Family On A Budget

Here is a recipe I am going to make this weekend. It is quick and easy and very yummy. I buy big bags of pasta from Sam’s Club or stock up when pasta is on sale so I always have Rigatoni on hand. A great alternative to Rigatoni with spaghetti sauce.

Serves 4

1 pound rigatoni
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed
2 cups ricotta cheese – I use non fat
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups grated fontina or mozzarella cheese. – I use part skim mozzarella.

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Oil a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the rigatoni until almost done, about 12 minutes. Drain. Put the pasta in the prepared baking dish and toss with 1 tablespoon of the oil.

Meanwhile, squeeze as much of the water as possible from the spinach. Put the spinach in a food processor and puree with the ricotta, 3 tablespoons of the Parmesan, the nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Stir in half the grated cheese.