Pasta is one dish I never get sick of. Of course I have some favorites, but I also love to experiment and create new recipes.
Some days I’m in the kitchen cooking for hours. I really love to cook…I just don’t love the clean up part.
I’m hoping one day there will be a robot that can do dishes. I don’t think I’m asking for too much.
For now I will just appreciate the fact that I have a dishwasher!
This creamy pasta with spinach is the perfect meal when you don’t have a lot of time. It’s also not a huge mess maker. Those two things are music to my ears!
I start the recipe by putting a pot of water over high heat to cook the pasta. While that’s coming to a boil I start the sauce.
The sauce is really easy and lower in points than buying a jar of sauce. I added tomato sauce and chicken broth to a pan, then I added all of the seasonings.
I let that get heated up and start to simmer. That’s when my water started boiling so I added my noodles to the water.
I used Kroger brand rigatoni noodles. For 3/4 cup dry pasta it is 6 Freestyle points.
To the sauce I added the reduced-fat cream cheese. I cut it into small pieces before I added it so that it would melt quicker.
After about 5-7 minutes the cream cheese was melted and blended in so I added the Parmesan cheese, then the spinach. I let it cook 5 more minutes so the spinach was cooked all the way.
Once the noodles were drained I added them to the sauce. That’s it!
If you’re looking for some zero point recipes, check out my post 20 Zero Point Recipes or my post 20 (More) Zero Point Recipes. Both are filled with delicious recipes that won’t cost you a single point! They’re perfect for days when you’re running low on points, or trying to save up points for a night out.
If you’re looking for more dessert recipes you can visit 50 Weight Watchers Freestyle Desserts. It’s filled with delicious desserts perfect for Weight Watchers!
Yield: 8 Servings (1 cup per serving – 7 points per serving for blue, green and purple)
- 16 oz. Rigatoni pasta
- 30 oz. tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup fat free chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon dried minced onion
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 3 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 cups fresh baby spinach
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Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the directions on the box.
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In a medium sauce pan add the tomato sauce, chicken broth, dried minced onion, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and let cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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Cut the cream cheese into small pieces and add to the sauce. Stir occasionally until the cream cheese is melted.
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Add the Parmesan cheese and spinach. Cook 5 more minutes.
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Add the pasta to the sauce and stir together.
