Cajun-Spiced Chicken Fettuccine

So, D made this last night. (Actually he made it in the morning and we heated it up when we got home from work). He has made it many times. It is a good comfort food. And it makes a lot. We had it with a Caesar Salad.

Cajun-Spiced Chicken Fettuccine

Photo by ALB

Ingredients
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (D useds Hotter than Hell Seasoning or something like that)
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (8-ounce) package presliced cremini mushrooms (you can use regular too)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Creole mustard
3 cups 2% low-fat milk
1 cup thinly sliced green onions, divided
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley, divided
8 cups hot cooked fettuccine (about 1 pound uncooked pasta)Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with Cajun seasoning. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan, and cook 7 minutes on each side or until done. Cut chicken into 1/4-inch-thick slices; set aside.
Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper and next 4 ingredients (bell pepper through garlic); sauté 7 minutes or until tender. Sprinkle with flour, and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in the Worcestershire and mustard; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes or until slightly thick. Remove from heat; stir in 3/4 cup green onions, 6 tablespoons cheese, and 3 tablespoons parsley. Add chicken and pasta to sauce mixture; toss well to combine.
Spoon mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup green onions, 2 tablespoons cheese, and 1 tablespoon parsley. Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes; uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes.


Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

CALORIES 469 (17% from fat); FAT 8.8g (sat 4.7g,mono 2.2g,poly 0.6g); PROTEIN 41.6g; CHOLESTEROL 85mg; CALCIUM 233mg; SODIUM 632mg; FIBER 4g; IRON 3.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 54.2g

Cooking Light, JUNE 2004

Green Beans with Bacon

We had these for Christmas. It was adapted from a Cooking Light Recipe except I added more bacon. It was very tasty but as expected the bacon went to the bottom. Also next time I will add 2-3 cloves of garlic.

Green Beans with Bacon

It is 0 Points even with adaptations.

1 1/4 pounds green beans, trimmed
4 bacon slices
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1/4 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cook green beans in boiling water for 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and plunge beans into ice water; drain.

Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble. Add shallots to drippings in pan; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add beans, juice, salt, and pepper to pan; toss to combine. Cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring often. Remove from heat. Sprinkle bacon over bean mixture; toss.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 2/3 cup)


Adapted from Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2007

Pappardelle with Wild Mushrooms

We had this for Christmas dinner. It was very good, but the milk mixture wouldn't get thick. Next time we will add cornstarch.

Pappardelle with Wild Mushrooms

2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup diced shallots (about 2) (we used 3)
2 garlic cloves, minced (we used 6)
1 (4-ounce) package presliced exotic mushroom blend (such as shiitake, cremini, and oyster)
1 (8-ounce) package cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano (we used 1/2 tsp dried)
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded fontina cheese
12 ounces uncooked pappardelle (wide ribbon pasta) (we used rotini)
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, shallots, and garlic to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Add mushrooms; sauté 5 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Add wine, oregano, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook 2 minutes or until liquid evaporates. Set aside.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add milk and broth, stirring with a whisk until smooth; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove from heat. Add cheese, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper; stir until smooth. Stir in mushroom mixture. Keep warm.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Place 3/4 cup pasta in each of 8 shallow bowls. Top each serving with 1/2 cup mushroom mixture. Garnish with parsley, if desired. Serve immediately.

Yield: 8 servings

CALORIES 336 (31% from fat); FAT 11.5g (sat 6.3g,mono 3.5g,poly 0.6g); PROTEIN 15.3g; CHOLESTEROL 33mg; CALCIUM 189mg; SODIUM 383mg; FIBER 2g; IRON 2.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 44.1g

Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2007

Tandoori-Style Chicken

So I prepped this dish and D made it. I thought tandoori was red, but this was green. We really liked it. We had it with couscous.

Tandoori-Style Chicken from the American Cancer Society

2 garlic cloves (I used 5)
1/4C Fresh Cilantro
1 jalepeno, stemmed and seeded (I sorta seeded it)
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
1/2 onion, quartered
1C nonfat plain yogurt (I used 6 oz)
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces (I used boneless skinless thighs)
1 tsp canola oil

In a food processor with the motor running, add garlic. Add cilantro, jalepeno, ginger and onion and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add yogurt, cumin, coriander, salt, turmeric and cayenne pepper and pulse to combine, scraping down sides to blend. Transfer to a bowl or zip-top bag.

With a sharp knife, slash chicken diagonally along the grain about 1/2-inch dee[ and 1 inch apart (I didn't do this). Add chicken to marinade and turn pieces to coa. Refrigerate 4 to 24 hours.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 450 degress. Remove chicken pieces form marinade and place in roasting pan. Drizzle with oil.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until cooked through.

(D cooked everything in a grill pan including the marinade, which I guess can be dangerous but neither of us got sick, so all is well.)