WW Meat Sauce & Whole Wheat Pasta

I love pasta, can you tell?  This post, and probably my next post (Shrimp Blush Sauce.. YUM), will revolved around pasta.  Am I italian? at all? NOPE!  German, Irish, Swedish, Native American (yup), Dutch and some others thrown in there as well.. I am a mut in every way, and proud of every heritage, but no Italian!  Doesn't mean I can't enjoy the food though.  When I went to Italy, way back in 2005, with some of my best friends by the way, and a choir(yep choir geek), I had some of the BEST food of my life. Venice had my favorite pizza, as well as an incredible bolognese sauce.  Sorrento - the cutest little town in the southern part of Italy with lots of gorgeous cliffs - introduced me to Gnocchi - my now favorite Italian dish.  Mmmmm go back now?  Let's go win the lottery & take a trip to Sorrento and Capri, I'd be content.

ANYWAY - to the post.  Kyle and I were in the mood for some pasta, as per usual, and I found this great recipe for a really delicious meat sauce.  I tried something new too .. the sauce has carrots in it.  I have no clue what the point of the carrots is, but I like to think of it adding a sweet factor, as well as another way to add some vegetables to the sauce.  It was really delicious & I liked it a lot!  We will definitely be making this dish again.

What you need:
1 tbsp Olive Oil
3 Garlic Cloves finely chopped
1 medium uncooked carrot, finely chopped
1 tsp onion powder
1 lb 93% lean ground beef
28 oz can Crushed Tomatoes in Italian Seasonings (keep tomato puree)
1 tsp table salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp basil
2 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 package Barilla whole wheat Angel Hair Pasta

How to:
Cook pasta according to package directions.

In a large skillet, heat oil on medium heat.  Add garlic, carrot & onion powder.  Sautee for approx 1 minute (do not let it brown).  Add the ground beef and cook until brown.

Stir in the whole can of crushed tomatoes & let simmer for approx 2 minutes.  Add salt, pepper, basil, parsley, red pepper flakes.  Turn heat to medium low & cover.  Let sauce simmer for 5-10 minutes so that all flavors can combine.

Serve over pasta.

YUMMMMM!

WW Friends: A serving is 2/3 cup of sauce of 1/2 cup of pasta which yields 6 Points plus points (yes, for the pasta AND sauce!).  Enjoy!

*I sprinkled some Pecorino-Romano cheese over mine, probably only a small tsp - so as not to drastically affect points =).

I do want to take just a second to say, thank you to WW for providing SO MANY recipes to their customers.  Anything I could want to make, I find on WW, and find healthier alternatives.  So many of these recipes are pure to the WW recipe, aside from a few seasonings here and there.  I know in the commercials it seems cheesy (mm cheese) and says that you learn how to eat, and it really is true!  I've found that on days if I splurge & have a bunch of pizza, I feel so sick because I have changed my habits so drastically, and make better choices now.  However, I do NOT feel that I am being denied anything that I love.  I highly recommend weight watchers to anyone looking for a lifestyle change!!

enjoy! - Jack