Recipe Numero Dos....Taco Pasta Salad! OLE!  This recipe offers a unique blend of Mexican and Italian for a salad that leaves people saying....hmmm why didn't I ever think to mix the flavors of these cultures before?!

The only thing I changed in this was that I doubled the pasta...I mean really what was I going to do with half a box of uncooked pasta!? SO please note when you print this from the link below to jot down to use the whole box or 4 cups versus 2 as it calls for.  For my Weight Watchers followers....this recipe yields 12 servings (when using 4 cups pasta) and comes to = 7 points per serving! Delizioso!

Taco Pasta Salad

Ingredients

• 4* cups uncooked spiral pasta
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 envelope taco seasoning
• 3 cups shredded lettuce
• 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1/2 cup Catalina salad dressing
• Tortilla chips

Directions

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the taco seasoning; cool.
• Drain pasta and rinse in cold water; stir into meat mixture. Add the lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, onion, green pepper and dressing; toss to coat. Serve with tortilla chips. Yield: 12* servings.
• Click here to Print:  http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Taco-Pasta-Salad/Print 
• Recipe courtesy Taste of Home. All rights reserved.

Rigatoni with Creamy Sausage Sauce

The blog entry I was working on as I so graciously broke the screen on my laptop... again!!! I think I'm allergic to LCD screens, I'm batting 3 strikes with 2 computer screens and 1 TV screen down! Not good!! Anyways after a trip to Best Buy and finding out that laptops have dropped signifigantly in price with the whole tablet crazy of Ipads and Galaxy tabs I scored another HP at half the price of what I paid for my old one 2 years ago~ Winning!

So, on to discover a taste of Italy the weight watchers way! I used whole grain Fusili noodles and also chopped up a habanero pepper for some added heat! Boy was it spicy! One serving = 2 Cups = 11 Points. Now, I found that I was full on 1 Cup and ended up with a 6 point dinner! Pour me another 4 point glass of red wine please! Give this one a try the next time you need to cure that pasta craving!

Rigatoni with Creamy Sausage Sauce

8 oz uncooked rigatoni

1/8 tsp table salt

8 oz uncooked turkey sausage(s), Italian-style, removed from casings

8 oz cremini mushroom(s), or Baby Bella mushrooms, trimmed, quartered

1 Tbsp minced garlic

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cup(s) fat-free skim milk

1 cup(s) frozen green peas, petite-variety

1/2 tsp table salt, or more to taste

1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

1/2 cup(s) roasted red peppers (packed in water), water-packed, sliced

1/2 cup(s) uncooked scallion(s), sliced

3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, cook sausage stirring and breaking into chunks with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 3 minutes; remove to a bowl. Add mushrooms to skillet and sauté until browned and tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook 30 seconds until fragrant.

In a measuring cup, whisk together flour and milk until smooth; stir into skillet along with peas, salt and black pepper. Bring sauce to a boil; simmer until thickened and peas are tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in sausage, roasted peppers and scallions; remove from heat.

Drain pasta; return to pot. Add sausage sauce and cheese; toss to coat. Transfer to a serving bowl. Yields about 2 cups per serving.

© 2012 Weight Watchers International, Inc. © 2012 WeightWatchers.com, Inc. All rights reserved.

Click Here to Print: http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/prt/RecipePage.aspx?Type=1&RecipeID=138321