Baked chicken and pasta with sauteed spinach

For this recipe, you will need:

1 package of thin sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts,

1 egg,

Progresso Italian style bread crumbs,

1 package of fresh baby spinach,

barilla plus thin spaghetti,

olive oil,

garlic powder.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.  Beat the egg in a bowl, and place about 1 cup of breadcrumbs in another bowl.  Dip the chicken breasts in the egg, and then dip the chicken in the breadcrumbs, covering both sides equally.  Place the chicken on a non-stick baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees, flipping the breasts over with a spatchula half way through cooking time. 

In a medium sauce-pan, place baby spinach in the pan with 1/8 cup of olive oil, and a sprinkle of garlic powder.  Cook on a low heat for about 5 minutes, just until the spinach absorbs the garlic and olive oil.

In another medium sauce-pan, bring water to a boil and cook the pasta for about 10 minutes.

Combine the pasta with the spinach, garlic and oil, and serve on a platter with the baked chicken.

Baked chicken parm with cavatelli and sauteed spinach

For this recipe you will need:

1 package of boneless skinless chicken tenders,

1 package of Cavatelli,

1 package of baby spinach,

Tomato sauce,

low fat mozzarella cheese,

olive oil,

garlic.

Prepare and cook the chicken the same way I explained in the previous post.  Cooking time varies a little with the tenders, since they are smaller.  I still like to bake the chicken for about 30 minutes but at 375 degrees instead of 400 degrees.

Prepare the spinach the same way I explained in the previous post.  When the chicken is just about done, layer the tenders with sauce and mozzarella cheese, and bake for an extra 5 minutes. 

Bring water to a boil in a medium sauce-pan and cook the cavatelli for about 7 minutes, drain and add to the spinach mixture.  Add a little more sauce as you wish, then serve with the baked chicken parm. 

Stromboli *Inspired by Giada De Laurentiis*

I was watching the food network and I saw Giada De Laurentiis make something that caught my eye.  She made a "Prosciutto Mozzarella Pinwheel".  When I made it, I decided to twist it up a bit, since I'm not crazy about prosciutto.  I replaced it with pepperoni, but you can use whatever Italian meat you like to make it delicious! 

For this recipe you will need:

1 pound pizza dough,

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese,

pepperoni,

baby spinach,

olive oil.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pizza dough into a circle, approximately 12" round and 1/4" thick.  Sprinkle half of the mozzarella over the dough.  Arrange the pepperoni over the cheese in a thin layer.  Sprinkle with the spinach, and the remaining cheese.  Roll the dough carefully into a cylinder shape, tucking in the ends.  Brush the roll with a little bit of olive oil.  Place the dough on a non stick baking sheet, lightly sprayed with pam.  Bake for about 25 minutes or until the dough is a golden brown color.  Cool the roll for about 5 minutes and then slice it with a serrated knife into 1 inch pieces.

Stuffed chicken breast with mozzarella over sauteed spinach and rice medley

For this recipe, you will need:

1 package of boneless skinless chicken breasts,

low fat shredded mozzarella cheese,

olive oil,

rosemary,

rice medley,

baby spinach,

garlic,

rosemary.

Make a slit/pocket in each chicken breast, and sprinkle as much or as little mozzarella cheese as you wish.  Put a toothpick at each end of the chicken breast so that the cheese doesn't come out during baking time.  Brush the top of the breast with a little olive oil, and sprinkle with rosemary.  Bake the chicken for about 40 minutes or so at 400 degrees.

Cook the rice medley in a medium saucepan.  Bring 2 cups of water to a boil and let the rice simmer for 7-9 minutes.

Cook the spinach as I already explained above, or you can get frozen spinach to make it even easier.  Place the chicken breast over the spinach and serve with the rice.

Pasta with fresh tomatoes and zucchini

For this recipe you will need:

barilla plus thin spaghetti,

Tomato sauce

1 diced Tomato,

1 diced Zucchini,

minced garlic,

olive oil.

Place the diced tomato, zucchini, minced garlic and 1/8 cup of olive oil in a medium sauce-pan.  Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the zucchini is tender, stirring occasionally.  Add about 1/2 cup of tomato sauce to the mixture and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.

In another medium sauce-pan, bring water to a boil and cook the pasta for about 10 minutes.  Drain the pasta and top it with the zucchini/tomato mixture.