan cheese
4 sage leaves, sliced thin
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add butternut squash and cook until soft. Remove squash with a slotted spoon and place in a blender, blend until smooth.
Add pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package directions for al dente, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water before draining.

Meanwhile, in a large deep non-stick skillet, melt the butter, sauté the leeks and garlic over medium-low heat until soft and golden, about 5 – 6 minutes. Add pureed butternut squash, season with with salt and fresh cracked pepper and add a little of the reserved pasta water to thin out to your liking. Stir in parmesan cheese and sage and mix in pasta until well coated.
Serve with additional parmesan cheese on the side.

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

Perfectly portioned individual lasagnas. This is one of those family friendly recipes everyone in your home will love. A great way to get your kids to eat spinach too. I personally find one to be filling for me, served with a garden salad on the side. My husband can easily eat three.

Spinach Lasagna Rolls
Gina’s Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 9 • Serving Size: 1 roll • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 6 ww pts
Calories: 224.9 • Fat: 5.1 g • Fiber: 3.4 g • Protein: 13.0 g • Carbs: 31.5

Ingredients:

9 lasagna noodles, cooked
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained
15 oz fat free ricotta cheese (I like Polly-o)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
salt and fresh pepper
32 oz tomato sauce
9 tbsp (about 3 oz) part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Ladle about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish.

Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.

Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese. Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts. Makes 9 rolls.

To serve, ladle a little sauce on the plate and top with lasagna roll.