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Monday, April 07, 2008

Recipe of the Week: 4/7/08

I just tried the following recipe this week - EXCELLENT! I split it into 5 meals so that I could keep it in my per meal calorie range (300 calories per meal). Enjoy!

Recipes inspired by The Best Life Diet - Bob Greene

Mediterranean Chicken and Pasta (4 servings)
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Start to Finish: 35 minutes

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked multigrain/whole wheat penne pasta (6 oz)
2 cups fresh broccoli florets
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 package (8 oz) sliced fresh mushrooms (3 cups)
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 cup grape tomatoes halved
2 medium green onions, sliced (2 tbsp)
0.25 cup chopped fresh or 2 tsp dried basil leaves
0.25 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
4 tsp cornstarch
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
0.5 cup crumbled feta cheese (2 oz) (I use the reduced fat kind.)


Directions
1. Cook pasta without salt as directed on package, adding broccoli during last three minutes of cooking time; drain. (My modification: To keep the nutrients from the broccoli, I actually combined the broccoli with the mushrooms in step 3.)
2. Meanwhile, in 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken; cook 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until chicken is no longer pink in center. Remove from skillet. (I actually kept it in.)
3. Increase heat to medium-high. In same skillet, cook and stir mushrooms (broccoli) and garlic 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, onions, basil and pepper flakes; cook and stir 1 minute longer.
4. In 2-cup glass measuring cup, mix cornstarch and broth until smooth. Add to vegetable mixture in skillet. Cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until sauce is thickened and bubbly. Stir in pasta mixture and chicken; cook and stir until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with cheese.


Nutrition (1 serving)
Calories: 420 (100 calories from fat)
Total Fat: 11g
Saturated Fat: 4g
Cholesterol: 80mg
Sodium: 380mg
Total Carbohydrate: 42g
Dietary Fiber: 6g
Protein: 37g

% Daily Value
Vitamin A: 20%
Vitamin C: 20%
Calcium: 15%
Iron: 20%

Exchanges
2 Starch, 0.5 Other Carbohydrates, 1 Vegetable, 4 Very Lean Meat, 1.5 Fat

2 comments:

Chubby Chick said...

I'm always looking for new, healthy recipes... and this one looks like a real winner. Thanks for sharing! :)

PS: Do you cater? hehe

Heather said...

ugh I dont think my comment posted!

anyways, I think I said that this sounds amazing and I am definnitely goign to try it!