Easy Goulash Pasta

November 22, 2018

Easy Goulash Pasta

Danica's Daily

Easy Goulash Pasta

Happy Wednesday all! I am excited the week is half over and we are that much closer to Thanksgiving week. I may also be excited that it’s Survivor Night too.

I kicked off my day with a tasty 1 Smartpoint Ham & Egg scramble with 1/2 an orange.Plus a tall nonfat cappuccino with caramel on top (2 sp). I figured I saved points on breakfast so…..lol.4 hours later and 2 hours before lunch, I grabbed a snack so I would not be starving.

Trader Joe’s Lite Cheddar Stick plus pomegranate seeds (2 sp).I promise today is the last of my Kale, Butternut Squash & Sausage Soup.

I shared some with my friend and froze the rest for another day when I need a grab and go lunch.

Served up with brown sugar banana bread.

10 Smartpoints.Late afternoon I snacked on a persimmon.

Tonight’s dinner was so good and totally made up with what I had on hand when The Husband said he was craving pasta.

Here is what’s in my Goulash Pasta.The Sauce:

1 diced onion 1 diced bell pepper 2 cups sliced baby portabella mushrooms 3 garlic cloves minced 1 lb 93% lean ground beef Trader Joe’s Bolgonese Pomodoro Sauce 2 Tbsp tomato paste 1/2 cup Trader Joe’s sun dried tomatoes Dashes of salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes 2 oz shredded fresh parmesan cheese

All cooked up and tosses with 16 oz cooked large elbow pasta.

I may have gone a little crazy making 14+ cups but it means no cooking tomorrow!

I love the sweet bite of the sun dried tomatoes, earthy mushrooms and hearty meat sauce with Al dente pasta. Topped with a little parmesan for a cheesy, salty bite.

Each cup is 6 Smartpoints and I had this X’s for a total of 2 cups.27 Daily WWFreestyle Smartpoints, 7K steps

Night all!

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Fancy Dinner & This Week�s Menu

Hi all! How was your weekend? I finally had the chance to get all caught up, settled in and back to my usual blogging today. I headed back to my Weight Watchers meeting on Saturday and I was ready to face the music. In my head, I thought my weigh in would be awful after 3 weeks off and our trip. But, it wasn’t bad at all – I was up 1.4 lbs. I am using this as motivation this week to make the scale go back down.

This morning we were up early to head to the Alameda Antique Fair. I love that even the iced cups at Starbucks have a holiday theme.

Grande iced nonfat latte with caramel on top (3 sp).At the fair, we split a bacon, egg & salsa burrito (4 sp).We walked the farmers market and grabbed salads at Jack’s Urban Eats for lunch. I did steal a few of his Urban Fries to go with my delicious Chinese chicken salad. (4 sp).This afternoon I cooked up a batch of Kale, Butternut and Sausage soup for lunches.

I also made a loaf of brown sugar banana bread (sans the nuts). I love this bread so much and it’s totally worth 7 sp for 1/16th.I decided to pick a recipe from my new WW Healthy Kitchen Chicken Cookbook for dinner tonight.

I modified the cover recipe to make this Chicken with Creamy Rosemary Mushroom Sauce.The recipe actually goes together in under 20 minutes

Start by “frying” your salt & pepper chicken in olive oil. Once it’s cooked through, set it aside.To the same pan, add mushrooms, 1 Tbsp diced rosemary and garlic.Cook until softened, then, pour 1/4 cup white wine. Cook 2-3 minutes longer.Remove from heat, stir in Greek yogurt and Dijon.Add chicken back to the pan.

Tadah! Winner, winner chicken dinner!I served ours over Chive Buttered Egg Noodles. Boil 6 oz egg noodles then toss with 1 Tbsp butter, chives/green onions, salt & pepper.Steamed green beans with garlic salt & pepper.My super fancy dinner was so good – 1 svg chicken (2 sp), 1 oz Chive butter noodles (4 sp), green beans.24 Daily WWFreestyle Smartpoints, 17K steps

HERE IS WHAT IS ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:

Chipitle Taco CasseroleCashew Chicken Stir Fry, Rice Pepperoni Pizza, Salad Tortellini Soup, Garlic Toast Turkey Lettuce Wraps

What is on your menu this week?

