Recipe of the Week - Fettuccine with Salmon and Asparagus

I think this week's Weight Watcher/Shaw's sale recipe I picked out looks divine!  I will probably actually try it.  I'm actually trying to do a cabinet/fridge purge - and I actually have some asparagus and a pack of Gorton's Salmon in the freezer.  I could probably do this without going to the store.  All the wonderful wisdom in RED is stuff that I added. 

Fettuccine with Salmon and Asparagus - I took this recipe off the Weight Watchers website.  A direct link to it is HERE.

POINTS® Value: 5

Servings: 4 (or 2 big ones - but double the points to 10)
Preparation Time: 8 min
Cooking Time: 20 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

For variety, substitute broccoli for the asparagus.





Ingredients

8 oz asparagus ($1.88/lb, or .94 cents for 8 oz.)
2 tsp olive oil
3 medium garlic clove(s), finely chopped (bulbs of garlic are actually pretty cheap - under a $1)
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (I have this in my spice cabinet - so I guess most normal people do to)
1/4 cup(s) hot water
1/4 tsp table salt
4 oz uncooked fettuccine (Prince Pasta - .88 package.  Using half a package, so .44 cents)
6 oz salmon fillet(s), with or without skin, skinless (Gorton's Salmon is $3.99, but it's 50% off - so $1.99 for 6.3 oz.  Get extra savings by printing out this $1/2 MFC HERE).  If you want fresh salmon, the Wild Sockeye Fillets are $6.99/lbs this week.
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (I actually ran out but can't find those darn plastic lemons at my Shaw's!  I guess I have to buy a bottle - I dig the plastic lemon & limes though when I purchase their respective juices.)

Assuming you have most of the basic staples, you are looking at spending less than $5 to make this. 

Instructions

Snap off woody ends of asparagus; cut each stalk crosswise diagonally into 1-inch pieces.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes; sauté 1 minute. Add asparagus and sauté 2 minutes. Stir in hot water and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cover skillet and cook asparagus 2 minutes or until almost tender. Uncover and cook 1 minute longer. Remove from heat and set aside.

Cook fettuccine according to package instructions. (I will do this in my FASTA PASTA - the most underrated "As-Seen-On-TV" product out there)  Meanwhile, place salmon in a microwave-safe bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Microwave 2 to 3 minutes or until fish is just cooked through. (Ahhh....microwaving seafood sounds extremely nasty in my opinion.  I guess it's because I'm a snob.  I'm just going to toaster oven my Gorton fillets and then cut them up in bite sized chunks.)  Separate fillet into bite-size chunks, and mix gently with cooking juices in bowl.

Drain pasta and mix with asparagus in skillet; add salmon with juices, gently toss and serve.