Baked Rigatoni

Although I was craving Indian cuisine last evening, I finally decided to make a pan of Baked Rigatoni for dinner.

Jack had spent the afternoon at meetings, then went to the grocery store on his way home and braved the crowds (which the local media had whipped into a frenzy with warnings about an impending winter storm). He arrived home late and tired. Baked pasta with a sausage-spiced red sauce seemed to be appropriate, especially since I had been thawing 2 loaves of frozen whole wheat bread dough and the oven would already be on to bake these.

A note on the bread. I make a tried-and-true recipe for five-grain bread, two loaves every other week, and I haven’t bought sandwich bread (except while on vacation) for years. Before Christmas I was at the grocery store and decided that, after the subsequent stops which I needed to make, I would be home too late to make the dough for the pizza which I had planned for dinner that evening. I have tried the prebaked crusts (Boboli) and they seem too “bready”. Not really a word, I know, but an apt description. I was looking at frozen pizzas, immediately counting them out as I read the nutrition labels, when I saw whole wheat frozen bread dough. I bought a package of 3 loaves, took one from the bag and placed it in a plastic bag from the produce department, stored the other two in the cooler against a block of ice. The single loaf was placed on the back seat where it thawed for a couple of hours and, by the time I arrived home, just needed 45 minutes to rise and was ready to use.

For all of the forethought and preparation I did to transform this bread dough into a pizza dough, it was not very good. The crust turned out to be too much like thin bread than crust. So the other 2 loaves sat in the deep freeze until I broke my ankle and we ran out of the five-grain. I was surprised at how good this was (of course, baked as a loaf of bread rather than a pizza crust). It is lighter than the five-grain which I make, and we do enjoy dense breads, but quite suitable for the situation which I am in (the very-little-baking situation).

I had Jack buy another bag of whole wheat frozen bread dough last week and this is what I will probably use until I am in the kitchen, unencumbered by crutches, once again.

So much for the “plug” for frozen bread dough (to make bread, of course). Back to dinner.

I will not turn on the oven to bake anything for less than 30 minutes. It’s quite an arbitrary limit, one which I gave myself. I simply feel that the energy needed to preheat the oven would be a waste if I kept it going for less time. Therefore, if I want to bake something in the oven for dinner which requires less than a half-hour baking time, I make something else.

This recipe for baked rigatoni is very quick and basic, and one which Jack loves. I tried to keep the fat content down through the use of turkey Italian sausage and part-skim mozzarella. I’ve also found that Parmeginio Reggiano cheese, while twice as expensive as regular ol’ Parmesan, adds the same amount of flavor while using less that most other grating cheeses. Using whole wheat pasta really bumps up the nutrition quotient of the dish (I used the 365 Organic brand from Whole Foods). As usually is the case, it was after the pasta was in the oven that I thought of another way to add flavor and nutrition-- the next time I will add a 10-ounce package of thawed, squeezed-dry frozen spinach to the sauce before the rigatoni is added.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Baked Rigatoni

Recipe By: Vicci

Servings: 6

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

---------- ---------- ----------------------------------------

16 ounces whole wheat pasta -- rigatoni, ziti, cavatappi, etc.

16 ounces Italian turkey sausage -- hot, sweet, or a combination

1 cup chopped sweet onion

2 large garlic cloves -- crushed

15 ounces tomato sauce

29 ounces canned crushed tomatoes

1 teaspoon dried basil -- crumbled

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons dried oregano -- crumbled

2 cups shredded lowfat mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350F. Cook pasta according to package directions and keep warm.

In a large nonstick skillet, crumble and stir the sausage over medium -high heat until broken into small pieces and no longer pink. Add onion and garlic and stir for a few minutes until onion is softened. Stir in the tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, and herbs/spices and bring to a simmer. Add the cooked pasta and combine well. Coat a 9"x14" baking pan with cooking spray. Pour in about 1/3 of the pasta. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup mozzarella. Add another 1/3 pasta, sprinkle with another 3/4 cup of mozzarella, then add the remaining pasta. Reserve the remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella and the Parmesan.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, and place back in the oven (uncovered) for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and mixture is bubbly. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving.

