Summer Pasta Salad

This has become one of my all-time favorite summer side dishes.  I used to cook rotini, drain, and add a few cut up fresh veggies, McCormick Salad Supreme, and top it all with Italian dressing.  However, in the past couple of years, I've made this dish much healthier, and I think much tastier.

Now, I cook whole wheat rotini until al dente, drain, then add some extra virgin olive oil.  I saute or roast lots of fresh veggies - mushrooms, red bell peppers, onions, etc., toss them in, add a fresh tomato, then add my 2 favorite ingredients:  McCormick Salad Supreme and FRESH BASIL.

  Oh my-I am in love with fresh basil.   The Salad Supreme really puts this dish over the top, in my opinion.  

You can do a variety of things with this dish.  My friend, Jeri, added pressed fresh garlic to the olive oil before adding it, then she added small fresh mozzarella balls.  I've seen Parmesan cheese added, shredded carrots, squash, etc.  There are so many things you can do with it.   The point is that pasta salad is very diverse and as unique as the lady who whips it up!   If you have a pasta salad you like, please share your ideas!

SHRIMP ALFREDO

Alfredo has to be an all-time favorite for many people, whether it is just plain alfredo with noodles, or if you throw in some chicken or shrimp.  We usually do chicken, but Tanner requested shrimp.  He is on a shrimp kick lately - ever since Christmas when I bought one of those frozen shrimp cocktail rings at Aldi's.  We sure do live large here in Wisconsin - he he he.

There are many ways to make alfredo sauce.  I try to lighten mine up a bit, even though it is not WW friendly.  It makes me feel a little better about enjoying it on occasion.

I use canned milk and 1% milk in place of the heavy cream, and I use more olive oil for the fat than butter. First I saute some fresh mushrooms - oh, how I love mushrooms -in some butter and oil in the pan, then I add some minced garlic.  Oh, the smell is wonderful!  After the mushrooms have cooked a bit,  I throw in some flour to thicken and make a rue.  I'm sorry, but this is one of those recipes that I never measure.  Then I add a can of canned milk and about the same amount of low fat milk.  I cook it until it gets nice and thick.  I throw in some low fat cream cheese (just a tad), and then a handful of freshly grated Parmesan, salt and pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.   I use whole wheat fettuccine and toss it all together in a 9x13 pan.  Cover it and bake it for about 20 minutes.  I think it helps to blend the flavors, plus thicken the sauce even more. 

I chopped up the shrimp that Tanner had pulled the tails off and I had just thawed out over a low flame in my iron skillet.  It turned out really yummy!  Unfortunately, with this dish, there are never any leftovers.

Penne Pasta and Meatballs

This was a simple and easy dish to make.  For the past few years, I've been making my own sauce out of crushed tomatoes and spices.  After reading the ingredients in the spaghetti sauces (lots of preservatives and unnecessary calories), and seeing Rachael Ray make her own in 30 minutes, I figured how tough could it be?  I found a recipe for sauce that I liked in Taste of Home magazine.  If you have a different recipe, please share it with me, as I'm always looking for something new and improved!

Here's what I did for this dish:

First, I made the sauce so it could simmer a while.
I chopped an onion in my food processor (it makes it very fine), and minced 2 cloves of garlic.  I sauteed them in olive oil, then added:
1 large can crushed tomatoes (or you could use diced, but we don't like the chunks)
1-15 oz. can tomato sauce (or 2 small cans)
1-12 oz. can tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 T. brown sugar
2 T. basil (using dried right now)
2 T. oregano  (adjust these spices to your taste)
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. thyme
You may want to double this if you like a lot of sauce.


While it is simmering, sautee some more garlic and onion for your meatballs.  Mix 1 lb. lean ground meat with your onion/garlic, Worcestershire sauce, a couple handfuls of bread crumbs, an egg, some oregano, salt and pepper (or whatever meatball stuff you like).  I used my measuring Tablespoon to make the meatballs -that way they are all exact.  I brown them in my skillet.

Cook your penne pasta - I use whole wheat.  We've really gotten to like the taste of it, plus I don't feel as guilty eating it.

Throw your pasta and sauce into a 9x13 pan and mix it up.  Fish out your bay leaf, or someone may find a surprise when you serve it up :-).
Distribute your meatballs throughout, then throw some mozzarella cheese on top.  Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes in a 350 oven.

I served it with green beans and a side salad with Italian dressing.  I wanted to make homemade bread, but forgot until it was too late - my bad!  So, I found a box of the Texas garlic toast in the freezer and warmed those up.  I think they literally soak those pieces of toast in butter. 

I am still diligently trying to stick to the WW plan, so I had 3/4 cup pasta with sauce and 2 meatballs and I figured it was 6 points (I use venison meat so it is very lean) oh, and I dug in the dish so I did not get any of the cheese (cheese is bad for WW).  I only had 1/2 pc. of the toast, which would be 1 1/2 pts.  The green beans are 0 points (love it), and the salad was 2 pts. because of the dressing.  For me, I have to have a good evening meal, so I save my points all day so I don't feel cheated.  I was stuffed after this meal and it was only 9.5 points!  Next time, I'll do w/o the toast - it was not worth it.  Plus, I had 2-3 servings of vegetables and a lean meat.  Healthy, healthy, healthy!