ISO: Baked Pasta, no tomato sauce

[Meganator]

I am looking for a 2nd dish to make Sunday in addition to chili. I was thinking of a baked pasta, but I would prefer one that isn't heavy on the tomato sauce - mainly in case there is spillage on the carpet, and this is the dish any kids will be eating rather than the chili. I searched some old threads, and found the Baked Ziti with Fennel Sausage, Soprano-Style, but I was wondering if anyone had tried this, or if you have a tried-and-true for comparison.

Thanks!
Megan

[gertdog]

I haven't tried the Baked Ziti so can't comment on that, but how about a macaroni-and-cheese variation? No tomatoes, it's kid-friendly, and it would probably complement the chili fairly well too. I love Martha Stewart's macaroni and cheese recipe but it is the opposite of light.

There was a recipe in Everyday Food recently for Baked Shells with Winter Squash that I loved- the sauce is made with frozen pureed squash and parmesan cheese. It tastes rich but isn't really. It's actually what I'm making for dinner tonight! Would that be too offbeat?

[bobmark226]

There was a recipe in Everyday Food recently for Baked Shells with Winter Squash that I loved- the sauce is made with frozen pureed squash and parmesan cheese. It tastes rich but isn't really. It's actually what I'm making for dinner tonight! Would that be too offbeat?

Along similar lines and also from EF:

Pumpkin Pasta (http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=82835&highlight=Pumpkin+pasta)

Bob

[Meganator]

The Baked Shells with Winter Squash sounds really yummy! I copied the recipe from Everyday Food Online. My regular store doesn't carry frozen winter squash; maybe I can find it somewhere. However, I'm not sure that is general-purpose enough for this particular event.

Here is the recipe for anyone else who is interested:

Baked Shells with Winter Squash

Source: Everday Food

Serves 6; Prep time: 10 minutes; Total time: 50 minutes
This is a grown-up alternative to macaroni and cheese, but even kids might approve.


Butter, for baking dish

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced

Coarse salt and ground pepper

2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves

1 pound small pasta shells

1 package (12 ounces) frozen winter squash purée, thawed

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 slices crusty baguette, cut into 1/4-inch cubes (1 1/2 cups)

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions; season with salt and pepper. Cover; cook until onions are soft and release liquid, 15 minutes. Uncover; raise heat to medium. Cook, stirring, until onions are browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in 1 teaspoon rosemary.

2. Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water 2 minutes less than package instructions suggest. Drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups cooking water. Return pasta to pot.

3. Stir squash and reserved pasta water into onions; simmer 2 minutes. Toss squash mixture and 1/2 cup Parmesan with pasta. Transfer to prepared dish.

4. Combine bread cubes with remaining Parmesan, rosemary, and oil; season with salt and pepper. Top pasta with bread cubes; bake until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

[Meganator]

Thanks, Bob - that one sounds good too. I would eat pasta every night if I could.

[DCook]

This is a great one. You have to like garlic! And it is soooo much better the next day

Dracula's Revenge (Baked Penne with Sausage and Garlic)
From Cooking Light, October 2000


2 whole garlic heads
1 pound sweet turkey Italian sausage
1 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 tablespoons butter or stick margarine
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups 1% low-fat milk
1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup (about 2 1/2 ounces) shredded Gruyère or Swiss cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
8 cups hot cooked penne (about 1 pound uncooked tube-shaped pasta) or rigatoni
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.
Remove white papery skin from garlic heads (do not peel or separate the cloves). Wrap each head separately in foil. Bake at 350° for 1 hour; cool 10 minutes. Separate cloves; squeeze to extract garlic pulp. Discard skins. Set garlic aside.

Increase oven temperature to 400°.

Remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon. Place sausage in a large bowl; stir in sage and rosemary.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Add the flour to melted butter, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add the milk; cook until slightly thick, stirring constantly with a whisk (about 10 minutes). Stir in roasted garlic, cheeses, salt, and pepper. Remove mixture from heat. Add 5 1/2 cups cheese sauce and cooked pasta to sausage, stirring to coat. Spoon pasta mixture in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with remaining sauce. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Yield: 10 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 434(30% from fat); FAT 14.4g (sat 7.2g,mono 4.5g,poly 2g); PROTEIN 26.3g; CHOLESTEROL 57mg; CALCIUM 425mg; SODIUM 700mg; FIBER 1.4g; IRON 3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 48.7g

[tigermorris]

the Baked Shells with Winter Squash sounds really good.
Thanks for posting it!

[Mary Ann]

I second the Dracula's Revenge. I have to make that again soon.

[gertdog]

Oooh, I love the Dracula's Revenge!

Megan, it took me a while to find the pureed squash. I found some in the organic section of my store, by Cascadian Farms. It comes in a 10 oz. pkg rather than 12 oz. but worked fine in the recipe. Since then I've also found Bird's Eye brand in the regular freezer case- way up on a top shelf and off to the side. :)