Spaghetti & Meatball Cups

Spaghetti & Meatball Cups

These little individual servings of spaghetti & meatballs are so tasty! And...not to mention, they look really cool and fancy! Pasta is yummy, I love it, but it's really hard to portion out and make sure that you're not overeating it, which is why I love this recipe. Now, I'll admit, of the recipes I've made, this one was a little more time consuming than some of the others, but it's totally worth it! It was such a delicious dinner and we had leftovers which we used for lunches for several days because it makes a full dozen of these! I would suggest making these on a night when you aren't in a huge rush!

Ingredients:

1 lb extra lean ground beef

¼ c. seasoned bread crumbs

1 egg

1 T skim milk

8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti (broken up into thirds or fourths)

3 egg whites

1 oz. parmesan cheese

¼ c. 2% shredded mozzarella cheese

1 ½ c. + 3 T marinara sauce (divided) 

Directions:

1.   Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.

2.   In a bowl, combine bread crumbs, egg & skim milk and stir until mixed. Add the ground beef and stir very well. Divide meat into 12 equal balls and line on baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes at 350.

3.   Boil water and cook pasta according to directions on the box. Drain noodles and set aside to cool.

4.   When meatballs are done, remove from the oven and put in a saucepan with 1 ½ c. of marinara sauce. Keep warm over low heat, stir occasionally. Turn oven up to 400.

5.   In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites and add the pasta to it. Stir to combine then add the Parmesan, mozzarella and 3 T of marinara sauce. Mix together well.

6.   Spray all 12 cups of a muffin tin with cooking spray. Put about 1/3 c of spaghetti mixture into each cup. Using your fingers, press down in the center and up the sides, forming little cups. Bake for 15 minutes at 400.

7.   When cups are done, cool a few minutes, then remove from tin, top with 1 meatball and 1 T of marinara sauce from the pan.

(when storing leftovers, store spaghetti cups and meatballs separately)

Yields 12 servings – WWP+ 4 per serving for 1, and 8 points for 2

(pictured with a 2 point salad – lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, 2 T low fat cheese & 2 T fat free Caesar dressing and 1 point garlic toast)

Recipe from Emily Bites