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Per serving: 583 Calories (kcal); 16g Total Fat (7g saturated); (23% calories from fat); 40g Protein; 78g Carbohydrate; 73mg Cholesterol; 1338mg Sodium

I admit that this is not exactly a lowfat recipe and, as you can see by the photo, it isn't exactly swimming in cheese, either (a few recipes I've found have way more cheese, and also ricotta). I was able to do something to lower the fat a little, and this is not indicated in the nutritional information listed above because I have no idea how to go about figuring it out.

When I brown ground turkey or sausage, I always rinse the meat with boiling water, in a colander, after cooking and before proceeding with the rest of the recipe. I have seen various numbers for this, but one that stuck out is that rinsing can remove up to 30% of the fat. If you soak the meat in a bowl of boiling water then drain and rinse it with additional boiling water, it can take that number up to 50%. I did just the rinsing last night, then I chopped the pieces of sausage further than crumbling in the pan could do. This seems to make it appear as though there is more sausage in each bite.

And it's all about appearances, isn't it???

Blog Ramblings...

I am now firmly convinced that there is nothing, absolutely nothing, more frustrating to me than being housebound with a mobility-limiting injury. Lately my first thought in the morning when I wake is “Great. Another day in the living room.” I have a box full of old photos from the 1970’s which Mom gave me a few years ago to arrange in photo sleeves, and these undoubtedly would be an interesting way to spend a few days, but I just cannot maneuver myself around even a small card-table to do the necessary sorting and arranging. I’ve organized my files. I have even planned menus for our June vacation and for some entertaining that we plan to do this summer.

I find myself looking forward to the mail. Pathetically, receiving the local grocery flyer is an event. *sigh*

Blogging is saving my sanity. Reading, writing, I feel a little less isolated, a little less unproductive. I have been working on the appearance of my blog, as some of you may notice, although I constantly have a nagging feeling that I may do something, accidentally click a button, that will erase the entire thing.

I have been reading a lot more online than I usually do. One article which held my attention enough that I copied it into a Word document then edited it down (from 5 pages to 3) was by a chef in San Francisco (I believe) on making Pad Thai

http://chezpim.typepad.com/blogs/2007/01/pad_thai_for_be.html

This is an amazing read. The recipe itself is short and to the point, but there is a ton of information on preparation and ingredients. The proper way to make authentic Pad Thai and you can bet that as soon as I’m able to get around the kitchen more easily I am going to make this. I have had a block of tamarind paste in the freezer for 2 years and hope that I’ll be able to rehydrate it.

Well, cross your fingers for me that I can get a new template on this blog and restructure it a bit without losing all of the data. Here goes… :)

Waffle Wednesday (and a cat-nap)

Waffles. Jack and I love breakfast, and these are one of our favorite “breakfast foods”, so several years ago we declared every Wednesday to be (ta da!) Waffle Wednesday ! It takes very little to amuse us…

Anyway, since we both work from home it’s not a big deal to make a breakfast that is slightly more complicated than a bowl of cereal or defrosting muffins.. I would go through the preparation while Jack was in his office, then I would call him in to the kitchen.

For the past 5 weeks, it has not been that way.

Aware of our Waffle Schedule, my friend Jenni brought us enough waffles for the first few weeks after I broke my ankle. She made a multi-grain waffle recipe from Eating Well, then wrapped them individually and froze. Now these were excellent waffles. I didn’t realize that they could be frozen, reheated, and then still taste great. Alas, these were soon gone. As soon as I can get around the kitchen better I plan to make these repeatedly.

Today I had planned to make a pumpkin waffle recipe. In order to streamline the time it would take to prepare them in the morning I was going to mix the dry ingredients while Jack cleaned up the dinner dishes last evening. Unfortunately, when he went to the basement shelves to find a can of pumpkin, there was none.

I am also out of the pancake/waffle mix which I make in large quantities from a Mollie Katzen recipe.

