# ISO healthy pasta meal that will last in fridge



## trend (May 3, 2009)

What is a good/healty pasta meal I can make on sunday and throw in the fridge to eat on the next couple of nights?

thanks!


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## luvs (May 3, 2009)

bowties, veggies sauteeed in olive oil or grilled, salt &/or parmesan. pepper. suggested vegs: zucchini, yellow summwe squash, multi-colored bell peppers, julienne carrots. or stirfry.

angelhair & pesto with chix brst. on the foreman grill.


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## ella/TO (May 3, 2009)

I do an old fashioned family mac and cheese.....stays in fridge for a number of days....can be warmed in the MW .....wing it type of recipe:
Broad egg noodles--boiled about 6-8 min.
can of cream of tomato soup--another if needed or, some spagetti sauce
bit of sauted onion
lots of shredded old or med. yellow cheddar cheese
Mix all above together, leaving aside a good portion of the cheese. Spoon 
into a buttered casserole dish. Spread leftover cheese on top.....makes a wonderful crust!!!....bake @ 325-350F until top looks crusty and inside is bubbling. enjoy!!!!.....we always like to eat this with corn on the cob, or just corn niblets....again, an old family tradition.


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## Constance (May 3, 2009)

I don't use a recipe for pasta...I just toss in whatever I have on hand. But here is a recipe that is a good guide. You can add cooked chicken to this, or cook up some shrimp with the vegetables if you wish. 

Cooks.com - Recipe - Pasta Primavera

You may substitute any kind of pasta you wish.


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## snack_pack85 (May 3, 2009)

One of my favorite go to pasta dishes is made with a spinach sauce.

I blend some cooked spinach (sorry I dont have exact measurements for this dish)
a few teaspoons of cream, a bit of shredded parm. and S&P to taste. Poor this sauce over bowties and chicken. It holds up pretty well to refrigeration too.


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## babetoo (May 4, 2009)

tuna casserole, comes to mind...........spag. better next day. i know there are more, just can't think of them right now.


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## linicx (May 4, 2009)

*chicken and beef pasta*

I adapted this from an original recipe I have from Arcola, Italy. If you want a really good pasta sauce cook it low and long. The longer the better. The original recipe slow simmers, covered 8-10 hours. 

I boil a couple of skinless chicken breasts, cool and cover.  I make my own hamburger. I'd take a 1/2 pound of defatted beef that has had the marbeling removed, and process it to ground beef.. Start cooking it in a large skillet with diced onion and two finely minced cloves of garlic; you may need to add a very small amount of peanut oil as meat is dry.  Proceed to make pasta sauce. Optional: Diced green pepper; 

I add a tomato or two that is diced, 8 oz or more of thinly sliced frresh mushrooms, fat free beef broth, salt free tomato sauce. red Port wine, seasonings (no salt) and cook it al dente. About 3/4 pf tje way through cooking process the chicken as you did the beef, and add to the meat mixture. Stir well. When it is cooked to your liking, cool, put in a container, cover it and refrigerate until ready to use. Npte: Water or tomato juice can be substituted for the beef broth. 

About 15-20 minutes before you want to eat, bring a large pot of water to a boil.. Heat the pasta sauce while you are waiting. Add Angle Hair pasta to the boiling water. Stir. It takes 5-7 minutes to cook the pasta. Drain well. Pass grated cheese, salt and pepper. I often serve mine with salad and thick slices of fresh Italian bread with butter on the side. 

Serves 4-6. 

Pasta sauce: No added salt or sugar; no cholesterol, low fat. All canned broth contain salt.


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## Joeg (May 16, 2009)

To be honest it depends how much time you have on your hands. If only a few minutes then fry off a bit of garlic in olive oil, add tinned chopped tomatoes and throw in some torn basil to finish (after seasoning with salt, pepper and lemon). This will taste ok, but as the previous poster said the longer and slower you cook it for the better it will taste. Beyond that the world is your oyster really there are so many opportunities with pasta that to so try to sum them up in one post would be impossible.


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## YourDietitian (May 16, 2009)

Hello Trend ! 

Veggies lasagna can last 2 days in the fridge, taboulé salad as well ( burghul) can stay few days ! That is what was coming to my mind


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## larry_stewart (May 16, 2009)

bowties + garlic and oil + spinach + feta cheese.  Tastes great right out of the fridge.

Fry up the garlic and oil, throw in drained frozen spinach salt and pepper .  Then toss in the cooked bowties.  add feta at the end.


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## freefallin1309 (May 16, 2009)

Pasta Puttanesca is a good one.

One I used to use when dieting was Beef & Parmesan Pasta:

1# lean ground beef
14 oz beef broth or stock
14 oz diced tomatoes
1 1/3 C uncooked bowtie pasta
1/2 C grated fresh parmesan cheese
1/2 C chopped onion and green bell pepper

Oregano, Basil, Garlic, salt, pepper to taste

Brown the burger and toss in onion & peppers.
Add tomatoes, beef broth, and spices when done.
Add bowties and simmer until pasta is tender.


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## Deathbysoup (May 16, 2009)

I often make pasta dishes when I need something ahead of time, lunches, dinners I won't have time to prepare etc. 
Some ideas:

Seafood:
Cook some angel hair pasta, drain well, make garlic butter sauce and reserve in a seperate container. Grill shrimp with garlic. combine when you wish. I'm sure you can put it all in one container I just prefer its seperated for some reason.

