Baked "ziti" W/ Tofu Shirataki

Brooke the Cook in WI's Note:

Quick pasta dish without the calories! Makes three huge servings if made as one-dish meal or 4-6 if served in addition to fresh bread and green salad. Uses tofu shirataki noodles to drastically cut calories. Ground beef, chicken or turkey can be subbed for the buffalo meat, ounce for ounce. *This entire dish as listed below has 917 calories, 31g of fat and 97g of protein (that's 305 calories, 10g of fat & a whopping 32g of protein per serving). Calculated using Eden organic pasta sauce and Kraft cheeses.

• Total Time: 55 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 3

• 2 (8 ounce) packages tofu shirataki noodles, fettuccine shaped
• 1/2 lb ground buffalo meat
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 small green pepper, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 (15 ounce) jar pasta sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon italian seasoning (optional)
• 1/2 cup 2% mozzarella cheese, shredded & divided
• 1/2 cup fat-free cheddar cheese, shredded & divided
• 1/4 cup fresh parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a 8x8 (1.75qt oval is what I use) baking dish; set aside.
2. Tofu Noodles: Bring pot of water to boil, add well DRAINED tofu noodles and return to boil. Boil for two minutes and leave to drain in colander until needed. OR just rinse and drain noodles, then microwave for one minute and place in colander to drain while preparing remaining ingredients.
3. In a large saucepan over medium high heat, cook ground meat, onions, green pepper, garlic and black pepper over medium heat until meat is browned; drain fat. Add pasta sauce, crushed red pepper & Italian seasoning (if your sauce isn't seasoned enough) and cook until mixture is hot, stirring occasionally.
4. Meanwhile, cut tofu noodles into manageable pieces. Then add noodles to the sauce mixture and mix well. Stir in 1/4 cup of the Mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, mixing until well combined.
5. Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top with remaining cheeses - 1/4 cup of the mozz, 1/4 cup cheddar and 1/4 cup parmesan. Cover with foil (or lid).
6. Bake at 350ºF for 15 minutes. Remove foil/lid and bake for an additional 15 minutes until edges are bubbly. Allow to stop bubbling before serving.

Reviews

[PescatariYum]

This was very nice. I took A LOT of liberties. First of all, I couldn't find the fettucini noodles, so I used the regular spaghetti type. I think that it would have been better with the noodles the recipe calls for, but it was still good. I also (as the commenters, below) used veggie beef, but I used "Smart Deli" ground beef. I also used fat free and low fat versions of the cheeses. I think it came out great but would definitely go with the fettucini noodles, if I can find them, next time.

[Chef #708618]

My 13 year old vegetarian daughter made this with MorningStar Farms' Grillers Recipe Crumbles. It was YUMMY.

[ShortieNJ]

this was good - i didn't use quite as much mozzarella or cheddar (only because i didn't have it), i used 1 package morningstar farms crumbles instead of the buffalo meat, and i used my homemade pasta sauce...this is a definite keeper