I just made the most amazing pasta for dinner tonight...based roughly off the chicken giardino at the Olive Garden. Also, my magical white bean and sausage soup is both high fiber and low fat (search the forums for "magic white bean" and you'll find it!)
Makes 4 servings
4 cups broccoli florettes
3 large bell peppers, cut into strips
3 zucchini, cut into discs
2 cloves garlic, minced
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 cups chicken broth, divided
2 tbsp light margarine (transfat free if you can find it)
2 tbsp whole wheat flour
2 tbsp fat free half and half (optional)
8 oz whole wheat penne
1 lb chicken breast, cut in 1" dice
Dried Thyme
Dried Rosemary
1 tsp black pepper
salt to taste
Cooking spray
In a small bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth, juice and zest of lemon, three pinches dried thyme, 1 pinch dried rosemary, ground pepper, and a pinch of salt. Whisk to combine.
Salt and pepper chicken breast. In a large saute pan coated with cooking spray, cook the chicken breast chunks until they are cooked through, then remove to a small bowl. Respray pan as necessary, and add broccoli, bell pepper, zucchini, and garlic. Add remaining 1/2 cup of chicken stock to the pan, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer. Allow veggies to steam until crisp-tender.
Cook pasta according to package directions.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt the 2 tbsp of light margarine. When it is melted, whisk in the flour and cook on low heat for 1-2 minutes, until flour is no longer raw. Whisk in about half of the lemon/chicken broth mixture and raise heat to medium, whisking constantly until all lumps are disolved. As the sauce thickens, add additional lemon/chicken broth mixture slowly. Bring to a simmer. Just before you are ready to add this to the pasta, whisk in 2 tbsp of fat free half and half.
Return the chicken breast to the pan with the vegetables and toss to heat through. Drain the pasta and return to the large pasta pot. Pour sauce onto pasta, and add vegetables/chicken to the mixture. Toss well to combine and serve.
Nutritionals:
Total: 404
Fat: 7 63 16%
Sat: 1 13 3%
Poly: 2 17 4%
Mono: 2 19 5%
Carbs: 60 189 49%
Fiber: 13 0 0%
Protein: 33 133 35%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%
7 g of fat, only 1 saturated, and 13 g of fiber.
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