Bell Pepper Pasta with Chicken

Bored with spaghetti and meatballs? Try making this easy dish inspired from allrecipes.com. The original recipe called for feta cheese but I opted for the richer and sharper Parmigiano-Reggiano instead (plus, it was on sale!). The bell peppers lend a nice light taste to the pasta and the lack of a heavy sauce really brings out their flavor. Add a little chicken for protein and you’ll have one colorful and easy weeknight meal.

Ingredients

(Makes 4-6 servings)

2 T extra virgin olive oil

3 boneless chicken breasts

1 16 oz box rotini pasta

1/2 c chopped onion

3 minced garlic cloves

1 medium chopped red bell pepper

1 medium chopped orange bell pepper

1-2 t Italian seasoning

1/4 t salt

1/2 t pepper

1/4 c water

1/2 c grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions

1. Rinse chicken breasts and cut into bite size pieces. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet and sauté until done, then remove and set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of water to boil, season with salt, and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
3. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the same skillet that was used previously and sauté onions for 2 minutes or until they just begin to turn transparent.
4. Add garlic and peppers, stir for 2-3 minutes until tender.
5. Stir in salt, pepper, seasoning, cooked chicken, and pasta until warmed through. Add water as needed so that it is not too dry.
6. Turn off heat and stir in cheese. Serve immediately.

Tips

• Try using kitchen shears to trim and cut the chicken before cooking. It saves time and the scissors can be thrown right into the dishwasher afterwards.
• If the fancy colored peppers aren’t on sale, use the good old green ones instead. This is a judgment-free zone after all. Same goes for the fancy cheese―Parmesan or even shredded mozzarella will do just fine.
• As the Parmigiano can be a bit sharp, stay conservative when adding it and do a taste-test after half of it is mixed in.
• Feel free to substitute your favorite pasta in this dish. I used rotini because it was fun, swirly, and, most importantly, in our pantry.
• For an extra kick, try adding a pinch of cayenne pepper to the mix.

Nutty Monkey Muffins

This quick recipe started as a card from Starbucks (yes, Starbucks!) as part of their recent “real food” kick. A fellow coworker and peppermint mocha aficionado gave it to me with a challenge to make it healthier. After several tweaks, including the addition of wheat flour, I ended up with a satisfying treat that, thankfully, did not taste bland at all. While the original instructions were for a bread version, I decided to make it into muffins to shorten the bake time and bring them into work to make friends. It worked (the muffin part and making friends)!

Ingredients

1/2 c white flour

1 1/2 c wheat flour

1 t baking soda

1 t cinnamon

1 t salt

1 egg

1/2 + 1/8 c baking Splenda

1/2 c sugar

1/4 c canola oil

1/4 c unsweetened applesauce

3 T fat free buttermilk

1/2 t vanilla extract

3 ripe medium bananas, mashed

1/2 c + 1/3 c chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray or use liners.
2. Mix together flours, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix egg, sugars, oil, applesauce, buttermilk, vanilla, and bananas.
4. Gradually add flour mixture to wet mixture and combine.
5. Add 1/2 c walnuts and pour into muffin cups.
6. Top with remaining walnuts and bake for 20-25 minutes until tops are browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Tips

• Watch the bake time carefully as they will dry out if overcooked.
• Out of buttermilk? Try using 2 tablespoons of regular milk and 1 tablespoon of good old orange juice (I won’t tell).
• It should be fine to substitute all of the regular sugar for Splenda if you prefer. It’s a bit pricey though, so I haven’t been this daring yet.
• Try spreading on chocolatey Nutella for an especially delicious afternoon snack!