Penne with Sausage, Veggies & Spicy Queso Fredo, 7 points+

Happy Tuesday all! I really LOVED reading your Name One Thing comments yesterday ~ you all really make the most of your Monday’s.  The BEST thing about today is that it isn’t Monday ~ Kidding LOL!  Actually, the BEST thing about today is that I had a 100% ON TRACK day that was packed with delicious & nutritious foods, a NEW RECIPE and I used my lunch to get in a workout.

Thank you all for inspiring me with your Name One Thing workouts yesterday! I thought of all the things you did as pondered if I should do my train walk of 2.5 miles to/from the train today.

I didn’t let the rain or the wind scare me off!

I packed up an Egg-Wich and took it on the go with me to eat on the train. 

2 slices of Trader Joe’s FF Multi-Grain Bread, a “fried” egg, sea salt, pepper & ICBINB spray (5 points+).

Usually my egg-wich holds me over until lunch, but, today I was starving 3 hours later.

I am absolutely IN LOVE with this new Fage 0% Blueberry Acai Greek Yogurt ~ it’s thick, creamy and the blueberry filling tastes like homemade with fresh berries.

3 points+ for the entire thing.

I started off with a banana plus 4 strawberries…..

Then, topped it with my new FAGE and 2 Tbsp of Coconut Almond Granola (1 points+)

I am SO PROUD OF ME for getting out and getting my walk on today.  I actually had planned on going to the gym, but, I forgot my card.  I totally was kinda nervous to work out with my co-workers anyway…..but, I didn’t let that stop me.

I put on my shoes and headed out to walk.  I ended up finding a route that I LOVE and power walked my way through 3.4 miles!

When I got back, I couldn’t wait to dive into my BURGER SALAD!!!

In the mix:

• Organic mixed greens, romaine, red cabbage & shredded carrots
• Cucumber slices
• Cherry tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp Sunflower Seeds (1 points+)
• 2 Tbsp Trader Joe’s Dried Berry Blend (1 points+)
• Amy Lu’s Caramelized Onion Smoked Gouda Chicken Burger (4 points+)
• All topped with Trader Joe’s Low-Fat Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette (2 points+)

DESSERT ~ I seriously need to buy some Dum-Dum’s – this was the perfect ending for something sweet. (1 points+)

Train snacks ~ an orange & lite string cheese (1 points+)

Dinner tonight came about based on The Husband and I decided what sounded good for dinner and the rainy weather.  There is something so good about having rich, creamy pasta dishes on a rainy day.  I instantly thought about the Low Fat Alfredo Sauce I made before with big, thick fettuccine noodles.  The only thing is we didn’t have ANY fettuccine and that would go against cooking with what we hand on hand for the week.

We had a bunch of veggies that needed to be used up, Laughing Cow Wedges and some Hot Italian Sausage in the freezer.  Add in a healthy Alfredo with a Kick and you get one delicious Spicy, Veggie Packed, Queso Alfredo Pasta.

This pasta dish has just the right amount of heat from the smoky chipotle peppers and spicy Italian sausage to warm you up from the inside out. 

You could definitely make this even more decadent by putting it in a casserole dish, topping it with a little pepperjack cheese and baking it for a Super Cheesy, Queso Fredo Baked Pasta!

Start to finish this dish is totally a 30 minute or less meal!

PENNE WITH SAUSAGE, VEGGIES & SPICY QUESO FREDO (print it!)

INGREDIENTS

The Pasta

• 2 Hot Italian turkey sausages, casings removed
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 cups fresh mixed vegetables (whatever you have on hand)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• pinch or two of crushed red pepper flakes
• 8 oz whole wheat penne pasta

Spicy Queso Fredo

• 8 Laughing Cow Queso &Chipotle Wedges
• 1 cup fat free milk
• 1/2 Tbsp whipped butter
• 2 Tbsp parmesan
• Sea salt & black pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1.  In a small sauce pan, make the Spicy Queso Fredo by adding the Laughing Cow, milk, butter and parmesan to the pan.  Turn the burner on low and slowly let the cheeses melt while the sausage veggie pasta cooks, whisking as needed.

2.  Cook pasta according to packaged directions.  While the pasta water is boiling, heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add sausage, crumble and cook until browned, about 4-5 minutes.  Remove sausage and set aside.

3.  Add olive oil to the sausage pan, then, add the vegetables, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes.  Sauté until the vegetables are crisp tender, about 5-7 minutes. 

4.  Return the sausage to the pan, add pasta and drizzle with sauce.  Season with sea salt and black pepper, then, dig in!

Makes 6 servings, 1 heaping cup each, 7 points+

Nutritional information per serving based on 6 servings calculated at caloriecount.com

STE P – BY – STEP

The folks at over at Laughing Cow asked if I would help them develop a recipe using their Light Queso Fresco with Chipotle.  At first I imagined delicious, spicy cheesy nachos loaded with all the fixin’s.

But, I figured, that might be too predictable.  In the past, I’ve used these 1 points+ cheese wedges on sandwich, in wraps, crepes and on crackers.

But, tonight, I took these spicy cheese wedges to a whole new level with a Spicy Queso Fredo Sauce that melted beautifully over crisp veggies, spicy sausage and whole wheat penne.

You can use any variety of veggies you have on hand ~ just mix and match or buy an already prepared fresh vegetable mix like this Trader Joe’s Asian Veggie Blend.

After cooking up the sausage, add the oil, veggies and garlic to the pan

Season with crushed red pepper flakes, sea salt and black pepper cooking until crisp tender, about 5-7 minutes.

Return the cooked sausage to the pan and toss.

Add the cooked pasta and toss again.

Drizzle with your super creamy, spicy queso fresco.

Gently toss everything together and dig in.

Dessert ~ 5 Cadbury Mini Eggs for 2 points+!

Q’s

How have you used your Laughing Cow Cheese?

I have used it to make Mock Grilled Cheese and my favorite combination is with Jam on Crackers.  The options really are endless.

Night all!