Orecchiette "Hats" with Ham and "Peas"

This dish is a part of my "lightened" up recipes this week. It's a classic Italian dish. Except peas are used and not edamame. However I have nightmares about peas from my Catholic School days.

Now I know what you are all thinking....gasp, macaroni?!?! Cream?!?! Yes that's right! I don't hold back on my carbs, however it's all about moderation! During the week I will have macaroni once and it will be whole wheat with tons of veggies and or a lean protein. Such as chicken, or shrimp.

On Sunday I will have macaroni again and it will be regular. Obviously Sundays are my cheat days. They have to be, I'm Italian-American!

Even comfort meals can be lightened up! I'll show you how.......


2 Ham Steaks
1 1/2 cup peas or edamame (I used frozen edamame already shelled)
1/2 box of orecchiette, or any small macaroni
3/4 cup lite cream
1 Onion, finely chopped ( I used yellow)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Couple Sprigs of Fresh Thyme
S/P to taste

Boil your macaroni in low-fat, low-sodium chicken stock. Follow the directions on the box. Drain and set aside. Remember to make it al dente! In the meantime saute the onions and garlic for about 5-7 minutes. Add in the thyme,ham cubes and edamame. Cook until warmed through for another 5-7 minutes. Add in the lite cream and bring to a low simmer and cook five minutes. Add in the macaroni and coat well. Serve immediately. Add s/p for taste. Now be very careful with adding more salt, definitely taste first!! Ham is very salty.

Now try not to cover your entire plate with this. Add in a nice salad. A good rule of thumb is your greens or vegetable should cover half of your plate. Enjoy!!

Ham Steak; each serving contains 2 grams of fat, 1 gram saturated fat. You should get 4 servings just out of one ham steak. Since we used two for this recipe, it should feed 8 people. 

Copyright © 2012 Salvo-lutions by, Dana Salvo