Parmesan Lemon Baked Spaghetti Squash with Chicken

That is a mouthful of a name, but it describes it very well!  I found this recipe on inspiredtaste.net, and since I have always wanted to try squash "spaghetti," I figured now was the time.  It was reeeeally delicious, and not a lot of work if you plan ahead and remember that you have to bake the squash for 45-60 min ahead of time.

Ingredients:

spaghetti squash, not sure how much you will need since it depends on the size of the squash.  I cooked three smallish sized ones (cut in half making 6 halves) and it made the perfect amount for four people, with generous servings.

olive oil

2 T butter

1-2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 lemon, halved

2 ounces grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves and tender stems, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Use a heavy chef's knife and cut the squash in half lengthwise.  Use a towel underneath the squash to keep it from slipping while you cut.

Scoop out the seeds and discard.  Rub a light layer of olive oil over the inside and edges of the squash halves, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  If you have any rosemary, place a sprig inside each half to add extra flavor while baking.  Turn the squash halves cut side down and bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes (I baked mine for 60).

When the squash is about half done baking, start cooking the chicken.  Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the chicken chunks.  Use salt and pepper to taste while browning, and be sure to brown both sides thoroughly.  Squeeze the juice of one lemon half onto the chicken.  I added mushrooms to this recipe, since my family likes sauteed mushrooms, but leave those out if your family does not like them!

When the squash is finished baking, flip them over and discard the rosemary.  Use a fork to run through the flesh of the squash, making spaghetti like strands.  Place all these strands in the skillet with the chicken.

Add most of the grated cheese, the parsley, and some fresh ground pepper to taste.

Serve with a bit more grated parmesan cheese on top, and a little splash of lemon juice from the second lemon half.

I am not normally a huge fan of squash, but this was delicious.  The blend of flavors really worked for me!  The whole family liked it, and the boys did not know that squash formed the "noodles" until I told them after the meal.  It is another largely anti-inflammatory meal, being mostly dairy free (except for the parmesan cheese), gluten free, soy free, and sugar free.  A delicious and healthy dinner!

Chicken Florentine Pasta

I got this recipe from The Pioneer Woman's cooking blog, and it was WONDERFUL!  Very delicious, and it made me feel healthy. :-)  She has much better pictures, and a much better description, so you should just hop on over to her blog and read it there....

but for those of you committed to staying here, here is the list of ingredients:

1 pound of penne
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
2 T butter
2 T olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3/4 cup dry white wine (didn't have any so I skipped this)
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 bag of baby spinach
2 cups grape tomatoes, cut length-wise
4 ounces of parmesan cheese, shaved with vegetable peeler (did not have chunk parmesan, just grated parmesan for spaghetti, so I used that ~ it doesn't look nearly as nice, but it tastes good!)

Cook pasta according to package instructions, drain, and set aside.

Cut the chicken into bite sized chunks, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and add to skillet on high heat with butter and olive oil.  Lay flat in one layer and let the chicken cook on one side for a couple minutes.  Turn chicken over and cook on the other side.  Let the pieces cook through until they are nice and done.  Remove chicken from pan and set aside.   Turn heat down and add garlic to pan, stirring it around so it doesn't burn.  Pour in the white wine (if using) and chicken broth (double the amount of chicken broth if not using wine).  Allow the liquid to bubble up, and then cook so it is reduced by at least half.   Turn off the heat.

Add spinach, tomatoes, chicken, and cooked pasta to the skillet.  Toss to combine.  The spinach will wilt a bit as you toss with the hot chicken and pasta (and this is a good thing).  Add parmesan shavings (or grated parmesan) and toss again.

Voila!  Chicken florentine pasta!  Thank you Pioneer Woman!

Linguine in Clam Sauce

This is a yummy recipe my family has enjoyed for a long time, from the cookbook The Gradual Vegetarian by Lisa Tracy. Easy to prepare, and takes about the same time as spaghetti, but with a delightful clam and garlic flavor! The original recipe as listed below serves 2 very generously. I add slightly more of everything for our family and we usually even have leftovers for one lunch the next day.

Linguine in Clam Sauce

2 T olive oil
1 can chopped clams (I use 3 cans for our family of 7)
2 garlic cloves, minced
Large pinch of oregano
1 T fresh chopped parsley (I usually don't have fresh so I use dried)
2 T lemon juice (whenever I don't have this ingredient I just leave out and it still turns out great!)
1 T yogurt (I add a bit more since I am using more clams and more clam juice)
1/2 pound linguine noodles, cooked
1 T butter (I usually leave out this step)
Grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a skillet. Drain clams and reserve liquid. Saute garlic in olive oil for one minute. Add clams, oregano, and parsley. Saute for one minute more. Add lemon juice and juice from clams. Simmer for a few minutes and then add yogurt. Stir in and remove pan from heat.

