Pasta shells with beans, greens, and sausage

Just another friendly reminder, I'm all over the place with product photography, yah I suck at it so don't cc this blog ;)

I made this for dinner tonight and it was soooooo good! I originally was going to use hot sausage but someone decided to cook it for himself a few days ago...not mentioning any names.

I guess it was better that he did because I used turkey sweet sausage and it actually makes for less points.

8 points per serving/makes 6 servings

Here's the ingredients:

3 cups small pasta shells
8 ounces sweet or hot italian sausage, casings removed
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons dried sage
1 (19-ounce) can cannellini (white kidney) beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups torn spinach leaves
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions until slightly firm.

2. Meanwhile, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, then add the sausage and brown, breaking it apart with a spoon, about 3 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

3. Add the garlic and sage to the same skillet and saute' until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the beans, spinach, and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the spinach is just tender, about 5 minutes.

4. Add the drained pasta, sausage, salt, and pepper. Simmer until just heated though, about 3 minutes.
I used 99% fat free chicken broth instead of the low sodium like the recipe called for. I think the next time I make it, I will probably use more broth because the shells did soak up the broth really quickly. Now I'm looking at the label on the 99% fat free and it's 960mg sodium. Hmmmm which is worse higher salt or less fat?

You just have to try this recipe, you won't be disappointed!

Per serving (1-1/2 cups): 413 calories
7g total fat, 2g saturated fat, 15mg cholesterol, 558mg sodium, 68g total carbohydrate, 7g dietary fiber, 20g protein, 107mg calcium

Chicken and Broccoli Pizza

I was pleasantly surprised at how good this tasted. I found the thin crust pizza shells in the pasta section of Walmart.

6 Points per serving/Makes 6 servings

1 tablespoon reduced-calorie mayonnaise
1 teaspoon low-fat (1%) milk
1/2 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch strips
1/2 cup cornflake crumbs
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 (10-ounce) package thin crust pizza crust
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and patted dry
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese


1. Preheat the oven to 450° F. Spray a small baking pan with nonstick spray.

2. Combine the mayonnaise and milk in a medium bowl. Add the chicken; toss to coat.

3. Place the cornflake crumbs in a large zip-close plastic bag. Add the chicken and shake until coated. Place the chicken in the baking pan in one layer. Bake until the chicken is cooked through and browned, turning once, about 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, spoon the ricotta cheese evenly onto the pizza crust. Top with the broccoli, parmesan cheese, chicken, and mozzarella.


5. Bake until hot and the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 15 minutes.

Serve at once.

I used fat free mozzarella which was probably a mistake because it doesn't like to melt. So I would definitely use the part-skim which the recipe calls for.

Per serving: 295 calories
10g total fat, 4g saturated fat, 39mg cholesterol, 453mg sodium, 31g total carbohydrate, 2g dietary fiber, 20g protein, 230mg calcium