Creamy Lemon Wheat Pasta and Chicken

This is a recipe I saw on Paula Deans show. I adapted it though, you know how she loves her cream and butter. My husband loved this, and even took it for lunch the next day to work.

• 1 lb chicken breast or tenders


• lemon pepper


• salt


• cooking spray


• 2 shallots, chopped fine


• 2 Tablespoons chopped garlic


• 1/2 cup zucchini, chopped fine


• 1 16oz carton Low Fat sour cream


• 2 Tablespoons skim milk


• the zest and juice of 1 lemon


• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese


• 1 Tablespoon dried parsley


• 1 lb whole wheat thin spaghetti
  

Cook spaghetti in a pot of salted water.

Heat large skillet on medium heat with cooking spray. Season chicken with lemon pepper and salt. Heat until cooked through. Remove chicken onto a plate. Respray pan and add shallots, zucchini and garlic. Cook until soft. Turn heat to LOW. Add in sour cream, skim milk, lemon juice and zest, parm cheese, about 2 teaspoons lemon pepper and parsley. Stir on low for about 5 minutes, or until everything is heated and Incorporated. Drain pasta and add the cooked spaghetti to the sauce and mix well. Add chicken on top and serve hot. This is so good and it make a lot.

Tofu Parmesan

Do not be afraid of tofu, it's our friend! Tofu is packed with protein, and the great thing about it is, it will adopt any flavor you add to it. Even my husband ate this up, and took the leftovers for lunch!

• 1 lb firm tofu, I used trader joes



• 2 eggs



• 1 cup Italian style bread crumbs



• marinara sauce



• mozzarella cheese
  

Preheat the oven to 375. Cut the block of tofu into 4 one inch thick pieces. Dip each piece in egg, then into the bread crumbs. Put on baking sheet and cook for 15 minutes. Flip the tofu over and cook for another 15 minutes. Then add the marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese on top, enough to cover it. Bake for another 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Enjoy. This does not taste like tofu at all, its very good!

Wheat Pasta and Spinach Bake

I needed a side dish for my tofu parm, and I love wheat pasta. I just used random stuff I had at home and it turned out very good!

• 1 box whole wheat rotini



• 1 cup fresh baby spinach



• 1 15oz container of ricotta cheese



• 1 can diced tomatoes



• 1 cup marinara sauce



• 2 cups mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Boil pasta according to the box in salted water. Drain pasta. Add the remainder of the ingredients (except mozzarella) in a baking dish, mix well. Cover the top of the noodles with mozzarella and bake for 20 minutes. This is delicious!

Golden Lentil Soup- Crock Pot Edition

Soup's on! It's getting chilly here in New Jersey, actually at night it's down right cold! There is a restaurant near me called Atlanta Bread Company, and they have the most amazing Golden Lentil Soup. I've been all over every website looking for a copycat recipe. In fact, Atlanta Bread website doesn't even have the ingredients on their website. So I tried to replicate it. It is a vegetarian dish, but lentils are loaded with protein.

• 4 cups chicken broth (or veggie broth for the vegetarian)
• 2 cups hot water
• 1lb dry lentils
• 1 regular sized yellow onion chopped fine
• 2 cups chopped and peeled carrots, chopped fine
• 3 whole cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 cup canned, diced tomatoes
• 1 Tablespoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon saffron (or saffron powder)
• 1 teaspoon cayenne powder
• salt and black pepper to taste

This really couldn't be any easier. Rinse and pick through lentils. Add lentils, chicken broth and hot water to the crock pot. Chop onion and carrots small and add. Peel garlic, keep them whole, but smash them with the flat side of a knife. Add the garlic, they will melt right into the soup. Add in diced tomatoes. Add cumin, saffron, cayenne and salt and pepper. Stir. Cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4-5 hours. About an hour before you want to eat, take about 1/4 of the soup, add to a blender or magic bullet and liquify. Add back into the soup. This makes it thicker and yummier lol. You can also use an immersion blender for the last part. This is sooo delicious, and good for all stages of post op!

Juicy Roast Chicken

I was always afraid to roast a whole roast chicken. There are always horror stories about super dried out chickens that are inedible. This one is NOT one of those. I know a lot of post ops have problems with chicken. I couldn't eat chicken for a year without discomfort. You will not have a problem with the moistness of this chicken. The white meat was even extremely moist.

• 1 whole 4-5 lb chicken



• olive oil



• lemon pepper



• salt



• dried rosemary



• 1 onion, roughly chopped



• 2 cloves garlic



• 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350. Remove insides from the chicken. Wash chicken. Cut lemon in half and squeeze lemon all over chicken. Rub the cavity and entire chicken with olive oil, salt and lemon pepper. Be generous. Stuff chicken with chopped onions, garlic cloves and the lemon. Then, under the skin where the breasts are rub olive oil and dried rosemary. Roast in oven for 2 hours or until popper comes up. I never enjoyed roast chicken as much as I did last night.

Chicken Cacciatore

This recipe is great for using up your leftovers. I didn't have to buy anything for this dish, as I had everything on hand. This is so easy and delicious.

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into strips



• flour



• cooking spray



• salt and pepper



• 1 large yellow onion, cut into strips



• 6 ounces mushrooms cut into pieces



• 2 Tablespoons chopped garlic



• 1 16 ounce can tomato sauce



• 1/4 cup of water



• 1 Tablespoon of each: fresh Basil, Oregano and Parsley, chopped into small pieces



• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Heat a large skillet. Coat chicken strips with flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Spray skillet with cooking spray and brown chicken on all sides, approx 5 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate, respray, and add in onions on medium heat. Salt and pepper them. Cook for 5 minutes, lower heat to medium low and add in mushrooms and garlic. Stir for 1 minute then add in tomato sauce, 1/4 water, spices and red pepper flakes. Cover and simmer on low for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over wheat pasta, or plain. This is very good, I ate a good amount of it!