And so we were left with a store-bought buttermilk pancake/waffle mix. Not bad, but not as healthy as we would like. I added some oat bran, a bit of baking powder & soda, cinnamon, cornstarch (my secret ingredient for making light waffles) and plain yogurt to bump up the nutrition quotient. The result was a nice crisp waffle, relatively low in fat (for a waffle!) with a bit of fiber. Not bad at all for a mix!

Um, a very plain waffle photo... Jack wanted to place a grape in each of the recesses!

Add-To-The-Mix Waffles

1 ¼ cups buttermilk pancake/waffle mix

⅓ cup oat bran

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon cornstarch

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Mix in a medium bowl.

Into a one-cup measure, spoon ⅓ cup plain fat-free yogurt. Add water to the ¾ cup mark. Mix well, then add more water to the one cup mark. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil.

Pour the water mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring slowly with a whisk. You may need more water. Now, here is the tricky part. The oat bran, as it sits, will absorb moisture so you need to make a rather thin batter. Not watery, but thin. Mix just until ingredients are combined and allow to sit for 5 minutes to thicken. Check and add a little more water if necessary, only (gently!) stirring enough to incorporate. Allow the batter to rest for another 5 minutes while the waffle iron heats up. You can’t hurry this 10 minutes’ worth of resting or there will be little crunchy bits of oat bran in your waffle!

Hopefully, you have made waffles before and know the consistency which the batter needs to be in. It will be slightly thinner than pancake batter but not at all runny.

This recipe makes 3 Belgian-style waffles.

Spooky, for a probably-around-12-year-old cat, is quite active. He has also had to adjust to my immobility since I was the one who would play with him and, yes you are reading this correctly, take him for walks. Having to take care of the house and meals, Jack simply doesn’t have the time. So I have put together some interactive toys for him which I can use from a seated position. His favorite seems to be a long thin dowel on to which I have attached a plastic handle with a bunch of feathers at the end. Or, rather, there were a bunch of feathers at the end. It’s currently down to two, and Jack will have to pick up a replacement feather-toy when he goes out grocery-shopping tomorrow.

So Spooky has had to increase his nap time. This is probably not too difficult for him. :)

He is stretched out behind me, on a pad on the living room radiator. I can’t resist ending this post with a cute “cat sleeping” photo.

Foodie BlogRoll and... I've been tagged!

Well. Two things happened recently which are pushing me to my limits of blogging knowledge. Yes, I have been writing this blog for a year now but up until now I have been a “write, post, go elsewhere” blogger. It has only been since I injured myself and am now faced with several potentially idle hours each day that I’ve discovered how fun it is to read other food blogs. And what’s really cool-- when I finish reading some posts in a blog, marking recipes as I go, then click onto another blog whose information is displayed at the first blog, then I’ve discovered a whole new person with new information and recipes!

First, I am now a member of the Foodie Blogroll which is a large list of links to other food blogs. I am finding this very dangerous since I lose all track of time as I click on links and read, read, read. I have to get these broken bones healed so I can get back into the kitchen soon. The “to try” pile of recipes is getting huge!

Second, I have been “tagged”! I had absolutely no idea what that meant until it happened. And there are rules as well, which are:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 5 facts about yourself.
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names, linking to them.
4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

Laura, whom I am familiar with from the Cooking Light forums, tagged me and I visited her blog . I am wondering how I managed to have missed this one— she posts a lot of information and recipes featuring Asian cuisine; Thai being my favorite. I anticipate finding a lot of new recipes in this blog.

I am, however, a bit stumped by the five facts which I am supposed to share. I am not looking for compliments here, but I simply am not that interesting. Deep breath, here goes:

1) I love to entertain. I love every part of the process—the planning, the cleaning and decorating, the cooking, the actual event itself. I even like cleaning up afterward because the adrenaline is still coursing through me and Jack and I discuss what all happened during the evening. I am quite at a pinnacle of happiness when the event is in full-swing and I can step back, see everyone enjoying themselves, and think “wow!”.

