Pasta Carbonara Florentine

My husband said it best: "How can you go wrong when you combine pasta, eggs and bacon in one dish?"

Truer* words have never been spoken.

*Is "truer" a word?! I thought it was but it doesn't look right!


This recipe hails from one of my fave recipe sources, Cooking Light. I love the fact that it's a lightened-up version of what could be a very decadent dish AND it adds in some healthy greens with the spinach.

But don't let the "light" part fool you, it still tastes perfectly decadent with the salty bacon and parmesan and the creamy sauce. Let's just say I had to physically restrain myself from going and getting seconds so that I could still have enough leftover* for lunch tomorrow.

*You better believe I called dibs on these leftovers! My husband is a leftovers hog but he will NOT be feasting on carbonara tomorrow.**

**Can you tell yet that I'm loving this asterisk footnote thing tonight?? I know, I'm weird.


Pasta Carbonara Florentine
Source: Cooking Light

Yield: 4 servings; Serving size: 1 cup

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 (6-ounce) package bagged prewashed baby spinach
• 6 slices center-cut bacon, chopped
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine
• 8 ounces uncooked spaghetti
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg white
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (omitted)

Preparation

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and spinach; cook 1 minute or until spinach wilts, stirring constantly. Remove spinach from pan; place in a bowl.

Add bacon to pan; cook 3 minutes or until crisp, stirring frequently. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 2 teaspoons drippings in pan; set bacon aside. Add onion to drippings in pan; cook 2 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add wine; cook 1 minute or until liquid is reduced by half. Remove from heat; keep warm.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain well, reserving 1 tablespoon cooking liquid. Immediately add pasta and the reserved cooking liquid to onion mixture in skillet. Add spinach and bacon; stir well to combine. Place skillet over low heat.

Combine remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, cheese, pepper, egg, and egg white, stirring with a whisk. Add to pasta mixture, tossing well to coat. Cook 1 minute. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.

YBBC - Day 3

Ahlo govnahs! (I'm a nerd) Time for another Your Best Body Challenge (YBBC) recap post!

Catching up? Check these out: Intro Post - Day 1 Post - Day 2

Per the usual, here's what was on le schedule:

But here's what actually went down my gullet! :)

BREAKFAST

I wasn't in the mood for a savory eggs & ham breakfast so I subbed in:
Whipped banana oatmeal made with 1/2 banana, 1/3 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup water, 1 tsp chia seeds and 1/3 cup rolled oats (though I wished I had used my fave oat bran instead). Topped with a tablespoon of peanut butter and a sprinkle of coconut (can you tell I'm obsessed with sprinkling coconut on top of things?!?)

I didn't end up finishing this (probably ate about 2/3rds) because my tummy was full.


MORNING SNACK

Skipped because I wasn't hungry (I am basically never hungry between breakfast and lunch....later in the day is a different story)!


LUNCH
Stuck with the plan on this one. Bean & cheese burrito made with 1/2 cup semi-mashed black beans, sprinkle of shredded cheese, salsa, cilantro, & baby spinach all wrapped up in a La Tortilla Factory tortilla.

Plus half a grapefruit that I was supposed to eat with breakfast.


AFTERNOON SNACK
Una manzana (a.k.a. an apple)

y queso! a.k.a. that disgusting-looking blob which is microwaved string cheese. (I've come to the conclusion that string cheese is 5 bajillion times better when it's melted.)

Annnnnd...
...a Nature Valley Granola Thin. Apparently I was in a very snacky mood this afternoon!


DINNER
We had the veggie burgers last night so I made Sunday's dinner instead: Penne (in our case Rigatoni) with Chicken Marengo

Served alongside some roasted brocc (our fave veggie side dish of all time).
The dish was just okay. It was a little weird because it was sweet and very orangey from the orange juice and zest. If we made it again, we both agreed that we could do without the orange elements. At the last minute I added some baby spinach to the dish as a way to add some more greens to the meal, and we really liked that addition!

