Bacon Spinach Penne

DELISH low point meal. It goes something like this:


Ingredients:
12oz whole grain wheat penne pasta
1 bag fresh spinach (marketfresh)
8 slices turkey bacon
1/2 medium onion (diced)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 T fat free Parmesan cheese/serving (sprinkle on top)

Cook pasta separately in water.
Cook bacon and cool/dice. Set aside.
Leave of bacon grease (turkey bacon produces VERY VERY little , so I usually add 2 T water to help saute my onions/mushrooms.)
Add diced onions, garlic and mushrooms and sauté. Add spinach and bacon. Cover and stir until spinach wilts. Add in penne pasta and 1/2 water. Stir well. (I sometimes drizzle a mixture of 2 T olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste.)

Top with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Yields 6 servings.
Points Total = 5.5

Spring Cleaning:

I am two bathrooms away from being finished with spring cleaning!

I was able to clean/sanitize just about everything today. The list looked somewhat like this:

*dust

*sweep/vacuum/mop

*sanitize/shine counters/refrigerator/stove/dishwasher

*wipe all cabinets down inside/out

*clean refrigerator

*organize pantry

*organize office closet/desks

*clean/organize spare bedroom

*clean bathrooms

*Windex all windows

*dust baseboards/vacuum around all baseboards

*vacuum sofa (hard core!)

*sanitize all light switches/door knobs

My goal for the future is to someday buy better organization systems for the office. Right now, I have two shelves in the closet that I have my labeled deco boxes of crafts sitting on as well as miscellaneous electronic stuff. I want to purge any of the electronic stuff that is obsolete/we no longer need and use the office primarily as an office/library/craft room. Someday... oh someday.. we'll buy a new desk/bookshelves, too!

The finished product in my dreams would look somewhat like this:

When I finish cleaning the bathrooms, I'll take a few photos of the fresh and clean house for ya. (I know you just can't wait...)

Today has been quite lovely! I played two church services at Bentonville First Baptist, drove home with the windows down, grocery shopped for the week, and spent all day alone in my house! (Chase is playing the last two South Pacific shows today). It's been quite a long time since I have been able to spend an entire day in my home doing as I please. It was smashing.

Coming Soon: 

Clean house pictures!

Ta-Da!

Warning: Photos Galore

I have bangs... again. You might remember last year (2009) around this time when I added some hip bangs to my 'do:

         I promise they weren't crooked...  and ...

..they're back!

The finish up this super short post, I'll leave you with a few more photos from Spring Break in Branson with Dad. 

Nom nom. Delish salmon!

Waving hello!

Lake Taneycomo.

Branson Landing.

Dad at Branson Landing. (I like this picture a lot!)

Visiting the hatchery.. 

Driving around Lake Table Rock. 

Ta-Da!

The End.

Southwestern Quiche

This was one of my favorite E-Mealz recipes so far (and that's saying a lot because I LOVE almost every recipe.) You can use non FF ingredients, but when you use the FF substitutes, it is only 5 WW points per serving. Very filling and very delish.

Ingredients:
1 deep dish frozen pie crust
1 cup Southwestern Egg Beaters (fat free)
6oz Fat Free Evaporated Milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (fat free)
(salt and pepper to taste)

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients except for the crust :) and beat together. Pour into pie crust and bake for 30 minutes at 345 degrees ...(or until eggs become firm).

Yields 6 servings.

It took mine more like 45 minutes to bake, but all ovens are different! You could also add some tasty sautéd mushrooms and bell peppers to add more veggies if you'd like!

Boo!

Um busy much? Spring break = crazy busy.

First dad and I went to Branson, MO and hung out there for a few days. It was super relaxing and nice to spend some time with him!

Ripley's Believe It or Not. Tallest man.. and me. 

Meet Dad. :)

Then Chase and I spent a few days in Little Rock. It was a rad time. 

I learned that I love golf! My father-in-law had an extra set of clubs that he is letting me use while I learn. We had so much fun playing and enjoying the sun with good company Matt. 

We also saw the best movie ever while in LR. The Blind Side was incredible!

It's been kinda nuts around here since we got back. I started my second internship at Helen Tyson Middle School here in Sprindale on Monday. It's cool. So so very different than elementary, but I am working with a stellar cool person, so it's neat.

Today was so gorgeous, so I came home, started dinner and then mowed the lawn. I wish I could have kept going in the yard, (weed the front, trim the trees, etc) butI started losing daylight. Tomorrow it's suppose to rain, so I'm super stoked that I was able to get the lawn mowed before the rainy weekend. Chase has been playing South Pacific this week and will be playing throughout the weekend... which means I get to miss him a whole-heck-of-a-lot this week.

I'm okay with that though.. because he's fun to miss.  He leaves really sweet notes for me to find in the morning (because I go to sleep before he makes it home after the show) and he comes home to eat dinner with me inbetween work and the musical and then helps me clean up after dinner. I love him lots.  He's the greatest.

On Saturday (after the Easter rehearsal at church) I get to hang with the awesome Jayme Spicer (recently engaged to rad Rob Kain). She is going dress shopping- and I am so excited to go with her! They're such a cool couple and I'm kinda stoked for them!

Fun weekend ahead and hopefully some pictures!

Dinner was delish tonight- Southwestern Quiche! I'll post a picture in the recipe post that is to follow.

Anyhoodle. I hope you all enjoyed the fab weather the last two days! Hopefully the rain will be peaceful, and then the sun will be back on Saturday to make everything green!

Toodles.