Chicken Parm

Since I've been working on eating lighter, I haven't had any pasta lately. I've been craving it so I decided to buy some wheat pasta since it's a little better for you. I also made sure to only eat just one serving (2oz) according to package instructions. This is definitely a change for me since I usually just dump a bunch of pasta in the water and let it cook. I always end up with leftover so I guess measuring it really is a better idea anyways. And I was still plenty full.

Chicken Parmesan
(2 servings)

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 egg whites (lightly wisked)
1/4-1/2 cup bread crumbs (i didn't really measure)
4oz wheat spaghetti
Your favorite jarred pasta sauce
Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 400

Dip chicken breasts in egg whites. Then lightly coat in bread crumbs.
Put in baking dish sprayed with nonfat cooking spray.
Cover in pasta sauce.
Bake chicken for 20 minutes or no longer pink.
Once chicken is done, sprinkle cheeses on top and put back in oven just long enough to let cheese melt.

While chicken is cooking, boil pasta till al dente.
Drain and plate. Add pasta sauce if desired.

I <3 Pasta!

I'm seriously in love with pasta. The only thing that comes close is mexican food. I've had been seeing a lot of blogs with baked ziti in them. So I thought I'd give it a shot. Looked simple enough. I found this recipe again on all recipes. I did decrease some of the amounts only because this makes a ton for only two people. We still had left overs and it was just as good the next day.

Baked Ziti

1 (16 ounce) package ziti pasta
15 ounces ricotta cheese
1 package pre shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and rinse.

In a medium bowl, mix ziti, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, egg and 1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce.


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish and spoon in ziti mixture. Top with remaining spaghetti sauce, followed by Parmesan cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes; let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

A Craving for the Past

A friend of mine from high school used to have her mom make this salad for us whenever we'd go on a trip or when we'd have a sleep over. I haven't had it since her wedding several years ago and it recently popped into my head. I had a general idea what was in it but wanted to make sure I got that taste like hers used to have. So I did a quick search on all recipes to see if I could find something to point me in the right direction. This is the recipe I found as my guide. This works well as a stand alone lunch or a side for dinner. Here is my adaptation.

Spaghetti Salad

Thin spaghetti noodles (measure according to how much you want to make)
1 medium tomato
1/2 green bell pepper
1/4 yellow onion
12-15 slices of small pepperoni (cut into strips)
Couple handfuls of shredded cheese (I used pre-shredded Mexican cheese but grated parm. would work well too)
Your favorite Italian Dressing
Italian seasoning
Salt and Pepper

Cook noodles until desired softness. Drain and rinse in cold water.

In large bowl mix noodles, chopped bell pepper, tomato, onion, pepperoni, and cheese.

Add dressing and seasoning to taste.



I'm really bad at measuring the correct amount of pasta. So of course I had tons of leftovers. You may need to add a little more dressing just to moisten the salad a bit more since the pasta does eventually absorb it all. It's still as good as leftovers as when I first made it.