WIAW: Cajun "Alfredo" Pasta

Happy First Day of Springggggg!  I'm so glad it's finally here :)
Flowers are blooming, birds are singing.
This is definitely my favorite season!

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Can you believe it's Wednesday already?  Where does the time go?

Well, I stuck to my plan from last week to have all new foods to show you today.

Wanna see??

Breakfast, Part I: PB Waffle

I might have gotten by on a technicality with this one.  You know I usually have some sort of carb smeared with peanut butter..but today it was a low fat Nutrigrain Eggo waffle.  Which is different.  So, there.  Ha!  Anyways, this was my workout fuel as I headed out the door for an early morning boot camp class.

Breakfast, Part II: Breakfast Quesadilla

I have no idea why it's been so long since I've made a breakfast quesadilla.  They are like the best breakfast ever!

These low carb taco sized tortillas are stuffed with an egg & egg white, 2 strips of bacon, 1/4 of an avocado, a drizzle of salsa and a sprinkling of cheese.

 Breakfast of champions!

Morning Snack: Fruit Smoothie

I took an extra five minutes this morning and blended some fruit in a mason jar.  It was worth the time.  This jar is filled with 1 frozen banana, 5 frozen strawberries, a handful of blueberries and 1 cup of Trop 50 orange juice.  So good!  Can you tell my blender does not do well with blueberries?  I don't know what the deal is with that..

Before eating lunch today, I went on a walk..spotting spring colors along the way.

I <3 pansies!

Lunch: Tuna Sandwich & Carrots

Easy peasy lunch today of Starkist premade tuna salad (100 calorie pouch) on Target's multigrain seeded bread with tomato & lettuce.  Served with stupid carrots.

Ok, they weren't stupid.  I'm just going through a baby carrot rut.  I should have packed a different vegetable.  Oh well ;)

Lunch dessert happened:

These are definitely my favorite Easter candy.  I really prefer the dark chocolate ones, but these will do in a pinch.  At least they are in mini bags, right?

Afternoon Snack: Apple Rings

Things got a little weird for snack time..  I cut some shoddy looking apple rings and smeared them with dark chocolate peanut butter.  My boss thought I was eating donuts and did a double take.  It was kind of funny.

Dinner: Cajun Alfredo Pasta with Brussels 

This picture does not do this sauce justice.  I threw together some Alfredo like sauce last week with stuff I had on hand and decided to repeat it for WIAW.  I was actually going to use spaghetti squash as the pasta, but my store had none :-(

So, atop my roasted Brussels I had angel hair pasta with Alfredo sauce and Cajun spiced shrimp and turkey sausage.  Want a recipe?  

Cajun "Alfredo" Pasta

serves 4

1 bag of thawed medium shrimp, deveined, peeled, tail off

1 turkey sausage link (I used Butterball brand), cut in quarters

1/2 tsp-1 tsp Cajun spice mix

Angel hair pasta (I used 1/3 of a box of Smart Taste pasta), cooked per box instructions

"Alfredo" sauce (below)

Roasted Brussels sprouts

Season the shrimp and sausage pieces with spice mix and cook in a skillet until shrimp are pinkish and everything starts to get a nice color.

In the skillet with the meat, add the cooked pasta and half of the sauce and stir it up.  Add more sauce to your liking.

Serve over roasted Brussels. 

For the sauce:

2 tbsp I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light spread

1 tbsp flour

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup chicken broth

2 Laughing Cow Swiss Light cheese wedges

2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Salt & pepper to taste

pasta water (for thinning out the sauce)

sprinkle of Cajun spice mix

Melt the "butter" in a sauce pan and add in the flour and garlic.  Stir it up and add the chicken broth.  Whisk it all together and simmer on low-med heat until it looks smooth and creamy.  Throw in the cheese wedges and parmesan and whisk until combined.  Add seasoning to taste.  If the sauce is too thick for your liking, add hot pasta water (from the noodles you boiled) or more broth to thin it out.

Such a quick and easy meal!  And Alfredo with no cream or butter? Awesome!

For dessert I made a strawberry shortcake inspired parfait.

I layered fresh sliced strawberries with low fat (homemade) angel food cake and light whipped cream.  Yum!

Well, that's it for me today.  Hope everyone is having a super spring-y day!