Fettuccini with Tomato-Cream Sauce

Pasta anyone??

Anyone that knows me knows I have a love/hate relationship with pasta.  I LOVE it, but my booty sure hates me for it.  I rarely ever make pasta dishes anymore since I've tried to cut back on my carb intake, but when I saw this recipe in my August issue of Cooking Light, I just had to try it!

Tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic and cream cheese....umm yes please!  The pasta is lightly coated, yet super flavorful and very filling.  I loved everything about this and Chris sure did too!  Oh and I should probably mention that your kitchen will smell amazing afterwards.

Horrible I know.

This also makes tons of leftovers which is perfect for lunch the next day.  Budgeting for food is not my strongest life skill, let me just put it that way.  I always end up running to the store when I need something and rarely ever plan ahead.  Last week I started planning all my meals out two weeks in advance and not only did it save me over half of what I normally spend, but I was able to use up all my ingredients rather than waste any food!

Win win!

This is a super budget-friendly dish and I loved having tons of extra basil leftover to use throughout the week.  Now that I've started house shopping, I'm trying to save every penny I have!  I've decided I'm going to have one built and lemme just tell you, Pinterest has become my best friend!

But more on that later.

Enjoy some carbs!

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Servings: 4

Serving Size: 1 1/4 cups

Calories: 383

Fat: 8 g

Carbs: 52.7 g

Fiber: 3.6 g

Protein: 12.9 g

Old Points: 7.6 pts

Points+: 9 pts

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Here are your ingredients:

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light

8 oz. uncooked fettuccine

4 quarts boiling water

1/2 tsp. salt, divided

1 Tbsp olive oil

3 Tbsp coarsely chopped garlic

1 (28 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and crushed

3 oz. fat-free cream cheese

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

1/4 cup small fresh basil leaves

1/2 oz. shredded Parmesan cheese

 

Cook pasta in 4 quarts of boiling water with 1/4 teaspoon salt for 8 minutes or until noodles are almost al dente.  Drain pasta, reserving 1 1/3 cups of pasta cooking water.  

 

Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat.  Add oil then garlic and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and tomatoes, cook for 3 minutes.  Add in reserved 1 1/3 cups pasta water and bring to a boil.  Stir in cream cheese and mix until smooth.  Add in pasta and red pepper and cook an additional 3 minutes or until pasta is al dente, tossing to coat.

 

Divide pasta among 4 bowls, top with 1 tablespoon of basil and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!

 

Click here for a printable version of this recipe 

Hope you enjoy this as much as I did!