Chicken Parmesan

Please refer to post "Cook Along!!" to see ingredients list for this dish.

Preheat oven to 400* Coat large cookie sheet/baking sheet with cooking spray.
Heat 2tsp olive oil in skillet over med. heat.
Add onions/bell peppers/garlic and sautee until veggies get soft.

Add 1tsp oregano and cook 30 seconds.
Add tomatoes and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer.  Reduce heat to low, partially cover and cook 20-30 min.

Combine panko, parmesan, remaining tsp of oregano, thyme, salt and black pepper in a shallow dish.  Mix with fork.
Brush both sides of chicken breasts with dijon mustard.  Coat both sides with panko mixture, and place on baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes or until juices run clear.
Boil 8oz uncooked pasta until done to your taste.
Top each chicken breast with two to three TBSP of tomato sauce and 2TBSP mozzarella cheese. Return chicken to oven and bake 10 more minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly, and crust is golden brown.
Arrange pasta on serving plate and top with remaining tomato sauce.  Serve chicken with pasta on the side, garnishing with basil.

 I can't wait to hear your reviews and see your pictures of this delicious meal!!!
-Recipe courtesy of the Best of Clean Eating cookbook.-

Cobb Salad

A bit of an update.  I've now lost 17.2lbs since January!! Kicking butt and taking names.  I've been on a bit of a salad kick lately, so I decided to whip up this tasty - ohsoawesomeforyou - Cobb salad.  I also passed on the blue cheese and made up a balsamic vinaigrette to drizzle on top of it - YUM SAUCE!!!

Cobb Salad w/Chicken
1 chicken breast (cooked in skillet w/cooking spray, chopped into 1"squares and set aside)
head of lettuce (I chose red leaf lettuce, but feel free to use green leaf or romaine)
1 avocado peeled, seeded, and chopped into squares
1 large tomato chopped
3 carrots grated
1 cucumber grated or chopped
6 eggs hardboiled - yolks removed
1/4C low-fat feta cheese per serving (I set this aside because my husband doesn't like feta...he's a wierd-o, I know.)

Assembling the salad is self explanatory.  This is what mine looked like before I added egg whites and chicken:

Now, to make vinaigrette:
2tsp extra virgin olive oil
1tsp honey
1tsp Dijon mustard
3TBSP balsamic vinaigrette
1 clove garlic minced
whisk together, drizzle over salad once on plate (this serves approx 4)

Add the chicken, add the egg whites - VOILA!  I had to hold myself back from using my fork as a shovel. No lie.

Cook Along!!!

Per a good friends suggestion, I am hosting a "cook along."  This is where anyone who wants to participate, cooks the same meal with me, on the same night.  We all take pictures of our final product, and we discuss the dish...ways to improve it, things we'd do differently, etc.  I am SO EXCITED about this - I really hope you''ll be just as excited, and join me on this.  I'll be posting everyone's comments and pictures, so we can compare and contrast.

Now for the good part.....the meal is coming from my Clean Eating cookbook - it's Chicken Parmesan with Pasta.  Please see recipe below - go to the grocery store if you need to - "Cook Along" will be Tuesday night March 20th!

Chicken Parmesan with Pasta
cooking spray
2tsp olive oil
1/2C diced onion (I prefer yellow, but use whatever you like best)
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced (or 4-5 if you're a garlic lover like I am!)
2tsp dried oregano
1 28 jar of crushed tomatoes (organic if you can find it!)
1Tbsp organic tomato paste
1/2 C whole-wheat panko bread crumbs (you can make your own whole wheat bread crumbs from toasted bread put in a food processor)
1Tbsp grated reduced-fat parmesan cheese
1/2tsp dried thyme
1/4tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 (4oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1" thickness
1Tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
8oz cooked whole wheat penne pasta (8oz is the dry weight, but please cook the pasta :)  )
1/4C chopped fresh basil

Many of these things will probably be pantry staples.  If you can't afford to go buy some of this stuff, make due the best you can with what you have.  I don't want anyone breaking their bank over this!  Can't wait to talk to you all Tuesday morning when I'll post the recipe!