Chicken:

chop up some leftover chicken breasts in either strips or chunks whatever you prefer. 
Add to penne pasta with alfredo sauce and sliced mushrooms. Top with shredded cheese. If microwaving or warming in oven, don't worry about the cheese melting before putting in fridge.

Make an extra chicken parmesan , and make some additonal pasta. Penne, bowtie, angel hair, spaghetti. 

Cold:

Crumble some feta cheese and add to some cooled penne and low fat italian dressing. add diced peppers, red green or yellow, whatever you want and eat.

Drain a can of tuna and mix in a diced dill pickle and a few tbsps of mayo. Add cold shell pasta , macaroni or penne, bow tie is also good. Stir , salt and pepper. Chill and enjoy.


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## kadesma (May 16, 2009)

One of the favorites here is a simple  pasta dish, no meat or fish, just cherry tomatoes thrown in at the last minute to warm threw or cut in half and tossed in sold..Cook your angle hair in salted boiling water, then take the pasta out with a large fork saving some of the cooking water, in to a large skillet with evoo,sauted white onions and several cloves of crushed garlic and some red pepper flakes to taste add your pasta and a little of the cooking water, this will help create a sauce..add your salt and pepper a pat of butter and mix well. My crew likes this with garlic cheese bread and green salad.
kadesma


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## Jay16 (May 23, 2009)

whole wheat rotini + grilled chicken cut up into chunks + any low fat alfredo sauce + with shreded cheese combine and bake at 350 for 20 minutes and can keep in fridge for up too a week.


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## Claire (May 26, 2009)

As said, lasagna is always a good choice.  But also there is a Greek version of the dish that is pretty healthy too.  Does someone have a recipe for pastitcio (I have no idea of the spelling).  I actually do have a recipe here somewhere for Greek spaghetti sauce that is pretty good, but have never made the dish myself (I make Greek chili/spaghetti sauce on a regular basis, just have never used it in this application.  Maybe I'll move this to ethnic?  Anyway, when I was young (isn't there a song about that?) so many years ago, I used to go camping with a woman whose mother was Greek, and she made this, and we ate it warm the first night, then cold every day thereafter.  Over the years I've had it with many different kinds of pasta as the base, but the sauce was pretty much siimilar (in other words, a red sauce but with cinnamon and allspice).


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## ChefJune (May 26, 2009)

Claire:  here is your Pastitsio!  This dish, like lasagna, is a production but it is SO delicious it's worth it.

I don't know about "healthy" for either lasagna or pastitsio, tho.  Both are pretty heavy with cheese, which has lots of fat.

*Pastitsio*
When you make an elaborate pasta dish, you¹ll want to make it the centerpiece of your meal.  All I would serve with this is a salad of tart young greens such as arugula, dandelions or mache, dressed simply with lemon juice and the very fruitiest extra-virgin olive oil you can find.  For those of you to whom the name “Pastitsio” is unfamiliar, it is a traditional Greek dish that is a very close cousin to Italian Lasagne.
makes 16 servings
1 cup onions, finely chopped
1 cup + 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
2 pounds ground lean lamb
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3 cups tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup finely chopped parsley
½ teaspoon dried basil
1 cup dry red wine
1 bay leaf
 
5 cups half and half
4 cups milk
1 ½ cups flour
freshly grated nutmeg
8 large eggs
2 cups fresh ricotta cheese
¾ pound Kefalotiri cheese, grated
1 ½ pounds ziti, cooked
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1.    For meat sauce:  In a large skillet, cook onion in 3 tablespoons butter.  When onion is translucent, add garlic and cook for 2 minutes.  Add meats.  Cook over high heat, breaking meat up with a wooden spoon until it is no longer red.
2. Season meat mixture with salt, pepper, tomato sauce, oregano, cinnamon, basil, bay leaf, parsley and wine.  Cook the sauce, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid has been absorbed.  (The dish can be prepared to this point in advance and refrigerated or frozen until you are ready to use it.)
 
3.         For cream sauce:  Heat milk and 4 cups half and half just to the boil.
In another saucepan, melt 1 cup butter.  Add the flour, stirring with a wire whisk.  When the roux is blended and smooth, pour in the hot milk and cream, stirring vigorously with the whisk to keep it from lumping.  Cook until the sauce is thick and smooth, about 15 minutes.
4. Season sauce with salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Turn off heat and let the sauce cool for 10 minutes.
 
5.         In a bowl, beat eggs with remaining half and half.  Gradually add about 2 cups of the warm cream sauce to this egg mixture, beating constantly to make sure the eggs don’t curdle.  Then pour the egg mixture into the cream sauce, continue to stir until everything is well blended.  Finally, beat in the ricotta.
 
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.   Butter a LARGE baking dish—at least 15 x 9 x 4 inches. 
 
7.         Cook the ziti and put half in the dish.  Sprinkle with half the Kefalotiri.  Spoon in half the cream sauce, smoothing it with the back of the spoon.  Spread on all the meat sauce.  Now add remaining ziti, cream sauce and Kefalotiri.  Sprinkle on Parmesan.  Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, covered, then 30 more uncovered. Let stand 30 minutes before cutting.


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## ChefJune (May 26, 2009)

My choice for a healthy, reheatable pasta dish is whole wheat or spinach pasta of your choice that gets topped with veggies, garlic and olive oil.  The season usually dictates the choice of vegetables.  Favorites include fresh tomatoes, brussels sprouts (which I pull apart and saute in the evoo), broccoli and/or broccoli rabe, spinach that has been chopped fine, and ratatouille (I make copious amounts of this every summer).

Freshly grated cheese makes a great topping and adds a little protein.


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