Penne with Chicken Marengo
Source: adapted from Women's Health Magazine
Serves: 4 Prep: 10min |Cook: 20min |Total: 30min

8 ounces penne
1/2 cup dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 can (15 ounces) crushed tomatoes in puree (we used diced tomatoes instead)
1/2 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 big handfuls of baby spinach

Directions
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain in a colander and transfer to a warmed serving bowl.

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, cover the sun-dried tomatoes with boiling water and soak for 5 minutes. When softened, drain and chop coarsely. Set aside.

3. Toss the chicken with the flour, thyme, and pepper. In a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil over high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Add the mushrooms and 2 tablespoons of the broth. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the mushrooms are barely softened and have begun to release their juices.

4. Add the crushed tomatoes (with puree), orange juice, orange zest, sugar, salt, the sun-dried tomatoes, and the remaining broth. Bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release the browned bits. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 8 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened and the flavors are blended. In the last 2 minutes of cooking toss in the baby spinach and cook until wilted slightly.

5. Pour the mixture over the pasta and toss to coat well.

Nutritional Facts per serving
CALORIES 389.9 CAL
FAT 5.8 G
SATURATED FAT 1 G
CHOLESTEROL 32.9 MG
SODIUM 513.8 MG
CARBOHYDRATES 61.6 G
TOTAL SUGARS 9.5 G
DIETARY FIBER 5.4 G
PROTEIN 25.7 G


DESSERT

I ate a small handful of Junior Mints (the last of the box...sad face).


FITNESS

I did the Best Workout for a Pear-Shaped Body again, only this time I did it "circuit style" by completing all the exercises back to back with no rest between. I did the circuit 3 times.

I finished up my workout with a quick and easy 10 minutes jogging on the treadmill.


That's all she wrote for today, folks! Have a lovely night!

Your Best Body Challenge - Day 1

So today was day numero uno of the Best Body Challenge Week! I'd say it was a good first day, although I did find myself with a few obstacles and making a few minor tweaks to the plan to keep me happy. :)

Here is what the plan called for:

And here is how things actually went down:

BREAKFAST

2 scrambled eggs + 1 egg white + whole wheat toast (I can't eat eggs without toast) + coffee

plus half a grapefruit


MORNING SNACK

I skipped snack #1 because I wasn't hungry between breakfast and lunch.


LUNCH
Turkey wrap made with 4 slices of deli-style turkey, a sprinkle of shredded mozarella cheese, dijon mustard & some spring greens all rolled up in a whole wheat tortilla.

On the side I had a sliced apple and a tablespoon of peanut butter (which I justified was okay since I skipped the morning snack).


AFTERNOON SNACK

Sargento Light String Cheese. After I finished the snack I was still hungry and knew I wouldn't make it til dinner without a little more, so I actually ate a 2nd string cheese. This particular brand is only 50 calories per piece so my snack was still only 100 calories.


DINNER

Spicy Chicken Pasta + a side salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette


I adapted the recipe a bit to increase a lot of the amounts so we would have enough to satisfy my husband's hungry tummy. I also added a few things that I thought would make the flavor better (chili powder in marinara sauce just didn't appeal to me).

Spicy Chicken Pasta
adapted from Women's Health Magazine

serves 3-4

6.5 oz thin spaghetti or angel hair pasta (about half a box)
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks (about 2 breasts)
1 tsp flour
2 Tbsp water
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1.5 cups spaghetti sauce
salt & pepper to taste
1 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped

Cook the pasta according to the package directions; drain.

As pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onion and garlic until the onion starts to get tender.

Add the chicken, red pepper flakes, cayenne, paprika & Italian seasoning to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is almost completely cooked through.

Mix the flour and the water in a small bowl. Pour the spaghetti sauce and flour mixture into the skillet. Add a little water to the pan if you need to thin out the sauce. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Turn off the heat. Pour the cooked pasta into the pan with the sauce and mix well. Add salt & pepper to taste and sprinkle fresh basil on top.


