Giada's Chicken Parmesan

This dish was AMAZING and SO easy! Here's the story that goes along with it: I had been craving Italian all week. It was Friday, and the next day we had a 7 mile run ahead of us, so I was prepared to splurge. In Googling "Chicken Parmesan" I found this recipe by Giada De Laurentis. The reviews on the Food Network Website were excellent and it was! It's also a lighter version of chicken parm than what you usually see. I altered it just a bit from Giada's recipe.

3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme (my store was out of it, so I used fresh basil)
1 tsp. chopped fresh parsely
salt and freshly ground pepper
4 chicken breasts cut in half from end to end to make 8 cutlets (like creating 2 thinner chicken breasts from each one)
1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce
1/2 c. shredded mozzerella (I used fresh mozzerella "medallions")
16 tsp. shredded parmesan
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into chunks
8 oz. pasta (we used Barilla Plus angel hair)


1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, herbs, salt and pepper. Mix and brush onto both sides of the chicken cutlets. Preheat an ovenproof skillet over high heat. Add chicken to pan and cook just until brown, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the skillet from the heat.
3. Spoon the marinara sauce on top of and around the cutlets. Top the chicken with 1 tsp. of mozzerella (or 1 medallion) and 2 tsp. of parmesan. Sprinkle butter pieces over the cheese. Bake until the cheese melts and the chicken is cooked through, about 5-7 minutes. When the pasta is cooked, add 1 cup of pasta to each plate and top with 2 cutlets of chicken and sauce for the pasta. Enjoy!


Serves 4.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I found this recipe while searching on the internet for tortilla soup recipes on Centsational Girl, a very cool blog with many ideas for decorating, crafts, cooking, and much more. I made it on a Sunday night when I had lots of time for prepping and simmering. It really was very easy to make, but it does need to simmer for 40 minutes, which was the longest part of the process. I adapted a few things and cut the recipe in half to make one dinner for the two of us and then there was one more bowl for my lunch the next day! You can add/subtract any of the ingredients to your taste which is the great thing about this soup. Patrick is not a fan of corn, so I left that out and I really didn't miss it.

4 chicken breasts, diced
1 packet of taco seasoning (I used Penzey's Bold Taco Seasoning, I also love McCormick)
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
4 (14 oz.) cans chicken broth
1 Tbsp. red taco sauce
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chiles
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
3/4 tsp. ground cumin
14 oz. water
1 medium onion, chopped
1.5 cups diced carrot
1.5 cups diced celery
1.5 cups frozen corn
Toppings: Tortilla chips, avocado, hot sauce, shredded cheese, sour cream, etc.

1. Season the chicken with the taco seasoning and cook in a grill pan or non-stick skillet until cooked through. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a dutch oven or stockpot over med-low heat and add onion, celery, carrot and chiles to the pot. Cook until soften, about 3-4 minutes.
3. Add chicken broth and water.
4. Add corn, tomato paste, taco sauce, and cumin. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, then reduce to low. Add chicken.
5. Cook soup on low for 40 minutes. I also usually let soup sit for about 5 minutes or so in the pot to cool a bit before serving. Serve with your favorite toppings.

Serves 6.
1 serving=1 cup of soup

Pumpkin Bread

After making the pumpkin spice pancakes (below), I had plenty of pumpkin left and it seemed a shame to waste it. Since it was a beautiful fall day and I was in the mood for baking, I used the it to make this pumpkin bread! This recipe is my mom's and it has always been a family favorite, as well as a staple at Thanksgiving dinner. I think I end up making a loaf every October as well. Enjoy! 1 3/4 flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. melted butter or oil
2 eggs
1 c. cooked pumpkin
1/3 c. water
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional)
1/3 c. raisins (optional)

1. Stir together first 6 ingredients.
2. In a seperate bowl, whisk together oil (or butter), sugar, and eggs until light and fluffy. Add in pumpkin and whisk to combine. Add dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture. Stir in water and vanilla gradually (I added the vanilla to the water in a Pyrex measuring cup so that I could add both gradually). Mix well.
3. Fold in nuts and raisins. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan and bake in 350 degree oven 1 hour or until a knife inserted comes clean.

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Patrick and I love pumpkin spice anything, so I knew we would like these. I got them from a great food blog it seems I am always looking at, Gina's Skinny Recipes. Her blog is very creative, with great photos and the best part about it is that she provides Weight Watchers Points for all of her dishes.

1 c. whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 T. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (I made my own using 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp. each of allspice, ginger, and nutmeg, then I measure out 1/2 tsp. from that mixture)
1/4 c. pumpkin butter or canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
whites from 3 large eggs
2 tsp. oil
butter flavor cooking spray
pumpkin butter for topping (we used real maple syrup)

1. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine milk, vanilla, egg whites and pumpkin butter or canned pumpkin in a bowl and mix until smooth. Combine wet and dry ingredients and combine until there are no dry spots. Don't over mix.

2. Heat a large non-stick skillet or griddle of medium heat. Spray oil to lightly coat and add 1/4 cup of batter to the pan for each pancake. When the pancake starts to bubble and the edges begin to set, flip the pancake over. Repeat with the remaining batter. Top with pumpkin butter or butter and maple syrup.

1 serving=2 pancakes with 2 Tbsp. pumpkin butter
7 WW Points+ per serving