Whole Wheat Spaghetti and Light Vodka Sauce

Whole Wheat Spaghetti and Light Vodka Sauce 

I absolutely love penne a la vodka. If we go to a restaurant and I see it on the menu, I want it. I especially love it when it has fine bits of pancetta in it and a creamy tomato-y taste with just a hint of peppery spice. Mmmm. I love me some penne a la vodka. But I hate all of the calories I know come along with that creamy, saucy goodness. So I'm happy to share with you a recipe my momma shared with me - minus the pancetta. I'll save that for a more special occasion than a Tuesday night.

Whole Wheat Spaghetti and Light Vodka Sauce

1 tablespoon light butter

1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes (no-salt-added, preferred)
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt, to taste
1 dash mixed-up pepper
1 cup fat-free half-and-half (sometimes the momma uses cream or 2% low-fat milk)
1/4 cup vodka
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or more)
1 lb whole wheat pasta

Melt butter with oil in large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent, about 8 minutes.

At this point, start a pot of water for the pasta.

Add tomatoes and cook until a lot of the liquid has cooked off, stirring frequently about 15 minutes or so. (I think the momma lets hers cook for 25 minutes, but you know us, we can't wait that long.) 

Add cream, vodka and red pepper to the tomatoes and boil until thickened to sauce consistency, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Light Vodka Sauce

Pour sauce over 1 lb pasta and top with Parmesan, if desired. (We also serve ours with a bit more red pepper.)

Serves 6

* Nutritional facts per serving, as calculated by Food.com:

372 calories, 4.4 g fat, 70 g carbs, 2.3 g fiber, 14 g protein

* Your choice of whole wheat pasta will alter the nutritional information. Our pasta had way more protein and fiber than Food.com thought it would, so our dinner was actually a bit healthier than noted above. Feel free to use your favorite pasta! The husband doesn't usually even like spaghetti, but these little nests were just too cute to pass up. Thanks for selling these fundraising goodies to Momma, Little Big Brother. 

And thanks, Momma, for giving 'em to us. They were a hit.