2) I can tear apart a 6’ x 3’, 140+-year-old wooden frame window, totally strip it down then rebuild it to be just as sturdy as the day it was installed (including cutting new glass panes); and have it all completed in 4 days. I’ve done this to most of our 21 windows.

3) Our cat, Spooky, is Master. I am Slave.

4) It wasn’t until I was in my 40’s that I finally tasted (and loved) olives, artichokes, goat cheese, gorgonzola, and avocados. It may seem like I grew up in a culinary black hole, but it really wasn’t that way. I lived in a small town until I graduated from college and wasn’t exposed to these foods or, if I was, I was a picky eater anyway and refused to try anything that was too different! Ahhh, how things can change! ;)

5) I practice frugality to the point where I think that something may be wrong with me (of course, when we have a party, that little personality quirk goes right out the window!). Does anyone else wash out plastic bags and foil to reuse them? :O

I have discovered a lot of blogs recently, and it’s difficult to choose my top 5. There are the big, well-known ones (kitchenmage, culinary in the desert, smitten kitchen, farm girl fare) which I read regularly, but I thought I’d post a few of the lesser-known blogs which I enjoy:

Cook Simple (Carrie)

Nick Snacks (Nikki)

For The Love of Cooking (Pam)

Indian Spice Trail (Sheela)

Meatball Stroganoff

A mere five days after informing my parents that I had broken my ankle and foot, a box arrived at our doorstep. Mom, still suffering the final stages of walking pneumonia, had felt badly that she couldn’t drive the 2+ hours to our house to clean and cook for me, so she did the next best thing—she sent a box of goodies. Puzzles, hand lotion, magazines, and lots of cookies did a great job in dispelling the gloom of self-pity which I had created around myself. The peanut-butter brownies almost made up to Jack for the extra load of work that he was now shouldering.

I have been reading a lot of magazines lately. Mine had piled up over the holidays, and the ones which she sent were added to the basket. Mom has seven grandchildren, all of whom, at one time or another, have been part of a magazine-subscription drive. Most recently, my eight-year-old twin nieces are involved with this as fund-raiser for their Brownie troop. Needless to say, Mom and Dad receive a lot of magazines. Dad hasn’t owned a boat since the early 1980’s, yet he receives Boating World. They replaced their standard-sized mailbox several years ago with a much larger one, and this is always filled. Mom sent me many magazines!

Last week I was reading an issue of Woman’s Day and there was an article featuring “50 easy meals”. This was a subject which I had never been interested in before but, with my current situation, Jack certainly deserves to make some “easy meals”. I tore the article out, circled five or six recipes which seemed interesting, and added a couple of the ingredients to last week’s grocery list.

Yesterday, I decided to try the Meatball and Pepper Stroganoff. The recipe was a bit vague, not really a recipe at all but simply instructions on how to cook without specifying measurements.

It took only 25 minutes to prepare, and definitely wasn’t bad at all. I didn’t have particularly high expectations as one of the ingredients is condensed cream of chicken soup (I try not to be an ingredient snob, but condensed “cream of” soups always remind me of Tuna Noodle Casserole!). I was surprised. The only change which I would make next time would be to add some garlic to the onions and peppers as they cook.

Here is my version of the recipe. I added sliced mushrooms and replaced some of the water in the sauce with skim milk. As you can see by the photo, it would look more appealing with a sprinkling of chopped fresh parsley. But it's Comfort Food. Creamy and tasty and easy-- who could want more in less than a half hour? :)

You could easily make the recipe to serve four and use an entire standard size 10-ounce can of soup.

Meatball & Pepper

Stroganoff

Adapted from Woman’s Day,

1 February 2008

Serves 2

5 ounces whole-wheat fettuccine

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 medium red bell pepper, sliced into ¼”wide strips

1 small sweet onion, halved lengthwise and sliced into ¼”wide strips

1 large clove garlic, crushed

¾ cup sliced mushrooms

8 turkey meatballs

2 teaspoons paprika

2/3 cup reduced-fat condensed cream of chicken soup (save the rest for another use…)

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup skim milk

1/3 cup light sour cream

Prepare fettuccine while cooking the rest of the meal.

