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.

Pizza with Grilled Vegetables

I have been super busy, which means I haven't had enough time to cook!  Recently I was at Whole Foods figuring out what to have for dinner and I decided that pizza would be a quick and easy meal.  Whole Foods sells grilled veggies, which are the perfect topping for a pizza.  I chose grilled peppers, onions and zucchini.  This pizza only took 30 minutes total to make from start to finish, and was delicious!

You will need:
Grilled Veggies (I used green pepper, red onion, and zucchini)
Sliced Mushrooms
Tomato Sauce
Ricotta Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese
Pizza Dough (I purchased mine from Whole Foods)

Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Then grease a baking sheet with a little butter, and then coat with flour.  The little bit of butter gives the pizza a great crispy crust.

Step 2:
Stretch the pizza out onto the pan.  Then top with sauce, cheese and the grilled vegetables.

Step 3:
Bake for 20-30 minutes until browned.  Enjoy!

Butternut Squash over Ravioli

If you don't have the time to make butternut squash ravioli, this is a quicker option that tastes just about the same.  I love the sweet and salty flavor combination.

You will need:
1 Butternut Squash
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
2 tablespoons Butter
3 tablespoons Brown Sugar
Store bought Ravioli or Tortelinni
Parmesan Cheese

Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Then cut in half the long way.  Scoop out the seeds.  Then dice the squash into 1 inch cubes, cutting off the peel as you go.  Then place in a glass pan, and toss with the olive oil.  Then bake until soft, it will take about 45 minutes.

Step 2:
After the squash has been in the oven for 35 minutes, cook the ravioli or tortelinni according to the directions.

Step 3:
Once the squash is fully cooked remove it from the oven.  Then in a skillet melt the butter and add the sugar.  Melt together and then add the squash.  Cook for 2 minutes stirring frequently.

Step 4:
Serve the ravioli with a scoop for the buttery brown sugar squash on top.  Then top with a little Parmesan.

Easy Chicken Chili

I have really gotten serious about making healthy meals.  The thing is, that I didn't tell my fiance that we were eating extra healthy meals.  And he didn't notice the difference.  And we have both lost a few pounds.  Recently Charles requested that I make chili.  I don't really have time to make traditional chili - too much chopping and too long of a cook time.  So I fudged things a little and came up with a way to make a delicious chili in under an hour!  Chili is such a healthy meal - it is packed with veggies, plus beans pack a lot of protein.  Feel free to add in your favorite veggies!

Serves 4
You will need:
1 large carton of Chicken Broth
1 pound chicken
1 large jar of Salsa
1 can of Black Beans
1 can of Diced Tomatoes
1 can of Kidney Beans
1 can of Corn
1 Pepper
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
Cheddar Cheese
Fat Free Sour Cream

Step 1:
Cook and shred the chicken.  You can boil the chicken, which only takes about 8 minutes, or you can bake it.

Step 2:
Chop the pepper and then saute it in olive oil until soft.  Then pour the tomatoes, beans, corn and chicken broth into a large pot.  Heat over medium heat until boiling slowly.  Then add in the salsa and the chicken.  Let it cook for another 5 minutes.

Step 3:
I like to serve chili with brown rice on the bottom and cheese and sour cream on top.  Some people think that serving chili over rice is weird - serve it however you want.  You could even omit the broth to make a thick chili and then serve it over chips for nachos.

Caroline's Chicken

I call this Caroline's Chicken because the recipe came from Caroline.  I realize that chances are that Caroline got the recipe from her mom Malley, or someone else, but I still like to call it Caroline's Chicken even if it isn't completely accurate.

Caroline made this for one of the first Sunday Night Dinners I attended.  She gave me the recipe and I have made it several times.  It is one of those easy recipes that requires few ingredients that I usually have on hand.

You will need:
Chicken Breasts
2/3 cup White Wine
1 cup Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 cup Fat Free Sour Cream
8 ounces Sliced Mushrooms
1 teaspoon Olive Oil

Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Mix the wine, soup, and sour cream together.

Step 2:
Heat a skillet over medium high heat.  Add the olive oil and quickly brown the chicken.  Then add to a baking pan.  Once all of the chicken has been browned, pour the mushrooms over the top of the chicken, then pour the wine, soup, and sour cream mix over.

Step 3:
Bake for 25-45 minutes, depending on how thick the chicken is.  Bake until fully cooked.  I always serve with rice pilaf.

Pasta with a Pesto Parmesan Sauce and Chicken

When you cook frequently, you end up with lots of leftover ingredients.  This meal was a combination of many items leftover from other recipes.  I made far too much chicken for the chicken salad so I decided to make a pasta and add it in.  This was a very quick and easy weeknight meal.  If you do not have cooked chicken breasts on hand, you could add vegetables instead.  Artichokes and mushrooms would be very good in this sauce.

Serves 4
Total time: 15 minutes

You will need:
2 large chicken breasts, diced See Quick and Easy Baked Chicken
2 1/2 cups pasta
4 tablespoons pesto
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup Parmesan
4 tablespoons Ricotta

Step 1:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the pasta and cook according to the directions.

Step 2:
While the pasta is cooking, heat the pesto in a saucepan over medium heat.  Once the pesto is hot, add the flour of stir together.  Mix in the milk and bring to a slow boil.  Let it bubble for a minute stirring constantly.  Then add in the Parmesan and Ricotta.

Step 3:
Once the Parmesan and Ricotta are incorporated into the sauce add the chicken.

Step 4:
Drain the pasta and then add it to the sauce.  Mix together and serve.

Veggie Pizza

Pizza is a really quick meal to make for dinner.  It can also be a lot of fun.  I always search my fridge for any possible toppings and then make a few different types of pizza.  You can find good fresh dough at Trader Joes and Whole Foods.  Last night I made two different types of pizza, one with a red sauce and one with pesto.  I always have some low fat pesto in my fridge.

Step 1:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.  Then dust with flour.  Stretch the pizza dough out on the baking sheet.

Step 2:
Top the pizza with your favorite toppings.  The toppings I used are listed below.

Pizza with Marinara Sauce

You will need:
Fresh Pizza Dough
Marinara Sauce (I used the leftover from Monday)
Mozzarella (I used Low Fat)
Spinach
Fresh Sliced Tomatoes

Pesto Pizza

You will need:
Fresh Pizza Dough
Reduced Fat Pesto
Mozzarella
Fresh Sliced Tomatoes
Ricotta Cheese
Artichokes
Caramelized Onions





Step 3:
Bake the pizza for 15 minutes.  Then turn the boiler on for a minute or two until the crust and cheese browns.