Steak and Mushroom Pasta Salad

This is a good meal salad!  Good enough that you should keep an eye out on the flank steak prices and nab it when it's on sale!

This salad is 273 calories for a 1-cup serving.  The dressing is so simple too!  When I buy my low-fat buttermilk, I divide it up into 1/2-cup servings and freeze them individually for use later!

It reheats nicely the following day, as the arugula seems to hold up much better than a typical lettuce would!  If you can't find cavatappi (cavatappi means spiral) pasta, you can sub in another tube-shaped pasta such as penne or even elbow macaroni!

This recipe came from a Weight Watchers 15-minute 5-recipes recipe magazine. 

Ingredients:

8 oz uncooked cavatappi pasta
8 oz lean flank steak, trimmed of fat
1-1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp kosher sal
3 Tbs olive oil (divided)
8 oz sliced cremini or regular white mushrooms
1/2 c low-fat buttermilk
2 c arugula leaves (about 2 oz)
 
Instructions:

Prepare the pasta according to package directions or to desired tenderness and omit the salt and fat while doing so.

Meanwhile, sprinkle the steak with half a teaspoon of each the salt and the pepper or to taste like I do.   Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a hot nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the steak and cook to the desired degree of doneness.  It takes about 4 to 5 minutes per side to reach a medium-rare.  Remove steak from pan and set aside allowing it to rest at least 5 minutes.

Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook stirring occasionally until any liquid is evaporated off. About 7 minutes.

Cut the steak diagonally across the grain into thin slices.

Whisk together the buttermilk and remaining 2 Tbs oil, 3/4 tsp pepper, and 1/2 tsp salt in a large bowl.  Add the pasta to this dressing and toss to coat.  Now add in the steak, mushrooms and arugula and toss some more to coat.

Serve!

YIELDS:  6 servings
SERVING SIZE:  1 cup
SMART POINTS:  7

Nutritional Information:  Calories 273, Fat 9.6 g (sat 1.9g, mono 5.8 g, poly 1 g), Protein 15 g, Carb 32 g, Fiber 2 g, Sugars 3 g, Chol 24 mg, Iron 2 mg, Sodium 287 mg, Calcium 66 mg

Turkey-Stuffed Cabbage Rolls-2 Rolls for 431 calories

The stuffing for these can also be used in baked stuff zucchini and tomatoes and peppers!  Basmati rice is so fragrant and good I highly recommend it!

Mr F said no Fewer than Five times "Wow. I'm surprised this is soo good!"  He didn't like the smell the cabbage gave the house as it baked and he was extremely nervous about it. 

Each serving is 2 rolls for 431 calories but can be one roll for 216 calories!  This is a very old WW recipe I used to make that clocked in at 8 Winning Points and it is Noom friendly because all of the ingredients are yellow and green foods!   If you want or need to switch to a less-lean ground turkey, then adjust the nutritional info accordingly!

Make sure you make this earlier in the day because it cooks long and slowly for up to 2 hours so they come out fork tender.  You can also shorten the bake time a bit by throwing the ground turkey into the pan with the mushrooms and onions and cooking up a bit before stuffing the cabbage leaves.

To reheat any leftovers, you should steam or microwave them.

 (I like extra sauce on my plate to drag each bite through!)

Ingredients:

1 (1-1/2-lb) Savoy cabbage(can use regular green cabbage as well)
1 cup bastmati rice or long-grain white rice
2 tsp olive oil
1/2-lb white mushrooms chopped coarsely
3/4-lb ground skinless turkey breast
1 large egg
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste
1 (26-oz) jar marinara sauce

Instructions:

Fill a large pot with water about 2/3 full.  After getting the cabbage leaves carefully separated, dip each cabbage leaf individually into the boiling water for about 30 seconds with tongs.  Thinly chop/slice up the remaining cabbage head.

Place the chopped cabbage at the bottom of a glass, coverable, baking dish large enough to hold 8 rolls-about lasagna pan size.

Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a medium sauce pan.  Add the rice and bring to a boil and simmer, covered, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. About 20 minutes.  (Boil in bag Basmati rice can cook in about 10 minutes too!).  Fluff with a fork and transfer to a large bowl.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Heat the oil in a large, nonstick skillet and add in the mushrooms and onion cooking until liquid evaporates.  Add the mushroom and onions to the rice bowl.  Now add turkey, egg, and salt and pepper to the same rice bowl and mix until well blended.

Divide the turkey mixture evenly amongst the 8 cabbage leaves.  Roll up the rolls and place them seam-side down on the bed of chopped cabbage in the baking dish. Cover with the whole jar of marinara sauce and place lid on top.

Bake at 325 degrees for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

SERVES:  4
SERVING SIZE:  2 Rolls
POINTS:  8 Winning Points

Nutritional Information:  Calories 431, Total Fat 8 g (2 g saturated), Cholesterol 104 mg, Sodium 1.187 mg, Carbs 62 g, Dietary Fiber 7g, Protein 31 g, Calcium 151 mg

Freaking Update for 2020

I apologize I have been absent for so long!

Things have been a mess here since about last November, an absolute Fiasco! 

I lost my grandfather in November and then my father in December and then I spent most of January sulking and then most of February planning and preparing for the pandemic.  I think this 2020 mess is my Fault.  I kept saying all last year "2020 is going to be my year!  The best one yet!" I jinxed it didn't I?

Then my kids were sent home from school and my husband started working from home.  I tried to continue working in a face mask for as long as I could stand it, but it meant way longer days with larger breaks in between each job.  I finally threw in the towel.  The mask makes me extremely panicky, especially now in warmer weather. 

Dieting went way off track.  I too have had some good laughs at all the weight-gaining memes and gifs.  It turns out they all were true for me.  I went completely backwards having gained almost all of the weight I have lost back due to the stress I have encountered over the last 8 months or so.

We are blessed that so far we have all been healthy, as I hope you all have been as well!  I am ready to stop focusing on all of the "stuff" going on around me and to Focus on me and ditch my Feelings of hopelessness.

I have some new goals in mind and a new announcement!

1.  I no longer support Weight Watchers/WW nor encourage people to utilize the Shipt shopping services, as both companies have thrown their hats into a political arena by supporting groups, the funding of which, in one way or another, furthers certain political agendas with which I do not agree.  If you want my business, you need to stay neutral politically, especially when the cause involves a mob mentality against police officers since I am married to one and have the knowledge regarding his job that too many don't seem to want to learn the truth of.

As an aside, it really chaps my ass when a company asks their customers/members to donate to a cause of their choosing while saying they will *match* the donations by these folks *UP TO* $X amount.  In Shipt's case, it is $50,000.  If you want and are able to donate $50,000 then just Friggin do it!  Oh, and I hope those police officers you have smacked in the face come running to your aid when needed!

2.  Mostly as a result of number one above, I have decided to utilize good old fashioned calorie counting and healthier choices, including more exercise, moving forward as my weight loss method.  If I can add up points, I'm pretty sure adding up calories with no extra steps to reach a "magic number" will work just fine for me.  I believe this is also called Freestyling!

I am sure you can still figure out the points for the future recipes I will share since they will still be diet friendly, but I won't be figuring out points moving forward.

3.  I gave Noom a try!  I will share my experience with that soon!

4.  I plan to revamp my blog and bring it into this century for easier recipe browsing since I will no longer be listing WW points.  Instead it will be broken down into categories. 

5.  I am toying with the idea of vlogging as well!  What do you think about vlogging?