Happy Saturday all! The weather today has been AMAZING ~ Sunny and 73 degrees ~ It totally makes me long for Spring…Spring and Fall are by far my FAVORITE times of year in California because the weather is not too hot, not too cold, but, just right plus I LOVE the Spring flowers and Fall Colors.
Did you all know that Starbuck’s came out with a MUCHO GRANDE TRENTA Size??? It’s HUGE 31 oz….now that’s a lot of “Bucks” LOL. The Husband was pretty pumped about it!
I got my usual Dirty Latte…HOT (4 points+)
After a little shopping enjoying the gorgeous day, I whipped up Eggwiches for us (5 points+)
I received the COOLEST Package in the mail from one of my AWESOME Followers and Friends for Weight Loss Success Stories, Norma! I LOVE it!
Can you believe she hand knitted that scarf?!
Winning…It just feels good is such a great motto to have in life
The Vegas Bag is for my trips to Trader Joe’s
Thank you a million times, Norma ~ you are just so thoughtful!
After spending our morning finding reasons to be outside in the sunshine, we headed in for lunch.
I had a “Husband Salad” ~ he whipped this up for my lunch on Friday. Topped with 1 Tbsp Newman’s Lite Lime Vinaigrette (1 point+)
Trader Joe’s Sharp Cheddar Squares (4 points+) and Social Crackers (3 points+)….quite possibly my FAVORITE thing ever right now….LOVE!
2 Cuties!
Simple, delicious, totally random, but, exactly what I was craving.
The Husband on the other hand ~ he is just so weird!! Have I ever told you all he has an unreal fascination with hot dogs and hot links. As in EVERY TIME we got to Costco, Sam’s Club or Home Depot or any hot dog place for that matter, he HAS to get one!
But….today, his lunch takes the cake ~ He had salad like me, corn and a HOT DOG SANDWICH ~ who does that?! At least I got him to use Whole Wheat Bread 
I <3 him probably more because he is a Hot Dog Lover (for the record, no I am not!) LOL
As we were eating lunch, I received a TWEET From Dorothy one of my loyal followers who has been following Danica’s Daily since we met in the Hungry-Girl Book Signing 2 years ago.
She totally ROCKED her Danica’s Daily T-Shirt having SUSHI for lunch ~ YUM! Thanks for sporting your DD Tee and sharing the Twixpix, I LOVE it!
Is it just me or do you all think her sushi plate looks amazing?! I totally want to have sushi now
Such a FUN day….I LOVE hearing from you all and I am sure The Husband was laughing at me each time I was like OHHHH, look at this or that, how cool is this?! lol…..
I couldn’t decide all day what to have for dinner, but, I knew I wanted some type of pasta with bacon, roasted walnuts and we had a ton of veggies to use up. It was totally random, but, this tortellini toss turned out to be quite tasty.
TORTELLINI TOSS
INGREDIENTS
9 ounce Cheese Tortellini
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cups chopped vegetables (I used zucchini, summer squash, mushrooms & carrots)
2 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup toasted chopped walnuts
3 slices cooked and crumbled center cut bacon
1/2 cup drained, rinsed and chopped sun dried tomatoes
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400°. Arrange walnuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake at 400° for 7 minutes or until golden and fragrant, stirring occasionally. Place in a small bowl.
2. Cook tortellini according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain.
3. Add olive oil & onion to a large nonstick skillet heated over medium heat. Cook 2-3 minutes or until soft. Add 3 cups of vegetables and sauté until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and season with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook for 2 minutes. Add cherry tomatoes and cook 1 additional minute. Remove from heat.
4. Add tortellini, vegetable mixture, walnuts, bacon and sun dried tomatoes to a large bowl. Pour lemon juice and toss well to coat.
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 2 cups), 9 points+
Nutritional information for 1/4 of the recipe calculated on caloriecount.com:
STEP-BY-STEP
I started off by roasted my walnuts in the oven at 400 degrees for 7 minutes so they could cool before I chopped them.
Saute 1/2 a sweet onion in 2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil over medium heat until soft.
Add about 3 cups of vegetables ~ I used what I had on hand ~ summer squash, zucchini, cremini mushrooms and carrots. Cook for about 3-5 minutes until softened.
Season to taste with sea salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes and 1-2 cloves of minced garlic. Cook for another 2 minutes, until all your veggies are cooked through.
Add in a handful of cherry tomatoes, simply for color and pop. Cook 1 minute.
Cook your tortellini according to the packaged instructions.
In a large bowl, combine tortellini with your vegetable mixture.
Add 1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes, 3 pieces chopped bacon, 1/4 cup chopped walnuts.
Squeeze 1/2 a lemon over top
TOSS!
You could reserve a few pieces of bacon and chopped walnuts for toppers if you want. If I had fresh basil on hand, I would’ve totally used it.
This was FAST and pretty tasty. The bacon walnuts added a nice crunch and richness, while sun dried tomatoes added a little sweet tartness along with the big CHEESY tortellini.
Q’s
What is your favorite season and why?
Mine is probably Spring because I usually cannot wait for the sunshine to come back out after winter and I LOVE seeing and smelling all the flowers blossom.
MOVIE TIME!!! Thanks for helping us decide ~ We are going to watch No Strings Attached! Review coming up tomorrow.
Night all!
Wow, that pasta dish looks delicious–thanks for the recipe, will definitely have to try that! Also, this is random but thanks for posting a picture of the new Starbucks trenta size in comparison to the other size. I’ve heard so much about the trenta but it helps to see it, especially side-by-side like that. Hmmm…I can’t decide between late spring or summer, right now I’m wishing hard for summer : )
I’m so happy I found you this year. While using Google, I stumbled on your blog while in was in search for New WW+ info. I’m so happy i found you. I’m a So Cal gal and love these days filled with plentiful sun.
Blessings – Debbie
I really like spring, too. Ours seems to be pretty short around here. Summer comes fast! But I really like that warm, peaceful, beautiful weather.
i am also loving this california weather!!!! I moved here from Canada this past year and am soaking up the sun every day lately, in the meantime my friends and family at home are in the middle of their 3rd snow storm of the week 🙂 where in CA do you live? I am in the monterey area… love it here 🙂
You and your husband seem like such fun people!!!! The pasta toss looks incredible, and love the idea of nuts in it! I love fall, really like spring, like summer and winter clouds are getting on my nerves. However…can’t base your mood on weather so we’re off to have a fun day. Enjoy your Sunday!!
I’m in CT. We have about 30 inches of snow in the yard, it’s 16* outside and more snow expected this week. As much as I enjoy hanging out inside with a fire and the family, I’d rather it be fall.
Your pasta dish looks yummy!
After the freezing temperatures of the past few days, I’m almost ready for spring to get here. Which is a little odd for me because I tend to like colder weather more. Late fall, early winter I think is ideal. Though, I do love the flowers of spring. Guess I’m undecided. 🙂
BTW, great pasta dish – I’m saving the recipe for a future dinner.
Thanks for the tortellini toss! Made it last night, minus the mushrooms, walnuts and bacon, added some TJ’s frozen bell peppers and diced leftover chicken. It was a big hit, not only with my family, but their friends as well!
Made this tonight and it was awesome! Will be reviewing it on my blog shortly.