Creamy Ziti

First thing I have to say about this is that it was the Greenest food I have ever made I think.  It looked like it should be for St. Patricks day.  I was a bit frightened to eat it, but it was actually pretty good.  The original is from Saving Dinner.  I changed a few things up adding less mustard, more lemon, didn't have fresh dill, and couldn't find hot sauce, etc.  I liked the way it turned out.  The original recipe also called for turkey ham.  Not sure I've ever even seen that.  We had some left over Easter ham diced and in the freezer so that is what got used. 

This recipe was pretty quick.  It basically took as long as it took to cook the pasta.  I did everything else while waiting for the water to boil, or waiting for the pasta to cook. 

Original recipe says this is for 6, but it made way more than 6 servings in my opinion.  This is what I did.

Ingredients

• 1 pound penne pasta
• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• 12 oz. ham, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup non-fat sour cream
• 1 10 oz. package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
• 3/4 cup skim milk
• 1/8 c. Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley (used Italian because that is what is in my garden)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco sweet and spicey hot sauce (not as spicy as regular hot sauce)
• salt and pepper to taste (I sprinkled some over served portions, but not when I had seconds - I didn't miss it.)

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain.
2. Meanwhile, combine sour cream, spinach, milk, mustard, parsley, deill, lemon juice and hot sauce in a blender and puree until smooth.
3. Saute the ham and red pepper in the oil until veggies are tender.  Add puree and heat to a simmer. When pasta is ready, add it to the mixture, mix well and serve.