Mangia! Mangia

Sorry its been a while since my last post,  but coming up with a recipe to post each week has been a bit more challenging that I thought it would be.  With that said, moving forward I will be posting recipes bi-weekly instead of weekly.  Hopefully that will give you all a chance to try out the recipe posted that week and also give you a chance to miss me.  I've always been told its better to leave them wanting more.

Anyway back to the good stuff........ THE FOOD!!!  One of my favorite cuisines is Italian food.  I looovvveeee a good pasta, fettuccine, cavatappi, rigatoni, ravioli, you name it I love it.  While nothing would make me happier than eating pasta everyday, since I don't have a desire to weight 400lbs I can't.  So I have to find a way to get the same flavors for less calories.  One of my favorite Italian dishes is a simple chicken parmesan with spaghetti.  So here's my healthy take on chicken parmesan.

Chicken Parmesan w/ Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients:

4 4-6oz chicken breast pound out

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated parmesan  cheese

1 egg

3 tbsp. water

3 tbsp. oil

1 medium spaghetti squash

1 medium onion sliced

1 tbsp. chopped garlic

1 tsp crushed red pepper

1 packet Goya salad and vegetable seasoning

1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce

2 cups reduced fat  mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Season the chicken breast with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Beat 1 egg and 3 tbsp. of water in a shallow bowl.  In a shallow dish mix bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.  Dip chicken breast into egg mixture let any excess drip off, then dredge chicken in breadcrumb mixture covering both sides of the chicken breast.  In a large sauté/fry pan heat 2 tbsp of oil.  Place chicken in pan and cook until lightly browned on each side 4-5 mins on each side.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Once chicken is cooked, place chicken on a baking sheet evenly divide 1 cup of spaghetti sauce over the chicken breast.  Sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella cheese evenly over chicken breast.  Place in oven and cook for 5-7 mins until cheese is melted.

While chicken is cooking cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds.  Place each half on a microwave safe plate and cover with plastic wrap.  Place in microwave a cook for 10-15 mins until spaghetti squash becomes tender.  Use a fork to pull through the squash creating strands that resemble spaghetti.  In a medium pan heat remaining tbsp of oil, add garlic, onion, and crushed red pepper, sauté for 2-3 mins until onion began to become translucent.  Add pulled spaghetti squash to pan season with 1 tbsp Goya salad and vegetable seasoning and 1 tsp black pepper. Cook for 2-3 min until heated through. Top with remaining cup of spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese and cover.

Serve when  ready.

Hope You Enjoy and Keep SIMPLY COOKING!!!



Take Out In

So I was at home the other day and wanted some Chinese food for dinner, but couldn’t figure out which Chinese restaurant to order from.  I wanted some General Tso’s chicken with fried rice but could decide between two Chinese restaurants I usually order from.  One of the restaurants I order from I don’t particularly  like the way they make their fried rice and the other restaurant I order from I like their fried rice better but not their General Tso’s chicken so much.  So I was sitting in the house trying to decide which was the lesser of two evils and I then I just decided that I was going to make my own General Tso chicken and fried rice.  I figured that it couldn’t be too difficult to make rice and basically some fried chicken pieces with sauce.  Plus as much as I love me some Chinese food, I don’t know what it is about take out Chinese food where you eat it and an hour later you’re hungry again.  So I figured that if I made it at home maybe I wouldn’t be scavenging the fridge later looking for something to snack on.  I surprisingly had everything I needed to make this meal already in my cabinets and fridge, but don’t fret if your cabinets aren’t as stocked all of the ingredients I used are easy to get from your local supermarket.  I will say that my version of General Tso’s chicken is not an exact replica of what you will get from the neighborhood Chinese spot, but it is a close match.  I personally like my version better, (because I made it of course, LOL) but also because I use chicken breast pieces in my version and many Chinese restaurants used a breaded chicken thigh meat in their recipe.  So I hope you all will try out my version which is super tasty and super easy to make.

General Tso’s Chicken w/ Fried Rice

Ingredients:

4-5 4oz chicken breast

1tbsp low sodium soy sauce

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Salt

Pepper

½ cup flour

¼ cup cornstarch

½ cup chicken stock

Corn Oil

½ cup barbecue sauce

¼ cup orange marmalade

¼ cup stir fry sauce

3 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tbsp. grated ginger

1 ½ tbsp. chili garlic sauce

1 bunch scallions

1 ½ cups white rice

1 small onion chopped

1 tbsp. garlic

1 tbsp. oil

4 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce

1 small can of peas and carrots

1 egg

3 cups of low sodium chicken stock or water

Directions:

For Chicken:

Cut chicken breast into 1-2 inch chunks Season chicken with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.  Add tbsp. of soy sauce to chicken, cover and marinate for 20 mins.  While chicken is marinating mix flour, cornstarch, and ½ cup of chicken stock in a bowl.  Fill a large pot half way with corn oil and place on medium high heat.  Dip chicken pieces into flour mixture shake off any excess and add to oil, cook chicken until it begins to turn light brown and float to top, remove from oil and drain on paper towel. Cook chicken pieces in batches to prevent overcrowding and lowering oil temp.  When all chicken pieces have been cooked add cooked chicken pieces back to oil (again in batches) and cook for an additional for 2-3 mins (this will ensure a nice crispy coating on chicken). Remove and drain chicken again in paper towel.  Heat a wok or large fry pan if you don’t have a wok on medium high heat. Add 1 tbsp. oil, add grated ginger, chili garlic sauce cook for I min until fragrant.  Add BBq sauce, orange marmalade, stir fry sauce, soy sauce and cook until starts to bubble slightly.  Add chicken to pan and toss to coat each chicken piece with sauce. Turn off heat and sprinkle chicken with sliced scallions.

For Rice:

Add rice and 3 cups chicken stock to medium pot, bring to a boil.  Once rice comes to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover pot with top and simmer for 15-20 mins until rice is done.  In a wok or large sauté pan, heat 1 tbsp. of oil, add onion, garlic and peas and carrot, cook for 4-5 mins until onions start to brown slightly.  Add rice and soy sauce to pan, cook for 3-4 mins continuing to stir rice as it cooks.  Push rice to sides of pan or wok, creating a whole in the middle, add egg and stir until cooked, mix egg into rice.

Hope You Enjoy and Keep SIMPLY COOKING!