Night all!

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Honey Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts

#FlashbackFriday with these easy honey roasted brussels sprouts that are the perfect side for your Thanksgiving feast.

I grew up NEVER liking Brussels Sprouts at all. I mean, they are little balls of strong flavored cabbage. But, I learned that if you prepare them the right way, versus just boiling and buttering them, that they can have a phenomenal flavor. In this recipe, I combine my favorite roasting ingredients (Olive Oil, Balsamic, Honey) to add a salty sweet balsamic caramelized flavor to these little balls of cabbage.

HONEY BALSAMIC ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS (print it!)

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb Brussels Sprouts, halved and quartered 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 Tbsp Good Quality Balsamic Vinegar 1 tsp honey Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper 1/4 c chopped walnuts, optional

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with nonstick spray.

2. Halve and quarter your Brussels sprouts. Combine Olive Oil, Balsamic and honey. Pour over Brussels sprouts. Stir to combine and coat.

3. Pour Brussels sprouts onto prepared cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

4. Bake for 20 minutes, stirring once half way through. Add your walnuts during the last 5 minutes if using. Enjoy!

Makes 4 servings, 3 WWFreestyle SmartPoints or 2 points+ with the nuts, 1 WWFreestyle SmartPoint or 1 points+ without

Nutritional Information Per Serving including nuts for all ingredients:

STEP-BY-STEPS:

Quarter and halve your Brussels sprouts. I like doing a little of both.

Whisk together your olive oil, balsamic and honey.

Pour mixture over Brussels sprouts and stir to coat.

Pour your balsamic spouts onto a prepared cookie sheet and sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper.

Roast for 20 minutes, stirring once half way through.

I dare ya ~ try it, and I bet you may just find you like Brussels sprouts too!

By far, this is one of my favorite recipes from the archives and you can now find it in my Recipage too! It is the perfect addition this Thanksgiving.

Q�s

Why do they call it Brussels instead of Brussel? That extra �s� always drives me bonkers

Happy Friday all! The Foodbuzz Festival starts tonight ~ I cannot wait to see you all again and to meet some new faces too!

Catch up with you all later!

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Cheesy, Bean & Tortilla Casserole

Hi all! How was your day? Today was such a good day in so many ways. My eyes are still 20/20 according to my doctor (yay!), I fit in a lunch time walk in our beautiful 80 degree weather and I had one delicious day. I whipped up this super tasty Vegetarian Bean Casserole for dinner versus stopping at Chipotle on my drive home – success!

My day started with an open faced Eggwich (1 slice Nature’s Own Butter Bread, 1/2 Tbsp whipped butterb a fried egg, Sriracha salt & pepper), plus half an orange.Since I had extra time before my eye appointment and they have holiday cups, I grabbed a tall nonfat cappuccino with caramel on top (2 sp).I probably should’ve ate my points versus drinking them because I was hungry late morning. I grabbed a banana and Trader Joe’s Lite Cheddar Stick before my walk (2 sp).

Post walk my lunch was so good even though the picture isn’t lol.

Kale, Butternut Squash & Sausage Soup

1/16th of brown sugar banana nut bread

Pomegranate seeds

10 SmartpointsLate afternoon and working late, I snacked on 2 Tbsp sunflower seeds (2 Tbsp).I used these Borlotti Beans to make this easy, cheesy, bean & tortilla casserole.I chopped up a mild chili and 2 green onions. Saute for 2-3 minutes to soften.Add 1 Tbsp taco seasoning.Plus 3/4 cup water, 3 Tbsp tomato paste, beans (drained & rinsed), salt and pepper. Cook 2-3 minutes until slightly thickened.Build your casserole starting with 3 corn tortillas, then the bran mix, 3 more tortillas and cheese.Cover with aluminum foil and bake 20 minutes.You can broil for 2 minutes if you want crispy cheese.

Top with diced tomato, green onions and a salsa sour cream – Mexican Pizza Style.Each square is only 3 WWFreestyle Smartpoints so don’t be afraid of having two!