Creamy Orzo Chicken Dinner

Yup, it's true.  You aren't seeing things.  I am actually posting a recipe!  Now that Sawyer is more than content to sit in her high chair for about 45 minutes every night eating dinner, I have a little bit more time to try out some new recipes.  But, if it takes longer than 45 minutes to prep and prepare...its not happening! Nothing new.

I found this recipe on Pinterest as a side dish and decided to turn it into our dinner.  It caught my eye because, for some reason, I had a giant container of orzo pasta - which is pretty much just rice shaped pasta.  I used whole wheat orzo, and added some chicken and extra veggies to the original recipe.  I had boiled the chicken ahead of time over the weekend so it came together super fast!

1 cup whole wheat orzo pasta 
1 cup of asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup of frozen peas
1-2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup cream (not something I normally cook with, but it wasn't much so I went with it!)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil then throw the orzo in.  

After it cooks for about 5 minutes, add the veggies.

I put my shredded chicken in the colander before draining the pot.  I took it straight out of the fridge so I thought dumping a pot of boiled water over it would quickly heat it up.

It did.  After draining the pasta and veggies, return to pot along with chicken.

Add the butter, cream, Parmesan and salt & pepper.

Mix together.

And that's it.  Easy dinner & easy dishes - the best kind!  Sawyer got to try asparagus for the first time that night - she wasn't quite sure what to do with it!

ENJOY!

Baked Chicken and Squash

Quite the uncreative name I have come up with.  But, that's exactly what this is.  The night before we left for Florida a couple weeks ago I had some squash I needed to use, and I didn't want to make a mess in my kitchen.  And, in true Tara fashion (major procrastinator right here) I hadn't even begun to pack so I needed something quick.

Here is what I came up with to meet all of my criteria - use squash, minimal dishes, quick.

I chopped up the squash - this was one GIANT squash - and poured some marinara over the top, just enough to coat and cover it.

Place thawed chicken tenders on top of squash, add more marinara.

Top with Parmesan cheese and/or mozzarella.

Bake covered for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees.  I used chicken tenders so it didn't take too long to cook, would probably take closer to 40 with full chicken breasts.

This would have obviously been good with pasta, but that would have required more dishes and this way it was low carb and low calorie.

Super uncreative...and lazy... but maybe this will spark some more creative ideas for next time!

ENJOY!

Greek Yogurt Pasta

Creamy pasta sauces are one of the worst foods out there, packed with TONS of calories, mostly coming from fat.  A dinner sized portion of Chicken Fettucini Alfredo from a popular Italian restaurant will cost you about 1400 calories and upwards of 80 grams of fat, half of which are saturated fat grams (the artery clogging kind).  I saw this recipe for a creamy pasta sauce made with Greek yogurt and it really piqued my interest...

I changed up the original recipe by using whole wheat, omega-3 (healthy fats) enriched pasta and using the vegetables I had on hand.  The original recipe also called for shrimp, but I opted for chicken this time.  This recipe is mostly about the sauce anyways, you could really use it for whatever pasta, protein, veggie combo you like - in other words, its a great "clean out the fridge" recipe!  This is by no means an alfredo sauce, but it is a great alternative to your basic marinara.

I used the following:

1 box (~14 oz) whole wheat pasta

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

5-6 chicken breast tenders, thawed and cubed

1/3 large onion, diced

1-2 tablespoons minced garlic (I was being lazy and bought the jarred, pre-cut kind - probably 3 cloves worth)

1 zuchinni, diced

1 bag fresh spinach

1 small jar of marinara sauce

1/2 cup low fat or fat free plain Greek yogurt

small handful of 2% mozzarella cheese

Start by preparing pasta according to package directions (I never add salt or oil).  Drain water out and return to pot.

Meanwhile, saute chicken in olive oil for a few minutes, until it begins to turn white.

Add in the zucchini, garlic and onion. (You could also use mushrooms, tomatoes, squash, etc...)

Once veggies begin to soften and chicken is cooked through, 5-8 minutes, add spinach and cover for 2-3 minutes, until spinach is wilted.  You may need to remove lid and stir after about a minute or so.

To the pasta, add marinara sauce and yogurt.

Add chicken/veggie mixture to the pot, stir until everything is coated with sauce, add the mozzarella.  The mozzarella is optional, but I had it on hand so I thought I would use it to add a little more creaminess!

Stir together and it's done!

ENJOY!

Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup

Hello there!

Long time, no blog!  We are having major internet issues at home and work is crazy...and I have a baby.  A super cute one if I do say so myself =)

But, I have a really good recipe to share today.  Thank you Pinterest, I found this here and changed it up just a bit.  I realize its getting a little warm for soup, but its never to warm for easy!

