PASTA WITH BROCCOLI, CAULIFLOWER & LEMON

I tend to have a smaller appetite in the summer time and I am always a fan of pasta. As I was flipping through my Weight Watchers Pantry to Plate cookbook, I found this recipe. It was very tasty, preserved well for leftovers and it was filling. Very easy to make as well!

Here is the recipe that I used.
Pasta with Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Lemon
Points Value: 4
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 4

Ingredients:
1 (1-pound) bag frozen broccoli and cauliflower mix
6 oz whole-wheat rotini or fusilli pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli and cauliflower and cook 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Add the pasta to the pot and cook according to package directions. Drain, reserving ¾ cup of the cooking water.

2. Wipe out the pot and place over medium heat. Add the oil, garlic, and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, until the garlic is golden, 2-3 minutes. Add the broccoli and cauliflower and cook, breaking up the vegetables with the side of a spoon, until hot, about 2 minutes.

3. Add the zest, lemon juice, salt, pasta, and reserved cooking water. Cook, stirring, until the pasta is heated through, about 1 minute. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cheese. 1 1/2 cups is one serving.

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The ingredients…


The broccoli & cauliflower boiling…


The broccoli & cauliflower sautéing…


Final product…


Recipe Source:
Weight Watchers From Pantry to Plate

I hope you enjoy this recipe. Happy cooking!

Grilled Chicken, green beans and couscous

I kind of threw this meal together with the limited items that I had in the house. We wanted to try the Weight Watchers garlic-pine nut couscous, so I added it as one of our sides. First I took 2 chicken breasts and placed them in a plastic Ziploc bag, added 2 teaspoons of olive oil and 1 capful of McCormick’s Rotisserie Chicken seasoning. Shook the bag up until the chicken was fully coated and placed them on the grill. While the chicken was cooking on the grill, I trimmed my green beans and placed them in a sauce pan with 2 cups of vegetable stock. I let those cook until they were tender. About 7 minutes before everything was going to be done, I started the couscous.

Below is the Weight Watchers Garlic-Pine Nut Couscous recipe.

Weight Watchers Garlic-Pine Nut Couscous
POINTS: 3
Servings: 4
Serving size: ½ cup
Preparation time: 2 minutes
Cooking time: 2 minutes
Level of difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 large garlic clove, crushed
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup uncooked plain couscous
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

Instructions:
Combine 1 cup water, 1 large garlic clove, crushed, 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Stir in 2/3 cup of uncooked plain couscous. Remove from heat, and let stand for 5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts, and toss with fork. Serve immediately.

*This recipe was taken from ‘Weight Watchers 5 ingredient 15 minute cookbook’.

This meal was very good, unfortunately we did not have the pine nuts for the couscous but it was still very good. I would recommend this recipe to others…but make sure you have the pine nuts.


Green beans cooking:



Green beans cooking #2:


Couscous:


Sides cooking:


Final product:


Final product #2:


CLICK HERE for a printable copy of the Weight Watchers Garlic-Pine Nut Couscous.

Roasted Red Pepper Rotini Caesar Pasta

I found this recipe on the box of my Healthy Harvest Rotini pasta…so I thought, why not…let’s try it. Well, since it is me…you know that I am going to modify the recipe somewhat. So I decided to make it with Italian dressing instead of Caesar (I am not a fan of Caesar dressing, but I’m sure Pete would have loved for me to try this version).

I did not really like the pasta, mainly because I have a hard time with fat-free anything. I can tolerate the light dressings, but fat-free has a weird taste to it (for me). However, Pete liked the pasta. He said it was filling and light, he didn’t feel weighed down after eating it.

So if you are a fan of Caesar dressing, you should try this recipe out.

Below is the recipe that I pulled from the Healthy Harvest Pasta box.

Roasted Red Pepper Rotini Caesar
POINTS Value: 5
Preparation Time: 11 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Serving size: 2 oz.
Number of Servings: 7

Ingredients:
1 box RONZONI® HEATLHY HARVEST® Rotini
1 (12 oz.) jar of roasted red peppers, sliced
4 cups of fresh baby spinach OR frozen spinach
1 cup of fat-free Creamy Caesar dressing or fat-free Creamy Peppercorn
Parmesan cheese to taste
Cracked pepper to taste
Salt to taste

Instructions:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Heat a large sauté pan with a light film of oil, toss in red peppers and spinach; heat until warmed (about 1 minute).

3. In the large sauté pan, toss cooked pasta with spinach and peppers. Add Caesar dressing, stirring frequently until heated through (approximately 3-5 minutes).

4. Top pasta with desired amount of Parmesan cheese, cracked pepper and salt.

Preparing the pasta:

Preparing the pasta:

Final stage of pasta:


Final stage of pasta:



Final product:


CLICK HERE for a printable version of this recipe.