Day 3- Did that say undrained? Oh crap...

Ziti Toss with Cheese...I thought that noodles and veggies would be easy and quick. So wrong, so terribly wrong.

My husband has started calling me raccoon. I have used recipes with onions three nights in a row. We are lucky we don't have massive heartburn! Anyhow, I know you can cut them in a bowl of cold water and it will keep you from crying, but I can barely handle a knife now, much less a slippery one. Plus, as you saw on the earlier post, my child likes to scream random things at random times! I've tried all the tricks I've heard: yawning, humming, bubblegum, holding my breath, etc. and nothing works. I cry like a baby for about 10 seconds and then my eyes burn and water so bad I can't see so I always rub my eyes on my sleeve around my bicep area. Last night, while I was cooking, Russ walked in the door and started laughing hysterically at my face. He asked if I looked in the mirror. I held up the butcher knife so he went into another room laughing like a hyena. Needless to say, I checked the mirror tonight so I wasn't forced to threaten him again. :)

I didn't mind cutting up all the vegetables for this one. It was tricky trying to get all the vegetables as thin as they needed to be, but I seemed to get them small enough. I'll probably cut the peppers a little smaller next time for Andrea's sake though. I minced the mozarella cheese because it said diced and I had shredded, so I just made my own way. haha

I had one issue though. Somewhere along the way, I'm thinking right after the onion cutting incident where I went blind, I read that I needed to open and drain a can of whole tomatoes. I think I either made up this line, or it disappeared from the paper (plausible right?). Anyhow, I drained them VERY well and then I realized it said, one can of whole tomatoes...undrained. What? That can't be right. I read it again. Yep....it says undrained. Sooo....I think we will be either adding tomato sauce next time OR NOT DRAINING THE TOMATOES. Oh my. It's going to be a long 27 more days.....

Ziti Toss With Cheese- By: Healthy Meals in Minutes
Serves 4
1 mdm red onion, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
1 mdm red or green bell pepper, cut into thin strips (about 1 cup)
3 T water
1/4 cup sliced green onion
1 can (16 oz) whole tomatoes, UNDRAINED
2 T chopped fresh parsley, divided
1 T chopped fresh basil, divided
12 oz ziti pasta
1/4 cup diced part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Spray a large nonstick skillet with veggie cooking spray. Heat over mdm heat. Add the red onion, bell pepper, and water. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Uncover and add green onion. Cook for 2 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a plate.
2. Add the tomatoes with liquid and half of herbs to skillet; break up tomatoes with a spoon. Simmer for 10 minutes.
3. While tomatoes are simmering, cook pasta according to package directions, but do not add salt. Set aside 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water. Drain pasta and place in a large bowl. Stir in onion mixture, tomatoes, and enough pasta water to think sauce. Stir in mozzarella. Sprinkle with remaining herbs and Parmesan and serve.
*In  place of fresh herbs, 2 t. of dried parsley and 1 t. of dried basil may be substituted.*
-Here is my finished product.

Per Serving

Calories- 403 (10% from fat)

Carbs- 74 g

Protein- 16 g

Sodium- 147 mg

Fat-5 g

Cholesterol- 8 mg