You will need the following:

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (rinsing = less sodium)
1 can diced tomatoes, no salt added
10 oz frozen corn (use frozen instead of canned for less sodium)
1/2 white onion, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped (doesn't matter what color, I had a green one so that's what I used)
10 oz can of enchilada sauce
1 can Healthy Request Cream of Chicken Soup
1 1/2 cups skim milk
5-6 frozen chicken breast strips (or 2-3 frozen chicken breasts)


After your onion and green pepper are chopped, combine them with the beans, tomatoes and corn in a slow cooker liner in your crock pot.

Place frozen chicken on top of veggies.

In a mixing bowl, combine enchilada sauce and cream of chicken soup.

Mix in milk until smooth.

Pour mixture into crock pot.

Cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours.  Shred chicken (I just do it while it is still in the crock pot...its pretty tender so it just falls apart).

Top with low fat shredded cheese or sour cream, or better yet - avocado slices for some added healthy fats!

ENJOY!

Chicken Spinach Pasta Bake

I know it may seem like I have forgotten how to cook, and blog anything that is not baby related for that matter.  But, after 6 weeks of cooking hiatus I have found my way back to the kitchen!  This is still kind of baby related though, so I hope you don't mind cute baby pics!  I made this on Monday to take over to our friends on Tuesday for dinner. They just had twins so cooking dinner is not high on their list! Remember this?

14 and 19 weeks pregnant

27 and 32 Weeks pregnant. We are still waiting on Kristina's baby Caroline to join us...soon!

Now this!!

Beckham, Lleyton (I think!) & Sawyer

Three very hungry babies unwilling to cooperate with our photo shoot.  The boys are exactly three weeks younger than Sawyer...amazing what a difference that and a couple pounds makes!  On to the recipe...

I found this one on Pinterest (my new obsession - especially when I am up in the middle of the night feeding Sawyer).  I didn't change too much with it, just a couple tweaks.  Here is the link to the original recipe... from my Recipe Board on Pinterest.

Gather your ingredients:

1 medium sized onion, chopped
olive oil
8 oz whole wheat pasta (I used Barilla Plus bow tie - high in omega 3s and protein - good for the babies!)
3 medium/large chicken breasts
1 can Italian style diced tomatoes
8 oz chive and onion cream cheese
10 box of frozen spinach, thawed
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cup low fat mozzarella cheese


Preheat your oven to 375.  Place chopped onion in 9x13 casserole dish, drizzle with olive oil.  Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil pasta until tender.

I also boiled my chicken, but you could use precooked or rotisserie chicken to save some time if you want. To shred my chicken I used my mixer - my sister told me about this and it's AMAZING!  Such a time saver!  The chicken went from this...

Those are whole chicken breasts if you can't tell...

To this...in 30 seconds...

I should have made a New Year's resolution to improve my food photography.  Maybe next year.

Once the onions are done, transfer them to a large mixing bowl.

Add the tomatoes, cream cheese, pasta, spinach, and chicken.

Mix together.

Transfer back to casserole dish.

Top with mozzarella cheese.

Don't mind the shadow of my hands...

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes, covered.  Uncover and bake for 10-15 more minutes.

And my hands again...geeze.

I made this on Monday and didn't bake it until Tuesday - it worked.  So it is a great "make-ahead" recipe.  It was also good for lunch the next day!

ENJOY!

Chicken, Broccoli & Rice Casserole...for Becky

Becky found this recipe online and asked if I would make it healthier because it was one of her favorites.  I have been looking for some new recipes to try, so I was up for the challenge!

The original recipe called for 8 oz of Velveeta cheese, which I just can't do, white rice, margarine
and regular cream soups.  It also called for 2 cups of chicken broth (sodium city!); I bought low sodium/fat free broth, but accidentally forgot to add it - and I think it turned out well.  I'll try it next time, but this time I saved some sodium...which is good for someone who is trying not to have swollen hands and feet!

So here is what you need:

1 pound cooked shredded chicken
1 3/4 cups uncooked brown rice (I used Minute rice)
2 10 oz packages of frozen chopped broccoli
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 medium sized green bell pepper, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups low fat cheddar cheese (instead of Velveeta)
1 can Healthy Request cream of chicken soup
1 can Healthy Request cream of mushroom soup


It also called for 1 cup of chopped celery and a 3 oz can of mushrooms, but I don't like celery and Barry doesn't like fungus in his food, so I left those two things out.


Boil & shred chicken.  Cook rice and broccoli according to package directions.  Saute onion and bell pepper in olive oil until tender, about 8-10 minutes or so.

Add soups to sauteed vegetables.

Add cheese to pot.

Stir in cooked, shredded chicken.

Drain and add broccoli.

And finally, stir in rice.

This recipe was intended to be a make and freeze casserole, but we ate it right then.  If you do want to make ahead and freeze it, just bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Off to watch the new season of Survivor, does anyone else still watch that???  My mom thinks Barry and I are the only ones in the world that watch it!

ENJOY!