Chicken Orzo Salad with Goat Cheese

I’m getting a lot of use out of my Cooking Light magazines lately.  This one was dang tasty; so much so that I’ve now made it three times.  I plan on having some friends over for lunch soon and I just might have to make this for them.

Chicken Orzo Salad with Goat Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 1/4  cups  uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
• 3  cups  chopped grilled chicken breast strips  (I used thighs)
• 1 1/2  cups  trimmed arugula  (I used spinach)
• 1  cup  grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/2  cup  chopped red bell pepper
• 1/4  cup  prechopped red onion
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh basil
• 1  teaspoon  chopped fresh oregano
• 2  tablespoons  red wine vinegar
• 1  tablespoon  extravirgin olive oil
• 1/8  teaspoon  salt
• 1/8  teaspoon  black pepper
• 6  tablespoons  (1 1/2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese  (I thought I had it on hand but it turns out it was Feta.  Still tasted great though)

Preparation

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain well.

2. Combine pasta, chicken, and the next 6 ingredients (through oregano) in a large bowl; toss well.

3. Combine vinegar, oil, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle vinegar mixture over pasta mixture; toss well to coat. Sprinkle with cheese.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

295 (23% from fat)

Fat:

7.7g (sat 2.9g,mono 2.8g,poly 1.1g)

Protein:

24.4g

Carbohydrate:

32.1g

Fiber:

2g

Cholesterol:

55mg

Iron:

2.4mg

Sodium:

788mg

Calcium:

40mg

Linguine with Chicken Thighs

If you’re not already checking out recipes from The Pioneer Woman, you should get on that.  Now.  Everything I’ve made so far from that site is damn tasty.  Unhealthy and butter-laden, sure.  But nummy!!  And the pictures.  OMG.  Food porn!

This was a totally easy recipe that I’m definitely adding to our regular meal rotation.

Linguine with Chicken Thighs

Olive Oil
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
Salt
Pepper
1/2 to 1 medium Onion, chopped
2 to 3 cloves Garlic, chopped
1/2 cup White Wine (or Chicken Broth)
2 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
Pinch of Sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons chopped Fresh Parsley
8 large fresh Basil leaves, chiffonadededededed
1 package Linguine noodles, cooked. (Can use any pasta you’d like.)
Fresh Parmesan Cheese, grated, in abundance

Boil a pot of water for the pasta. Cook linguine noodles until al dente.
Heat olive oil in a hot skillet, then add diced chicken thighs in single layer. Don’t stir around; just let them brown on one side. Flip over with spatula, allow to brown, then remove to separate plate.

In same pan, over medium heat, add onions and garlic and stir to combine. Pour in wine (or broth) then scrape bottom of pan with whisk to loosen brown bits. Next, pour in crushed tomatoes, add salt, pepper, and pinch of sugar, then simmer for fifteen minutes.

After fifteen minutes, throw in all the cooked chicken, including its juice from the plate. Allow to simmer for fifteen more minutes.

Add chopped fresh herbs at the end, then pour over cooked linguine in large bowl or platter. Top with lots and lots of fresh grated Parmesan cheese. Eat. Faint. Then feel grateful you’ve discovered boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Vow never to be without them again.

Sweet Potato Pasta Thingy

Yup, that’s what we had for dinner tonight.  A sweet potato pasta thingy.  Here’s the thing, my stomach has been working against me lately.  As in, I haven’t really been able to stray from the bathroom for an extended period of time the past couple of days.  I’ve also been traveling and eating a larger amount of meat than usual the past weekend.  And as we all know (or most of you, anyway), I’m allergic to meat.  Good times.

ANYWAY.  I haven’t made it to the store since last week, and I didn’t want to eat anything with meat tonight.  This didn’t leave me with a lot of options, so I decided to just wing it.  I surfed for some ideas on how to use what I had on hand, and this is what I came up with.

Sweet Potato Pasta Thingy

2-3 sweet potatoes
olive oil
Salt
Pepper
a box of pasta (I used penne)
3-4 cloves of garlic
Italian seasoning
Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400.  Peel sweet potatoes and cut them to about 1″ pieces.  Put the pieces in a baking dish, coat with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and stick it in the oven for about 45 minutes or until soft.

Boil water, add a few pinches of salt, and make the pasta.

While the pasta is boiling, chop, press, or mince garlic.  Heat a small saute pan over medium-lowish heat, and add some olive oil.  Add the garlic and saute till it’s golden brown but not burned.  Take off heat and add a few sprinkles of Italian seasoning.

Drain pasta, add olive oil/garlic concoction.  Mash the sweet potatoes with a potato masher.  Put the pasta in a bowl/on a plate/however you eat it, scoop some sweet potatoes on top, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Voila!  A tasty vegetarian dish that’s fairly good for you!