I think LONG weekends make me happy, especially when you don’t have to be anywhere. You can wake up whenever you want and do whatever you want when you want 
That is exactly how today went down.
Breakfast started off with 2 slices TJ’s Fat Free Multi-Grain Bread topped with 1 Tbsp Kettle Cashew Butter (4 pts).
When The Husband woke up, he declared this weekend should be a Starbuck’s every day kind of weekend….um, ok ~ twist my arm on that one 
Venti Iced Nonfat Decarf Latte with Caramel Drizzle (3 pts)
I have to say today was one of my FAVORITE days at the Farmer’s Market because they had the fruit I wait ALL YEAR FOR…..
Pearines ~ Nectarine & Pear! I pretty much couldn’t wait and had one as soon as we got home. (1 pt) Crunchy, sweet & tart all in one – LOVE!
After “frying” in the sun watching our Nephews All Star Baseball game, we headed over to The Joy of Eating.
I subbed my fries for this salad topped with red wine vinegar (0 points)
Because all I really wanted was THIS BLTA! (10 point estimate)
Delicious ~ I think the secret to their AMAZING sandwiches is their homemade sweet bread.
Mid afternoon snackage ~ 1/2 of this Kashi Pumpkin Flax Bar & a Cabot cheese (2.5 pts)
Tonight I finally got back in the kitchen for some Craving Ellie in My Belly Cooking! This week’s recipe looked so amazing in Ellie’s The Food You Crave Cookbook. I LOVE cookbooks that have pictures….it really does make all the difference in the world.
Penne with Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic & White Beans
Especially when what you make comes pretty close to how it should look 
I LOVED the simple, yet, delicious sounding ingredient list.
The Star ingredient ~ beautiful Farmer’s Market Tomatoes that I picked up this morning.
I pretty much followed the RECIPE with the exception of adding a few cherry tomatoes.
Oh and I used Rotini instead of Penne weighing it out on MY FAVORITE SCALE because it’s what I had on hand.
It’s pretty simple to make. You cook your pasta according to the package and toss in deliciously sweet olive oil garlic roasted tomatoes.
I really think that LIZ is right in that the roasted garlic and lemon juice make the flavors in this dish stand out.
Toss your pasta, beans, tomato & basil together then drizzle with your garlic lemon olive oil sauce.
Top with parmesan cheese and it’s ready! You get 1 1/2 cups for 9 points.
I had really high hopes for this dish, but, thought it was just OK. I LOVED how the house smelled like roasted garlic and the flavor of the roasted tomatoes, but, really felt like the pasta needed more flavor ~ maybe garlic, maybe lemon, maybe sauce? We both gave it 3.5 stars out of 5, since I didn’t feel like it was really worth the points.
Simple side salad topped with Newman’s Own Light Lime Vinaigrette.
For those waiting for the recipe, I posted my Quick & Easy “Slow” Cooked Baked Beans Recipe.
Off to let The Husband give me a pedicure (he seriously LOVES doing it) and watch a movie!
Night all!
Whether she’s enjoying a dish at a local restaurant or whipping up a crowd-pleasing, nutritious meal at home, Danica has a passion for all things food. She believes in and follows the Weight Watchers principle of “all things in moderation” and chronicles her culinary adventures here. Besides sharing her daily eats and tasty, nutritious recipes, Danica connects others seeking a healthier lifestyle on her other site Friends For Weight Loss. 
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Love the look that the rotini gives the dish…the penne was nice, but I like the rotini even more. We liked the light dressing on it for summer, nice and fresh. The guys were so so on the beans, however, so if I make this again, it will be sans beans. Yours looks lovelly.
Yum! I would love to make that! I’m going to try it with brown rice pasta!
That pasta dish looks lovely! Too bad it didn’t come out as good as you had hoped, I hate when that happens. I love roasted tomatoes!
A pearine???? I’ve never even heard of it. My son love pears and nectarines….I wonder if he would like this and where I could find them!
I have never heard of a pearine before – sounds awesome! I *love* nectarines so any variation on them sounds like something I should check out
Sorry you weren’t thrilled with the Ellie recipe this week – I thought it was a little high in points for what it ended up being, too, but we did like it. I will definitely add more tomatoes next time though because they and the garlic were the stars of the dish.
Have a good holiday weekend! Enjoy that extra day off!!
Long, lazy weekends are the best – especially when they involve pasta!!!
Ooh! That recipe sounds delish! I really should take a look at Ellie’s cookbooks.
Your pasta dish looks absolutely wonderful even if it wasn’t. Most of Ellie’s recipes are pretty good so it’s always worth giving each one a try.
Hello! Thanks for stopping by my blog, and for cooking along with me this week. Sorry the recipe wasn’t quite what you hoped it would be; yours looked beautiful though! I especially love the step-by-step pictures on your blog posts. Hope you had a great holiday weekend!
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