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Baked Penne with Italian Sausage, Red Pepper, and Broccoli

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I’ve been low carb for a long time now. That doesn’t mean I don’t like pasta. Most restaurants just serve too much of it. What you get at most Italian restaurants in the US is a huge portion – dare I say a pile of pasta. Even the International Pasta Association will tell you that a portion of pasta is one cup, cooked. That’s more like it. What I am going to layout here are some of my tricks for making pasta dishes; especially casseroles that are much lower carb than those you’d get in restaurants and also lower than most recipes you’ll find elsewhere.

Hack #1: How to Measure Your Pasta

I don’t follow a recipe portion for pasta. I go by this trick: take out the casserole dish you intend to use and cover the bottom of the casserole with one layer of pasta end to end. Don’t crowd it. So if it’s penne, for example, you are going to cover the bottom of the dish with pasta to measure it. Then cook that as usual. This way, there's enough pasta to satisfy your craving without overloading on carbs.

Hack #2: How to Pick the Best Noodles

When using long noodles, I stay with the thinner ones. There's automatically less pasta volume that way. So, think thin spaghetti, or capellini, or angel hair. More often than not, I will even substitute these noodles in recipes that call for a wider noodle like fettuccini.

Hack #3: Two for One...

 

Read the full column at PlanZDiet.com

Baked Penne with Italian Sausage, Red Pepper and Broccoli

Easy weeknight meal. Great for curling up and watching a movie. Leftovers can be reheated.

Servings: Serves 4-6

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