There was this restaurant I went to as a teenager in Richmond, Virginia while on vacation that had the best baked spaghetti I have ever had in my life! I can’t remember the name of the restaurant, but when I was looking at the menu one of the choices was baked pepperoni pasta. The amount of food piled on one plate could serve about 6 people. It was mounds of spaghetti on the bottom, covered in pepperoni and tons of mozarella cheese melted on top. This is my version of that wonderful dish, but a lot healthier!!!
- 12 ounces uncooked whole-wheat spaghetti
- 2 large egg whites
- 1 large egg
- 2/3 cup fat free milk
- 3/4 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 9 oz. part-skim mozzarella, shredded and divided
- 32 oz. your favorite pasta sauce
- 2 oz. pepperoni, julienned, or I used Hormel Turkey Pepperoni. (17 slices is only 70 calories)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Break spaghetti into 2 inch pieces and cook, until al dente. Drain and cool. In a large bowl, beat eggs and egg whites until frothy. Stir in milk, garlic powder, salt, oregano, basil and 1/3 of the mozarella. Add cooked spaghetti and stir until its well mixed. Spread the spaghetti mixture evenly in bottom of baking dish and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce temperature to 350 degrees. Spread spaghetti sauce over pasta; cover with the turkey pepperoni and extra chesse and put back in the oven for about 30 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting. Makes 10 servings at approx. 300 calories per serving.
Was it the Robin Inn?
Yes! You are exactly right about the restaurant. I wonder if it still exists?
It does but I think it’s changed a bit over the last twenty years. Check out this review:
The only people that would think Robin Inn was any good must be related to the owner or looking to continue the paid “Robin Inn” advertising in their paper. I think it would be a good idea to actually eat at the establishments you write about. The chicken Parmesan there is a boiled chicken breast and out of the can tomato sauce over cooked squishy pasta that taste like it has been sitting in warm water for a few hours. When the dish came to the table I asked what it was she told me “chicken Parmesan” I replied, “where is the Parmesan?” She then reached across the table and grabbed the shaker of the fake cheese you find at any pizza place and placed it down in front of me.
This is definately a scaled down calorie meal, & I will be giving it a go..it’s always refreshing to find the ingredients you like turned into something less fattening…