What a wonderful weekend we had!  Not only was the weather wonderful, but having that one extra day off seems to make all the difference.  I don’t feel like I have to get everything done on Saturday, I spread the chores out and felt like I actually relaxed.  Typically I always feel like I have to do so much on the weekends.

I tried a new pancake recipe on Saturday morning.  This time using quick oats, blueberries and buttermilk.  Each pancake is 3 points plus, and 2 are 7 points.  Believe me, two are plenty!

My topping was dictated by my fruit bowl – I had three small peaches that HAD to be eaten.  I peeled them, melted 1 tsp. of butter and sauteed them until they browned – I mixed that with 1/4 cup of sugar free pancake syrup for a 2 pt. topping – so breakfast all together was 9 points and extremely filling. 😀  These made 10 pancakes using a 1/3 cup measure per pancake.

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes with Oats

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup oats
  • 1 cup flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 1.5 cups buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries

Mix all ingredients together and let the batter sit for a minimum of 15 minutes.  Spray a non-stick pan with Pam, and using a 1/3 cup measure, cook about 2 minutes per side.  Serve with peach syrup topping.

I love that the pancakes are not too sweet, but paired with the peach sauce, this was a great way to start a long weekend. 😀

The other day Tony happened to stop and see Anthony Bordaine’s show where chefs showed how they made their signature dishes.  Tony immediately DVRd the episode, because he saw Scott Conant make a fresh tomato basil sauce.  His secret?  He steeps garlic and basil in 2 cups of extra virgin olive oil, and then adds that to the roma tomatoes that have been cooked down for 45 minutes.

I was worried about steeping the garlic and basil over a low flame for 45 minutes, I wasn’t too worried about the garlic, but I thought the basil would burn and ruin the oil.  Nope.  Delicious!

Together we blanched the tomatoes, peeled them, and then squeezed out the seeds.  In a large stock pot with a touch of olive oil, we cooked the tomatoes for about 45 minutes while the flavored oil steeped.

We started out with about 3 pounds of tomatoes, they really released a lot of juice after the cooking.  After the flavored oil has cooked for 45 minutes, remove the garlic and basil.

Um, fyi, if you rough chop the basil and garlic with a tablespoon of butter, its really good on Italian bread as a spread.  Not exactly sure how I know that. 😀

We used a stick blender to blend the tomatos and olive oil together, and then Tony took over.  He cooked fettucine until it was about 90% done, then added the pasta right to a skillet that had a generous ladel full of sauce.  It cooks for just a few more minutes, but the pasta just soaks up this delicious sauce – we were both convinced that it had heavy cream in the sauce because it was so creamy – um, may be all the olive oil!

And finish the plate with fresh chopped basil and really good grated Parmesan cheese.  I LOVE this sauce – it is so complex, slightly tart – heaven on a plate.  I am dreaming about what I am going to make with the leftover sauce!

We actually got a steal on the Parmesan cheese.  Normally it sells in the 12-13 dollar a pound range – we found a giant block for only $4.59 a pound, but it was too much.  I took it to the butcher and he broke it down for us – when he handed it back, he put in the wrong dollar per pound!

I got up early yesterday morning to take Hannah to the airport – she’s spending a week at my Aunt and Uncle’s lake house in Smith Mountain Lake, VA – my Mom, my brother and his family and my cousins are there for the week.  And while I am jealous I am not there, I will be there for a long weekend in August. 😀

So we just had my SIL and my nephew over for dinner.  And I still cooked like I was serving the neighborhood!

Ribs:

Grilled turkey breast and leg:

Minty watermelon salad from Lanas Cooking – love this – the syrup makes this whole dish only 5 points – worth it even though fruit is free on WW 😀

And last, but not least, Smitten Kitchen’s Strawberry Rhubarb pie – I’ve never had rhubarb before and this pie is amazing.  Although I didn’t do the lattice top like she did (which is why I don’t bake much) and I subbed in 1/4 cup tapiaco instead of the 1/4 cup cornstarch she used to thicken the fruit sauce.

So it was a great weekend all around – great date night in with the best pasta I’ve ever had, spending time with Tony and his family yesterday with good food.  Doesn’t get much better, does it?

Did you have a good weekend?  I am off to do some yoga – my lower back is sore for some reason, hopefully that will make it feel better – I have a short week to work off all the goodies I had over the weekend – make it a great Monday!