Keeping It On The Skinny: Spaghetti and Meatballs

This week is pasta week. I absolutely love pasta although I didn’t eat the coming recipes in the same week I will definitely be making them again in the future.

Although I love my pasta bake, I wanted to try something new. So I first tried the Weight Watchers Spaghetti and Meatballs.

For the recipe you will need:

1 tsp olive oil

1 medium uncooked onion chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

28 oz canned crushed tomatoes

2 Tbsp, basil

½ tsp sugar

¼ tsp table salt

¼ tsp black pepper

1 pound uncooked ground turkey breast

1 slice white bread made into crumbs

1 large egg

2 Tbsp uncooked onion minced

1 clove garlic minced

¼ tsp table salt

¼ tsp black pepper

6 oz. uncooked spaghetti (I used whole wheat)

4 tsp grated Parmesan cheese

When I made this recipe, I used this as a basis for my own recipe. Instead of ground turkey, I used 97/3 ground beef (which is the same points value). I also substituted the loaf of bread for ¼ cup of Italian Seasoned Breadcrumbs. My final variation was using my favorite tomato sauce Classico Tomato and Basil. This sauce is really delicious and also healthy.

If you want to follow the Weight Watchers recipe here is the directions:

In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil. Sauté onion and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, basil, sugar, salt and pepper; cook, stirring as needed, until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand, covered, 15 minutes.  (For my recipe I heated my sauce and seasoned as desired)

Meanwhile, to prepare meatballs, preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, combine turkey, bread crumbs, egg, onion, garlic, salt and pepper, mixing lightly.