Greek Pasta - 6.5 pts

In college I got this cookbook of quick (and cheap!) meals for Kids Who Are Just Moving Into An Apartment Where Mom Doesn't Cook, and it was fantastic. I had two copies, gave one away, and somehow lost my own, until I found the UNH Good Eats website which had all the recipes right there! Woohoo!

One of my favourite meals of all time (and truth be told, I've never made it for anyone who didn't love it) is Greek Style Pasta. This one doesn't require many modifications to add up to about 7 pts per serving, and we're talking big servings here—1/4 of a batch. I halved the amount of pasta to 1/2 lb, since the sauce is so delicious that I sometimes even eat it alone. Still, having a little bit of carbiness in there helps make you feel fuller.

Also, don't be scared of the spinach. This is an excellent dish if you think you don't like spinach because it's fresh and just barely wilted. The result is an unobtrusive flavour that doesn't make everything taste like dirt and almost has a cheesey sort of taste to it. If you're reheating this, however, I'd recommend leaving out the spinach til it's go time. More on that later.

Feta was included in the original recipe, but didn't seem to add much to the flavour. It's amazing how such a simple dish can be so delicious!

Greek Style Pasta
Adapted from UNH's Good Eats: Quick & Easy Food for Busy College Students

1 tsp olive oil
4 minced or pressed garlic cloves
1 x 28oz can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried oregano
2 tbsp Kosher salt
1 x 15-19oz can cannellini drained & rinsed
10 oz coarsely chopped fresh baby spinach
8 oz penne pasta (I used Dreamfields to calculate points)

Cook your pasta. While it's cooking, heat oil in a large pot and cook garlic for a minute. The large pot will be very helpful later one when you're trying to add a full bag of spinach to the mix and don't want it to flop out all over your stove. Add the full can of tomatoes, juice and all, the beans that have been rinsed, and your spices. Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer, cook uncovered 10 minutes.

If you're making some of this for later on, remove that portion now. The spinach doesn't reheat well, and you're better off nuking the leftovers, then stirring in the fresh spinach at that point.

Now, scale the spinach to whatever you're keeping. So if you're serving half the batch tonight, then you'll want to throw in only half the spinach. Stir it in until it's just barely wilted, then remove from heat and serve on the pasta that is probably done by now.

Enjoy!

6.5 points per 1/4 batch: 355 calories, 16g fiber, 1g fat