Chicken and Pesto Pasta

This is one of the quickest meals that I have made.  All in all it took only about 20 minutes to make.  I made this on a busy Thursday night when we wanted to have a quick meal before heading to the driving range for a couple hours.

Feel free to add more ingredients to this dish. Mushrooms, pine nuts, or garlic would be great additions.

Serves 2
You will need:
2 Chicken Breasts
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
Pasta
1/3 cup Pesto
1 Tomato, diced
3 tablespoons Parmesan
Salt and Pepper

Step 1:
Put water on the stove under high heat to boil for the pasta.  Then dice the chicken breasts.  Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet.  Generously salt and pepper the chicken.  Then add the chicken to the skillet.

Step 2:
Add 1/3 of the box of pasta to the water once it boils. As the pasta boils, keep an eye on the chicken. It will take about 4-5 minutes per side to cook, just make sure there is no pink in the middle.

Step 3:
The pasta and the chicken should be ready at about the same time. Drain the pasta and return it to the same pot. Pour the chicken over the pasta.

Step 4:
Using the same skillet you used for the chicken, heat up the pesto and tomatoes for 2-3 minutes, until hot. Then pour over the pasta. Add the Parmesan, stir, and serve.

Chicken Diablo (Chicken with a Honey Curry Sauce)

This is a recipe that my Mom makes.  We had forgotten about it for a while until my friend Woody told me wanted to have the meal my mother made us when she was visiting me in Florence.  It took us a few days before we remembered what that meal was exactly.  Then we remembered how difficult it was to find ginger powder in Florence.  We went to two grocery stores and the market before we stumbled upon an Asian grocery store that had it.  Ever since we rediscovered the recipe I have made it every couple months.

This meal has been a big hit at Sunday Night Dinner.  It is quite easy to make and doesn't require many ingredients.  I use less butter than the original recipe calls for just to make it a little healthier.

Total active time: 30 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Serves 4

You will need:
1 pound Chicken Breasts
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 sleeve of Reduced Fat Ritz Crackers (or plain breadcrumbs)
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 eggs
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
1/3 cup honey

Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Then crush the crackers into a small bowl.  Mix in the dried basil.  In another small bowl whisk the 2 eggs.  Then coat the chicken breasts with the cracker crumb mixture.  Then dunk in the eggs, and then back in the cracker crumbs.

Step 2:
Heat 1 tablespoon butter and the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Then brown the chicken.  Once the chicken is browned on both sides place it on a baking sheet and put into the oven.  The chicken should take about 40 minutes to an hour to cook depending on how thick the chicken breasts are.

Step 3:
While the chicken is baking, make the sauce.  Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan.  Stir in the honey.  Let the butter and honey mixture bubble and reduce for about 5 minutes.  Then add the ginger and curry.  These are pretty strong spices so add them slowly being careful not to add too much.  I recommend starting with 1/4 teaspoon of each and then adding more to taste.

Step 4:
Once the chicken is cooked, serve with the sauce on top.  I always serve this meal with Rice Pilaf.

Nutritional Information:
Calories:  289
Fat: 18g
Complete Nutritional Information

Quick and Easy Baked Chicken

This is a recipe (if you can even call it a recipe it is so simple) that I picked up while working at a restaurant 7 years ago.  It is extremely easy and can be used in many recipes.  At the restaurant we would dice up this chicken and make chicken salad.  Recently I made it because I needed more chicken to add to my chicken soup.  Sometimes I make a bunch of this on a Sunday and dice it up and add it to spinach salads for lunch throughout the week.

This chicken is very moist because it is cooked with wine at a lower temperature.  It is also very healthy since I only use about a tablespoon of olive oil per pound of chicken.

You will need:
Chicken Breasts
White Wine
Olive Olive
Salt and Pepper

Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Rise the chicken in cold water and then trim any fat off the chicken.  Make sure the chicken breasts are similar sizes so they will cook at the same rate.

Step 2:
Place the chicken on a baking sheet.  Drizzle (or brush) a small amount of olive oil over the chicken.  Then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Then pour white wine onto the baking sheet.  Pour enough wine so that the entire bottom of the pan is covered.

Step 3:
Bake for 20-30 minutes.  The cook time will depend on how thick the chicken breasts are.  When I made this on Sunday the chicken breasts I used were of a medium size and thickness and took 20 minutes to bake.  Be sure to bake the chicken until there is no pink in the center.