It’s so good!!! Actually surprisingly delicious. As I was working on it, I thought it would taste pretty good but it’s so much richer and yummier than I could have ever imagined…I can’t wait for you to try it! Each, very large serving has 262 calories, 5 grams of fat.
Ingredients
Ingredients for Pasta:
- 1⅓ cup dried whole grain penne pasta
- 1 (6 ounce) package fresh spinach
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 cup onions, chopped
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup evaporated fat-free milk
- 1 cup fat-free cottage cheese or fat-free ricotta cheese
- 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 cup (4 ounces) ham, diced (you could use turkey ham)
Ingredients for Topping:
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 9″ x 9″ baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, cook pasta according to package directions. Place spinach in a large colander and set in the sink. Pour cooked pasta over spinach in colander; drain well. Set aside.
- Place onions on a microwave safe plate and cooked in the microwave for about 2 minutes until soft. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in nonstick pan. Add onions and cook for a few minutes. Stir in flour, dry mustard, and pepper. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Gradually stir in evaporated milk. Cook and stir until slightly thickened. Continue to cook and stir for 1 more minute. Stir in cottage cheese and 3 tablespoons of the Parmesan. Mix until cheese is mostly melted. Gently stir in pasta/spinach and ham.
- Add pasta mixture to baking pan. Sprinkle top with 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, about 10 minutes or until the top starts to brown.
- Cool for at least 10 minutes to slightly set. Cut into 4 squares. Use a spatula to remove each serving.
- This casserole freezes great.
Notes
Makes 4 servings (each serving, 1 slice)
Healthy Benefits
I love the fiber-rich whole grain pasta available in the supermarket today. For example, Barilla Whole Grain Penne Pasta contains 6 grams of fiber for a 2 ounce serving! Spinach is considered to be one of the “super foods.” No wonder, it’s rich in iron, vitamins A, C and beta-carotene.
Shopping Tips
Trader Joe’s sells (8 oz) packages of Black Forest ham. It’s uncured and contains ‘no nitrates.’ In addition, most health food markets sell this type of ham. Or, use your favorite lean ham such as Oscar Meyer or even turkey ham.
WW Freestyle SmartPoints 7-Blue
WW SmartPoints 7-Green
WW POINTS PLUS 7
Healthy Benefits
I love the fiber-rich whole grain pasta available in the supermarket today. For example, Barilla Whole Grain Penne Pasta contains 6 grams of fiber for a 2 ounce serving! Spinach is considered to be one of the “super foods.” No wonder, it’s rich in iron, vitamins A, C and beta-carotene.
Shopping Tips
Trader Joe’s sells (8 oz) packages of Black Forest ham. It’s uncured and contains ‘no nitrates.’ In addition, most health food markets sell this type of ham. Or, use your favorite lean ham such as Oscar Meyer or even turkey ham.
WW Freestyle SmartPoints 7-Blue
WW SmartPoints 7-Green
WW POINTS PLUS 7
| SKINNY FACTS: for 1 serving (includes cheese topping) 262 calories, 5g fat, 2g sat. fat, 30mg chol, 25g prot, 31g carbs, 4g fiber, 627mg sodium, 10g sugar |
Skinny Facts
Serving: 1sliceCalories: 262kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 25gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 627mgFiber: 4gSugar: 10gBlue Smart Points: 7Green Smart Points: 7Plus Points: 7
We’ve made this recipe several times and it is just great. We make it at least twice a month.
I’m thrilled to hear you love this recipe. Thank you so much for letting me know, Terry!
All the best,
Nancy
Hi Nancy!! We absolutely LOVE your recipes. We are going to try this one tonight. I have a question for you though……we never use wheat pasta when the recipe calls for it. We just use regular. What does that do to the Weight Watchers Points if we’re following the old Points Plus program? (We actually use the “Healthi” app which calculates the Fat, Carbs, Fiber and Protein and it gives us the Points per serving.)
Jennifer, Thank you so much for making my day! I’m so happy you are loving my recipes! If you use regular pasta it will be 8 points plus instead of 7.
I hope you enjoy this recipe. And any leftovers freeze great.
All the very best,
Nancy