DESSERT

Okay so according to the plan there is no dessert option for tonight, but I have to at least have something sweet at night so I am planning on eating one small square of Lindt Dark Chocolate (unpictured because I haven't eaten it yet).


FITNESS

I did two back-to-back sets of all the strength training exercises in the "best workout for a pear-shaped body".

Then I followed it up with the "Smart Cardio Intervals":
I did my "maximum effort" intervals at 7.0mph on the treadmill and my "recover" intervals walking at 3.6mph. The whole thing took about 30 minutes and I think I burned around 300 calories. I was a schweaty mess when it was all over!


CONCLUSION

I think I did pretty darn good today! Other than the time in the afternoon when I was hungry, I felt satiated most of the day.

I'm already thinking though that this won't last more than a week because I didn't really like being confined to a set plan. I tend to just go with my cravings, so it's hard when I want something but "can't" have it. For example, for breakfast I really wanted my usual peanut butter & banana oatmeal, but the plan called for eggs. I decided to stick to the plan as closely as possible for just a week as an experiment of sorts, but I don't see myself continuing with it after the week is up.

We shall see!

A Meal Made for a 9 Year Old

I made my husband a very happy man last night.

Those of you having dirty thoughts right now, get your minds out of the gutter! :)

It wasn't because of that, it was because I made a meal that would make 9 year olds the world over jump up and down with excitement.

Buffalo Chicken Fingers and....

Mac 'n Cheese

In our house we pretty much swoon over anything buffalo-flavored and anything draped in cheese, so these foods are an obvious hit for us. But I've tried making healthier recipes for both of these items in the past and was totally unimpressed. I either ended up with soggy chicken fingers or not-so-cheesey mac. Not cool.

These recipes, however, totally accomplished the healthy-yet-delicious feat that I was searching for. The chicken tenders were perfectly crispy and tender and the mac was awesomely cheesy and creamy.

The Mac 'n Cheese actually has canned pumpkin in it for added nutrition, but I waited to tell Hubs that until after he tried it and began singing its praises. I'm sneaky like that!

The overall verdict on this meal was that "I can feel free to make this meal every week, or actually every day if you want"....and that is a direct quote from the Hubs.

Lightened-Up Buffalo Chicken Fingers
source: adapted slightly from the Active Foodie

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
• 2 tablespoons Frank's Red Hot
• 1 cup low fat buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup panko crumbs or whole wheat bread crumbs
  
• 1/2 cup crushed whole wheat Saltine crackers - about 10 crackers
  
• 8 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• Cooking spray (olive or canola oil)
• 1/4 cup Frank's Red Hot

Preparation

1. Whisk together chili-garlic sauce, Frank's, buttermilk, vinegar and salt. Add chicken and marinate for at least 2 hours or as long as overnight (I only marinated for 2 hours and it still turned out great).
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray wire rack with cooking spray.
3. Combine panko, cracker crumbs, flour, paprika, cayenne and salt in a large bowl.
4. Dredge chicken in flour mixture, shake off excess and place on wire rack. Repeat with all chicken pieces.
5. Spray chicken breasts with cooking spray, making sure to hit all parts of the chicken.
6. Cook for 10 minutes. Take out, turn chicken pieces over, spray again, and return to oven for another 5-10 minutes, or until all pieces are golden brown and crispy.
7. When chicken strips are done, brush them with Frank's Red Hot (or just pour it over like I did). Serve immediately after topping them with sauce (otherwise they will get a little soggy).

Note: After I started cooking I realized I didn't have enough panko or whole wheat breadcrumbs, so I crushed up the Saltines to substitute. We ended up really liking the addition of the cracker crumbs, so I'll probably make them that way from now on. But if you don't want to use the cracker crumbs, feel free to just double the amount of breadcrumbs.


Lightened-Up Mac 'n Cheese
Source: adapted from Meals & Moves

Ingredients:

-3 cups whole wheat elbow macaroni
-2 cups broccoli florets (cut into small pieces)
-1.5 cups part-skim ricotta
1/2 cup 1% milk
-1/2 cup canned pumpkin
-a couple dashes of hot sauce
-3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar
-1/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
-salt & pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Boil noodles according to package directions and toss in the broccoli for the last 3 minutes of cooking time. Drain well.

