Day 14: BLT Pasta Salad

My sister-in-law, Laurie, invited the entire Fraser family over to her house today for a BBQ and to admire her brand new, beautiful backyard, so I knew we would not be hungry for dinner this evening. Therefore, I told Laurie that I would bring a blog worthy side to the BBQ. After I said this, I realized that I did not have a low cal side in my recipe box that I have tried before and liked, so I went through all my cookbooks and thought that BLT Pasta Salad sounded good. Well, it sounded good because I know how much the Frasers enjoy tomatoes not because I was dying to try it. I read Paul the recipe and asked his opinion and he agreed that it sounded family friendly.

Calories: 149(1 cup) WW:3 points

BLT Pasta Salad

8oz uncooked Macaroni
4 cups peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped tomatoes
4 Hickory Smoked Bacon Slices, cooked and crumbled
3 cups shredded lettuce(Buy Fresh Express Shreds to save time)
1/2 cup fat free mayo
1/3 cup low fat sour cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Step 1: Boil noodles and drain. Let dry a little

Step 2: Toss noodles with tomatoes, bacon and lettuce

Step 3: Combine remaining ingredients in separate bowl and mix well.

Step 4: Pour dressing over noodle mixture and stir to coat. Serve immediately.

Kitchen Play by Play: I really don't want to talk about it. It was such a pain in the ass. The recipe gave instructions on how to prep the tomatoes. It included boiling them for 30 seconds, then shocking them in ice water, then peeling, then seeding, than chopping. I was exhausted after just doing the tomatoes. Then I had to cook the bacon to the perfect crispness only to have to wait for it to cool off enough for me to crumble. Because I tripled the recipe, it required a lot of pasta which needed a decent amount of water which took FOREVER to boil. The dressing was easy except because I tripled the recipe doing all that math made my head hurt. I was thrilled when I was done...until I looked at my kitchen and saw all the dishes. I left saying, " this better as hell be worth it."

Sorry no pic. We were at the party and I forgot to ask someone to take a pic for me.

The Verdict-
Nicole- IT WASN'T WORTH IT!!!!!!! I did think that it tasted like a BLT, but that it could definitely taste better and have a little more of a punch. Due to my kitchen nightmare and its lack of "wow" factor, I give it a 2.

Paul-gives it a 3.5. " I'd like a little more B(bacon). You couldn't really taste the bacon unless you got a bite with bacon in it."

Austin- Said "no way" to lunch. He was having way too much fun with squirt guns, water balloons and his new dancing monster from Aunt Michelle.

The crowd- I'd say on average the party goers gave it about a 3. Some comments were: " It doesn't leave me wanting more, " " Jury still out on it," "I really like the dressing."