Drizzle olive oil into a large nonstick skillet.

Add red peppers and sauté over a medium flame for 2 minutes; add onion and cook, stirring, for 1 minute; add mushrooms and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add turkey meatballs and paprika and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Mix soup, water, and milk in a 2-cup glass measuring cup. Pour into the meatball mixture. Add freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes. Turn heat to low and add sour cream, stirring gently to mix well. Turn off heat, add cooked fettuccine, toss to mix.

Divide between 2 plates; sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Curried Chicken with Cauliflower and Rice

Jack professes to dislike “working for his food” and, as a result, the ingredients in our meals are prepared boneless, skinless, shelled, and in manageable pieces. He was horrified once when, in a restaurant (one of our favorites, no less), he was served a platter of jambalaya topped with huge shrimp, shells intact, and also a whole chicken leg. This was several years ago and he still talks about it. I had two choices that evening: to watch him mangle the shrimp and chicken in an attempt to extract the meat, or take his plate and do it myself. I did the latter and, by the time I was finished, my crab-and-salmon cakes were cool. So goes the sorry tale of the wife who spoils the husband…

Several years ago when I grew an unusually huge cauliflower in the garden. I had remembered to tuck the leaves around the head as it grew, shielding it from the sun, so that it was an almost-pure white in color. I also had been using biological insecticides to keep cabbage worms and such pests away. This was one gorgeous cauliflower! So I prepared it as it deserved to be. It was steamed, whole, until just tender, then drizzled with a light sauce of an artisan-crafted Vermont sharp cheddar, and sprinkled with chopped chives from the herb garden. Centered in a platter, it was gorgeous. Jack looked at it, complimented my green thumb and presentation, then asked if I was going to cut it in pieces for us to eat. No, I replied, you only have to slice off as much you want with a serving spoon. It was that easy.

Well, not really.

Now, this is an architect who has made beautiful miniature models of building projects without a problem. I know that he has the fine motor skills; I don’t see the difference between cutting tiny windows in a tiny foamboard building and dissecting a cooked, unshelled prawn or removing the meat from a piece of chicken! But it is a problem, and after almost 25 years of marriage, it is simply dealt with.

It goes without saying that I make a good deal of recipes for our meals which feature boneless, bite-sized pieces of food.

Last night for dinner I was craving curry. Something warm and fragrant with Indian spices, and something that I could also make myself. Jack had been in his office all day trying to catch up on paperwork and I figured that the last thing he wanted was to be in the kitchen. While, on the other hand, I live to be in the kitchen! It’s difficult with crutches, and takes at least three times longer to do anything, but as I told Jack later, at this point I have all of the time in the world… ;)

Following is what I came up with. I was surprised at how simple it was to put together, yet how tasty. Just what I had wanted. This isn’t “company-worthy”, it could be with some extra work, but as it is, it’s a very good, basic, warming Indian-style meal.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Curried Chicken with

Cauliflower and Rice

Recipe By: Vicci

Servings: 2

Preparation Time :0:35

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

---------- ---------- ---------------------------------------

10 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast -- cut into 1" cubes

1 tablespoon mild curry powder -- Penzeys is a good brand

2 teaspoons olive oil -- divided

1/2 cup diced onion

1 large garlic clove -- crushed

1/2 teaspoon hot pepper flakes -- (or less, to taste)

1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth -- heated

2/3 cup basmati rice

10 ounces cauliflower flowerets

1/3 cup frozen peas -- thawed

2 wedges fresh lime

Toss chicken cubes with 2 teaspoons curry powder.

Drizzle 1 teaspoon olive oil into a medium, nonstick, covered sauté pan. Add chicken cubes and cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until lightly browned and cooked (cut one of the larger pieces in half to be certain). Remove from pan to a bowl, cover, and set aside.

Add then remaining oil to the skillet and, over medium heat, sauté onions, garlic, and hot pepper flakes until onions are barely softened. Add one teaspoon of curry powder and rice; cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add hot chicken broth and bring to a boil, cover tightly, and reduce heat to low. Cook without stirring or removing lid, for 15 minutes. Turn off heat but do not remove lid from pan; allow to stand while the cauliflower cooks.