While pasta is cooking, combine ricotta, milk, pumpkin, hot sauce, salt & pepper in a large bowl. Stir well so that the mixture is completely incorporated and smooth.

Add drained pasta and cheese to the sauce and stir to incorporate. Pour the whole mixture into a square 9x9 inch pan that has been coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle breadcrumbs evenly over the top.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking another 10-15 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the sauce is bubbly.

Enjoy!

Note: Janetha's original recipe called for cottage cheese (blended until smooth) instead of ricotta, but I didn't have it so I just thinned out ricotta with milk instead. This method saves you from having to clean an extra dish (the blender) and it turned out great. However, I'm still curious to try the cottage cheese blender method sometime soon! Click here to check out her method!

Also, I think the addition of the broccoli was a great way to add some extra veggies in the mix, but feel free to omit that if you'd like. If you don't use the broccoli, you will want to increase the pasta to 4 cups total.

Last but not least, don't worry - you CANNOT taste the pumpkin in this at all. I promise! Even the Hubs says so. :)

Farmer's Market Pasta

Hubs and I are no longer Farmer's Market virgins!

Unfortunately there are no Farmer's Markets in our area but we spent a night in Austin this past weekend to celebrate our anniversary and there ARE Farmer's Markets in Austin. So we decided to check it out!

I didn't take any photos at the market, which I'm seriously regretting now, but we LOVED it! We got tons of fresh vegetables, free range eggs, grass-fed beef, and this...

In case you can't read the label, that would be fresh Arugula-Black Pepper Pappardelle pasta!!!!

I was really excited about this purchase, if you can't tell from all the exclamation marks. :)

I just wasn't sure what to do with it that would do it justice. I wanted the pasta's flavor to shine and not be masked by a ton of sauce.

Not marinara...too flavorful. Not cream sauce...too heavy. Hmmm....

Then browned butter sauce popped into my mind. Light (well as light as butter can be...hehe), not too heavy, mild....PERFECT!

So I googled "brown butter pasta" and found this recipe for Penne with Vegetables and Browned Butted Sauce from a newspaper article and it looked exactly like what I was wanting.

All we did to tweak it was add some chunks of chicken to the mix to make it a bit more "substantial" (aka to get my husband to eat it).

Oh and added some grated parmesan to the top because cheese makes everything better.

Good news: The hubs gave it two huge thumbs up! I was a little concerned about how he would like it and I think he actually was too, but he LOVED it!

Trying this fresh pasta also made us realize how much we really need to bust out our Kitchenaid pasta maker attachment soon and make our own pasta. Fresh pasta is SO much better than dried!! So keep an eye out for future pasta making adventures.

Impressive Balls

Sorry...I couldn't help myself with the title. :)

Since this is my third post of the day and we're in the middle of watching Avatar, I'll keep this short and sweet.

What's for Dinner? 6/15/2010

-Spaghetti with Turkey Meatballs
-Steamed Brocc

When I was gone on my girl's trip Alex informed me that he tried his hand at making turkey meatballs for dinner one night and that they turned out really well. He was anxious to make them for me so that he could show me just how good they are.

And he was absolutely right! These turkey meatballs really ARE delicious and also surprisingly easy to make. He had the meat mixed and in the oven in no time flat and then it's just a waiting game until they're cooked.



Alex's Italian Turkey Meatballs
Source: Husband

-1 pound 93% lean Ground Turkey
-1 egg
The rest of these measurements are approximate because he didn't really measure when he was making this. Just use what seems right to you.
-1/2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
-1 Tbsp garlic salt
-1 Tbsp lemon pepper
-1 tsp Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and then spray the foil with cooking spray {this well help immensely with cleanup}.

