Bacon, Tomato & Basil Pasta & This Week’s Menu

Happy Labor Day all!  Did any of you BBQ today?  If so, what did you make.  I think this might be the first Labor Day that we have not barbecued. That being said, our day was packed with a bunch of healthy and delicious foods.

Starting with breakfast! One scrambled egg + egg white topped with the last of our Homemade Salsa Fresca. (SF) – 2 points+

“Fried” Hasbrowns with peppers and onions ~ so amazing that I am not even sure why I do not make these more often.

Simply “Fry” 1 yukon gold potato (shredded) with 1/2 a green bell pepper and 1/2 a red onion (both chopped) in 1 Tbsp canola oil over medium heat.  I season them with garlic salt and black pepper.

The secret to getting these browned is to place them in a hot pan, then, let them sit for about 5 minutes to brown up before flipping.  (SF) – 4 points+

All together with a Turkey Apple Sausage I took from the freezer and microwaved for 45 seconds and Macadamia Nut Cookie Coffee. (SF) – 2 points+

After breakfast, we ran a few errands while I let my food settle.  I hopped on the treadmill as soon as I got home so I could check off my runner girl activity box with a 35 minute jog/walk.

I didn’t have a “real” lunch today….I snacked on probably about 2 cups of watermelon as I cut it up to make it easier to grab and go this week.

Then, I baked The Husband some Brown Sugar Banana Mini Muffins.  I absolutely love these buttery, banana nut muffins ~ 110% worth every single points+.

3 muffins = (SF+5 WPA) – 5 points+

I somehow went from chopping up fruit and baking to deciding it was a good day to clean house.  Mid afternoon The Husband convinced me it was time to sit down and relax so we headed over to watch the movie Hit & Run ~ super cute, funny and we both really enjoyed it.

Dinner tonight was inspired by this recipe I saw in the September 2012 edition of Rachael Ray Magazine.  I love the idea of having rich, smoky bacon with salty parmesan in a spicy, light tomato basil sauce.  I couldn’t convince myself to make it with all the bacon fat and oil so I lightened it up and used what I had on hand.

BACON PAPPARDELLE WITH RESH TOMATO BASIL SAUCE (print it!)

INGREDIENTS:

• 10 oz whole wheat pappardelle pasta or linguine
• 5 slices applewood smoked bacon, chopped *
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 cups roma tomatoes, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
• pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• sea salt & black pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.  Cook pasta according to the packaged instructions. While the water is boiling, prepare the sauce.

2.  Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add the bacon and cook until crisp, 4 -5 minutes. Remove the bacon and set aside.  Pour off all the bacon grease except 2 tablespoons.  Add the olive oil to the bacon grease and return pan to medium heat.  Add the onion and bay leaf, then cook until softened, about 5-7 minutes.

3.  Stir in the tomatoes, garlic, thyme and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the basil and reserved bacon, then, discard the bay leaf.

3.  Toss the pasta with the sauce and serve it up.

* NOTE: Use Canadian Bacon to make this a 100% Simply Filling Recipe

Makes 6 heaping 1 cup servings, Simply Filling + 2 WPA, 7 points+ each

Nutritional information per serving calculated at caloriecount.com

STEP – BY – STEP:

Cook the bacon until crispy, about 4-5 minutes.

Remove bacon and set aside reserving 2 Tbsp of the bacon grease in the pan for cooking.

Chop your onion while the bacon cooks.

Then, add the onion, bay leaf and olive oil to the bacon pan with the reserved bacon drippings.  Cook for 5 minutes or until the onion is softened.

While the onion cooks, chop the tomatoes and get the herbs/garlic ready.

Add the tomatoes, garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes to the pan and cook for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in the reserved bacon and basil.  Season to taste with sea salt and pepper.

Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce.  Toss and serve.

The big thick pappardelle noodles make this dish so fun to eat.  You get hints of smoky bacon bites with sweet tomatoes and basil in every noodley-bite!

I ate my bowl with a big piece of Texas Garlic Bread (SF+ 4 WPA) – 4 points+

STATS (12 am – 8 pm)

• 2,727 calories burned
• 11,392 steps taken
• 11 WPA used, 29 WPA remaining (24 daily points+)

HERE IS WHAT IS ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:

• Pineapple Chicken Meatballs, brown rice, cucumber salad
• Shrimp with Zucchini & Tomatoes, salad
• Sloppy Joes with Kale Chips
• Fresh Tomato, Basil Flat Out Pizza
• Ginger Lime Chicken, brown rice, greens

My Active Link Assessment Recap and 12 week challenge coming up tomorrow!

Night all!