Steam cauliflower (it should take 6-8 minutes, depending on the size of the florets)

Add cauliflower florets, peas, and cooked chicken to the rice mixture and stir. Serve with lime wedges and additional hot sauce, if needed.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per serving: 510 Calories (kcal); 8g Total Fat (1g saturated); (14% calories from fat); 51g Protein; 58g Carbohydrate; 82mg Cholesterol; 592mg Sodium

Food Exchanges: 3 Grain(Starch); 5 1/2 Lean Meat; 2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

Mediterranean Chicken

For the past few years I have been trying to control our portion sizes. Although I am able to resign myself to consuming one portion (most of the time), Jack is a different story. He insists that portion sizes are too small and, for an active 6’4” man, perhaps they are. So the easiest thing for me to do is to make 3 servings of a recipe and give him 2 servings. I’ll scale back on this if it’s one of the infrequent higher-fat recipes which I try, but I don’t see the harm in giving him extra food. It also helps me as I don’t then have to hear him ask, after I place the plate on the table, “Is this it??? Is this all??? ”

Chicken breasts have been a problem with controlling portion sizes, though. I buy large bags of frozen chicken for everyday use and have seen the individual pieces steadily increase in size (per chicken breast) in the past 10 years or so. A few months ago, I noticed that the chicken breasts often weighed about 10 ounces for each half. A serving of protein is supposed to be around 4-5 ounces. I usually prepare 12 ounces for Jack and myself.

What the heck are they feeding chickens? Or have scientists been breeding progressively larger chickens every year? Growth hormones? I’d rather not think about that. Organic chicken is so expensive.

Recently I have been paying attention to the packages and counting how many breasts are in a bag. When I buy the bag with the most pieces, they will usually be around 6 ounces. Much easier to pull out and defrost rather than needing to cut one in half while still partially frozen, then placing the other half back in the freezer.

The smaller chicken breasts are a perfect size for those infrequent times which I prepare recipe which requires a cooking whole chicken breast halves.

I went into my archives and found one such recipe. As I recall, I made this frequently last autumn (while blatantly ignoring this blog) for a quick dinner. After trying to make the most of every minute of the quickly-fading daylight (and fast-cooling temperatures) by scrambling to get the outside wood trim on our house scraped of loose paint and then primed and topcoated, dinner became a hurriedly assembled meal around 8-9pm. This Mediterranean Chicken is perfect for those times when you want something easy and quick, but still lowfat and delicious. As the chicken is prepared, boil a pot of water and get the steamer out for sides of buttered orzo pasta and broccoli.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Mediterranean Chicken

Recipe By : Vicci

Servings: 2 Preparation Time :0:20

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

---------- ---------- ----------------------------------------

12 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast -- (2 halves)

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 medium garlic clove -- crushed

8 ounces arrabbiata pasta sauce

1/4 cup kalamata olives -- coarsely chopped

2 ounces reduced-fat feta cheese

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Carefully, using a sharp knife, cut each chicken breast lengthwise into 2 pieces (this is much easier if the chicken is partially frozen). Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Drizzle oil in a medium-sized nonstick pan and heat over medium heat. Add garlic and stir around in the oil with the spatula for 15 seconds; add chicken and sauté until golden on each side. Remove to a warm plate and cover with foil.

Place pan back on heat and add pasta sauce. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Turn off heat and stir in olives. Add chicken, turning to coat.

Spoon some sauce on the individual serving plates, lay chicken on sauce, spoon the rest of the sauce over top, crumble cheese over, and sprinkle with parsley.

Serve with buttered orzo and steamed broccoli.

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Per serving: 348 Calories (kcal); 16g Total Fat (3g saturated); (42% calories from fat); 45g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 109mg Cholesterol; 973mg Sodium

Food Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 5 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

Note: Arrabbiata sauce (which, incidentally, means "angry mood" in Italian) is a spicy, tomato-based pasta sauce. A plain marinara can be substituted, adding crushed red pepper flakes to taste.