Mix all ingredients together by hand in a bowl just until ingredients are incorporated. Do not overwork the meat. Form into balls that are a little smaller than the size of a golf ball {about 1-1.5 inch diameter} and place on the baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes and then turn the broiler on and leave them in the oven for another 2 minutes {this gives them a crispy top}.

Okay so I guess this wasn't really all that short and sweet after all. :)

Oh and be sure to go enter my 200th post GIVEAWAY!

Wanted: More Flavor

What's for Dinner? 5/26/2010

-Fettucine with Creamy Red Pepper-Feta Sauce
-Steamed Broccoli

The other day I was trying to organize my cookbooks a little bit and I stumbled across Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave. I bought this cookbook on an impulse a couple years ago and haven't really used it much since. If you don't know much about Ellie Krieger, she is a registered dietitian who first caught my eye when she had a show on the Food Network.

I flipped through the cookbook and landed on this recipe for Fettucine with Creamy Red Pepper-Feta Sauce and decided to give it a shot.


Unfortunately, it was a little bland but it had potential. When I was searching for an online version of the recipe to post to the blog, I started reading some of the reviews on FoodNetwork.com and apparently I'm not the only one who thought it was a bit bland.

I think next time I would add some fresh basil and red pepper flakes to the sauce to give it a little more zip! Although we didn't love it, I do think it's worthy of another try with a few minor adjustments.

Want the recipe?

Here it is. Let me know if you have any luck tweaking it!

Simple Pasta Deliciousness

PHEW!! We're back home after a whirlwind weekend! We've been out of town since Thursday to celebrate various family milestones with my side of the family {one of which included my 25th birthday}. I'm exhausted from such a fun-filled weekend.

Luckily, I had planned a super simple dinner for tonight, which I originally found on a great blog called Eat.Drink.Run. I don't think I could have handled something complicated tonight!

I was a little worried that it was going to be too simple {a.k.a. bland} for us but Alex had THREE helpings of it, so I'm pretty sure he liked it. :)



Here's how Shelby described the process for Sundried Tomato Shrimp Pasta on her blog:

A super simple – and healthy – pasta with shrimp. So easy. Boil whole wheat noodles. Melt 1 TBSP butter and 1 TBSP olive oil in a pan. Cook 1 TSP minced garlic and a few sundried tomatoes for a couple of minutes. Add shrimp and cover until cooked through. Drain pasta and toss into shrimp mixture along with dried basil and oregano. Less than 20 minutes total!

{I also added some fresh basil & thyme from our Topsy Turvy}

Better Than in a Restaurant

What's for Dinner? 5/9/2010

-Chicken Piccata
-Whole Wheat Spaghetti Noodles
-Salad

When I was trying to decide what to make for dinner tonight, Chicken Piccata popped into my brain as something that I hadn't made in a very long time. I immediately went to my old faithful recipe website, Cooking Light, and plugged it in the search box. Sure enough, a great looking recipe came up and I just happened to have everything I needed on hand to make it.

It was super delicious! Alex even went so far as to say that this dinner may have been better than the pricey dinner we had last night in San Antonio. Guess that goes to show us not to spend good money on going out to dinner when we can make healthier and better things at home!

I made a couple of minor substitutions to make it even healthier than the original. My edits are in green.


Chicken Piccata with Capers
Source: Cooking Light

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 breast half, 1 cup spaghetti, 2 tablespoons sauce, and 1 1/2 teaspoons parsley)


4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (We just used 2 GINORMOUS chicken breasts)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (I subbed whole wheat flour)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons capers
2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cups hot cooked spaghetti (about 8 ounces uncooked) (Subbed whole wheat spaghetti)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Place each breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Place flour in a shallow dish, and dredge chicken in flour.

Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Add white wine, 1/4 cup lemon juice, capers, and garlic to pan; scrape pan to loosen browned bits. Cook for 2 minutes or until slightly thick. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve chicken over pasta. Top with sauce; sprinkle with parsley.