After linguine noodles are cooked, toss with butter. Serve topped with clam sauce and parmesan cheese.

Our whole family loves this and it's a nice variation on an Italian dinner!

Pronto Pasta Bake

My friend Beth sent me this recipe to try and it was very good! It's similar to lasagna only with different noodles. I need to apologize to Beth right up front, as I kindof mutilated the recipe (misread the part about the cheeses) and used different noodles (the kind I had on hand), but it turned out well anyway and was devoured by my family!

Pronto Pasta Bake

12 oz rotini pasta, cook according to package directions (I didn't have rotini so used a mixture of macaroni and bowtie pasta instead). Drain.


2 medium zucchini, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, pressed (I minced)
1 jar spaghetti sauce (I used 32 oz)
1 tsp basil
1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated (I used Kraft, not fresh)
2 cups (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 lb hamburger, browned (optional)

Preheat oven to 375. Combine garlic, zucchini, spaghetti sauce, and basil (and hamburger if using). In 9"x13" casserole pan layer noodles, spaghetti mixture, and then half of each of the cheeses. I messed up here and I mixed all the parmesan cheese in with my spaghetti sauce mixture and had just the mozzarella to layer with. It still turned out great!

Repeat layers with the remaining pasta, sauce, and cheeses. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and continue baking for 5 more minutes.



Verdict: My family really liked this! Two of the boys were not thrilled with the zucchini being in there, so I probably should have chopped them smaller. Next time I'll use my one cup food processor to make really small chunks. My husband loved it, and he ate the leftovers for lunch the next day. Will definitely make again. Thanks Beth!

Italian Vegetable Soup

This is a very filling crockpot soup. We serve it over spaghetti noodles and all the children love it. A winner every time!

Italian Vegetable Soup

Layer in crockpot:
3-4 carrots sliced (or several more if they are baby ones)
2 small potatoes, chopped
3 ribs of celery, sliced
1 small onion, chopped
2 T parsley flakes
3-4 tsp beef soup base or beef bouillon cubes (can use vegetable soup base to make this a vegetarian main dish)
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can red kidney beans
6-8 cups of water (depending on size of your crockpot!)

Do NOT stir. Cook on high for 4 to 4 1/2 hours, or on low for 8 or 9. Add 1 can of stewed tomatoes and ham (optional) for last half hour of cooking. Meanwhile, cook spaghetti noodles and drain. Place some noodles in bottom of bowl and top with soup. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top if desired. Yum!

Macaroni and Not Cheese

This is a recipe I got from my friend Jennifer, and it was really delicious! The children did not see me make this, and I called it mac and cheese, so they had no idea there was actually no cheese in this dish. The cheesy color comes from cooked and pureed carrots and potatoes. I chose to leave meat out this time, but you could easily add ham or pork for a meat flavored variety. The kids loved it! We had it with steamed broccoli and the rocky mountain muffins I made the other day. Yum.

I have to admit, it was a bit labor intensive. It took me an hour to get it in the oven, and then it had to bake for nearly an hour. But that could be due to it being my first time to make it. One redeeming factor is that the recipe for the sauce makes double, so I now have 4 cups of sauce in my freezer ready to go and next time it will just require boiling the noodles and assembling the dish.

Macaroni and Not Cheese Sauce

3+ cups potatoes
3+ cups carrots
1 cup potato water
3 cups milk (or 1 1/2 cups milk and 1 1/2 cups water)
2 T oil
2 tsp salt
1 tsp Lawry's
1 tsp Mrs. Dash - original blend (I did not have either Lawry's or Mrs. Dash, so substituted with 2 tsp of my favorite "Possum" all purpose seasoning, which has no MSG)
4 T lemon juice (I didn't have any so left this out)

Peel, chop and boil potatoes. Cook carrots in steamer. When potatoes are done, reserve 1 cup of potato water. Drain the rest. Mix the milk, water, and oil with the potato water. In blender, alternate batches of veggies (cooked carrots and potatoes) and liquids. When all the veggies and liquids are blended, add the seasonings to complete the sauce. It will be quite orange in color but it tones down considerably in the oven! You will use approximately half of this sauce (3-4 cups) for one batch of this recipe. Freeze the rest for later use.

Macaroni and Not Cheese Assembly

Meanwhile, cook 3-4 cups of macaroni noodles. Drain. In a large bowl combine the cooked noodles, sauce, 2 beaten eggs, and meat if desired. Stir and pour into casserole pan. Cover with bread crumbs (or if you're me, your delicious Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing Mix!) and drizzle one stick of melted butter on top. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes, depending on your oven temp.


Verdict: Fun to make (I love using my blender!) , loved by the children, and a good way to sneak in some veggies. A winner! Thanks Jennifer!