CALORIES 519 (21% from fat); FAT 12g (sat 3.7g,mono 4.9g,poly 1.8g); IRON 4mg; CHOLESTEROL 116mg; CALCIUM 40mg; CARBOHYDRATE 51g; SODIUM 396mg; PROTEIN 48.1g; FIBER 2.3g

Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2006

A Summery Meal on the Last Day of Winter {What's for Dinner? 3/19/2010}

The weather has been BEAUTIFUL here lately! Warm, bright blue skies, lots of sun. It has definitely been feeling spring-ish around here but the first day of spring isn't until tomorrow. And isn't it just perfectly ironic that tomorrow is the day that it's supposed to get cold and rainy again?!?

In honor of the great weather, we cranked up the grill for tonight's dinner...Grilled Barbecue Shrimp, Grilled Corn on the Cob and Spinach & Pesto Orzo.


We just brushed the shrimp with Stubb's BBQ Sauce and then grilled them on skewers. The corn was simply grilled in its husks. The orzo mix just consisted of baby spinach, feta cheese and pesto. All of it was super easy!

Sunlight & Spaghetti {What's for Dinner? 3/14/2010}

Look! Natural light photos! Taken at 6:45pm! It's officially "spring forward" time, which sucks in the aspect of losing sleep but is wonderfulllll in the aspect that it stays light later. LOVE.


This dinner was basically the same as this one from last week, except we used fettucini instead of spaghetti and green beans instead of broccoli.

This time I got a picture of our favorite spaghetti sauce flavor:


YUM! Love this stuff.

Better Than Martha's Chicken {What's for Dinner? 3/8/2010}

Parmesan & Parsley Crusted Chicken Breasts
w/ Goat Cheese & Basil Orzo

We didn't plan on changing this recipe at all, but we accidentally bought skinless chicken breasts instead of skin-on. At first I was annoyed but then we realized we could adapt it and hopefully make it work out okay. And guess what? I actually think our version looks and sounds BETTER than the Martha Stewart version. Take THAT, Martha!


Parmesan & Parsley Crusted Chicken Breasts
Adapted from this recipe

Prep: 10 minutes Total: 55 minutes
Serves 4.

Ingredients


* 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
* 1/4 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* Grated zest of 1 lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
* Coarse salt and ground pepper
* 4 bone-in, skinless chicken breast halves (about 3 pounds)


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a small bowl, mix parsley, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, and zest. Season the chicken breasts with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Beat one or two eggs and place in a shallow dish.
2. Dip each chicken breast in the beaten egg and then into the parsley/breadcrumb mixture. Place in a 9-by-13-inch roasting pan sprayed with Pam.
3. Bake until topping is golden brown, chicken is cooked through, and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the meat registers 165 degrees, about 30-45 minutes.


Goat Cheese & Basil Orzo
Source: Me

Ingredients:

• 1 cup orzo
• 1 tsp salt
  
• A handful of baby spinach, chopped or torn into pieces
  
• 1 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
  
• 2 Tbsp goat cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

Cook orzo according to package directions. Once cooked, drain it and then immediately return it to the hot pan. Toss in the spinach stir into the pasta so it wilts a bit. Then put in the goat cheese, basil, cherry tomatoes, olive oil and salt & pepper. Toss and then eat!


This is what we deal with as we eat dinner at night {and yes, we do frequently eat off of the coffee table...don't judge. At least there are placemats!}. She sets her face on the table and then sticks her tongue out like a lizard hoping to find some food.

What's for Dinner? 2/20/2010

Saturday evening we found ourselves with not much in the way of food and no ideas on what to make for dinner at around 5pm. Then I realized that we had leftover cooked chicken breasts and fresh mushrooms and the first thing that popped into my mind was Chicken Tetrazzini.


The funny thing is I don't think I'd ever made Chicken Tetrazini before but I had eaten it so I knew it involved chicken, mushrooms & pasta. I googled for a couple of recipes but nothing really fit exactly what I was looking for. Most made enough to feed an army and it was just going to be the two of us. But I got the general idea from a couple of different recipes and then just winged it from there. I think it turned out pretty well for a last minute thing! Alex said he definitely wants me to make it again so that's always a good sign.

WARNING: This recipe contains what some foodies refer to as "cream of crap soup" {a.k.a. cream of mushroom/chicken/etc. soup}. If you are opposed to using it then don't bother checking out this recipe. :)

As I went along I wrote down what I was doing so I would remember for the future:


Chicken Tetrazini
Source: Me

Ingredients:
-8 oz (half a package) of egg noodles {or whatever noodle you have}
-1 tsp. olive oil
-1/2 a medium onion, chopped
-1 c. button mushrooms, coarsely chopped
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 c. green beans or peas, frozen
-2 cooked chicken breasts, chopped
-1 can cream of mushroom soup {healthy request}
-1/4 c. chicken broth
-1 tsp. garlic salt
-1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
-1/2 c. parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cook pasta a minute or two shy of the time listed on the package to al dente. Drain.

While pasta cooks, heat oil on in a nonstick pan on medium heat. Saute onion & mushrooms for about 5 minutes in oil until softened. Add garlic and green beans/peas and cook for another minute.

Mix cooked pasta, sauteed veggies, chicken, cream of mushroom soup, chicken broth and garlic salt in a bowl until well combined and coated in the sauce. Pour mixture into a square baking pan sprayed with Pam.

Sprinkle the cheeses on top of the casserole and then bake in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Enjoy!

What's for Dinner? 2/4/2010

Mediterranean Penne with Chicken
with a side salad.

REALLY great pasta! It reminded me a little bit of a Putanesca with the salty flavor of the olives and the bite from the sundried tomatoes. We're definitely going to be making variations of this same dish very often because it's also SUPER easy to make.


To make Mediterranean Penne with Chicken just saute 1/4 of an onion and a couple cloves of garlic in a teaspoon olive oil for about 2 minutes on medium heat. Then add in 1-2 Tbsp each of chopped sundried tomatoes, roasted red pepper & kalamata olives. Cook for another minute. Then add in 1 cup of chopped, cooked chicken {we used rotisserie chicken}, 1/4 cup white wine, 1/4 cup chicken stock and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Let all this cook down a bit for about 4-5 minutes and then toss with cooked penne pasta. Top with grated parmesan cheese.

What's for Dinner? 1/26/2010

1/26/2010 - Tuesday
Shrimp Fra Diavolo with side salad & garlic bread

This was a Cooking Light recipe that we had bookmarked and Alex decided he wanted to make it this week. The sauce was really yummy and you can't go wrong with pasta and sauce put together! Our only gripe was that it was little too "shrimpy" for us and I just wasn't really feelin' it. However that probably had more to do with either the shrimp that we used or maybe we didn't cook the shrimp long enough. Or maybe I just don't like shrimp and red sauce together. I found it kind of....odd. I'm not thinking this will make our "must cook again" list.

That being said, I still feel bad not recommending this recipe so if you're interested in giving it a try the recipe is below. And then comment and let me know what you thought!


Shrimp Fra Diavolo


Be sure to use inexpensive medium-size shrimp in this garlicky, spicy classic.

8 ounces uncooked linguine
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic, divided
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
3/4 cup diced onion
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 3/4 cups canned crushed tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain; keep warm.

2. While pasta cooks, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic and shrimp; sauté or 3 minutes or until shrimp are done. Remove from pan; keep warm.

3. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil and onion to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon garlic, pepper, basil, and oregano; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in tomato paste and lemon juice; cook 1 minute or until slightly darkened. Stir in crushed tomatoes, salt, and diced tomatoes; cook 5 minutes or until thickened. Return shrimp to pan; cook for 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve over pasta.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup pasta and about 1 1/4 cups sauce)

CALORIES 477 ; FAT 10.7g (sat 1.4g,mono 5.3g,poly 1.7g); CHOLESTEROL 172mg; CALCIUM 121mg; CARBOHYDRATE 59.4g; SODIUM 552mg; PROTEIN 33g; FIBER 5.4g; IRON 5.4mg

Cooking Light, JANUARY 2010