Valentine's Day Parmesan Chicken and Pasta

On our very first Valentine's Day as dating couple, I wanted to prepare a very special romantic meal designed to woo and impress the man who is now my husband. I was head over heels in love and only the best would do. Only one problem... I was rich with ideas but extremely poor on funds. In fact I only had $20.00 to my name at the time ($10.00 of which I needed to put gas in my car) and a few staples on hand. I was not sure what I could do with that, but I had already invited him over so I was determined to find a creative way to pull off a romantic dinner for 2.

And then scanning the daily newspaper and praying for inspiration, I found an ad for a local store that had boneless skinless chicken breasts on sale for 89 cents per pound. While I still wasn't sure what I was going to cook, I figured boneless skinless chicken breasts were a good starting point. Surely I could come up with something using the staples I had at home and the chicken breasts. So I immediately headed out to the store and was able to score 3 pounds of chicken breasts for less than $3.00, a package of spaghetti noodles for $1.50 and a day old loaf of Italian bread marked down to 99 cents. I had some parmesan cheese at home and a few frozen veggies so I figured I could at least make some type of light pasta dish.



The recipe I came up with turned out to be a keeper and one that I make each year for our Valentine's dinner to commemorate that very first time. The best part is we can avoid the crowds and the expense of eating out (although we DO usually do lunch at a restaurant). Total cost is only about $8.00 to $10.00 if you catch the chicken breasts on sale. Nowadays I buy large quantities ahead whenever such a sale occurs and freeze the chicken breasts in packages of 4-6 for future meals. Anyway, here is the menu I came up with: Parmesan chicken and pasta, roasted Brussels sprouts, and garlic bread. He brought over a nice bottle of Chardonnay and we had a romantic dinner by candlelight. Nothing fancy for dessert. Just some ice cream I already had in the freezer; however, if I had known of a way to add a fancy dessert to the menu in those days without going over my lean budget, I would have surely made one. The rest is history as we have been married for nearly 9 years now.

Parmesan Chicken and Pasta for Two

Ingredients:

8 ounces of spaghetti noodles
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1" cubes
2 tablespoons of cooking oil
1 cup of frozen peas
1 cup of low fat Italian salad dressing
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
A pinch of reed pepper (optional)
1 cup of parmesan cheese

Directions:

Cook the spaghetti according to the directions on the package
In a steamer basket steam the peas over the boiling spaghetti for 2-3 minutes
In a medium skillet brown the chicken breasts cubes in the cooking oil just until it is no longer pink
Drain the spaghetti and place it in a medium sauce pan
Add the peas and the chicken to the spaghetti and mix well
Add the Italian dressing and the seasonings to the chicken and pasta mixture and toss until well coated.
Mix about ¾ cup of the parmesan cheese into the chicken pasta mixture and toss to evenly distribute the cheese throughout.
Simmer on low heat, stirring frequently, just long enough to heat all the way through
Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of cheese on top and serve

Roasted Brussels sprouts

Ingredients:

8-10 ounces of frozen Brussels Sprouts
½ - 1 teaspoon of salt ( use sea salt)
¼ teaspoon of black pepper
½ teaspoon of garlic powder
½ teaspoon of onion powder
½ teaspoon of dried oregano
½ teaspoon of dried basil
(This is the seasoning combination I use. You may use whatever you like)
1 tablespoon of olive oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees on the roast setting (if your oven has one)
Spray a small baking dish with cooking spray
In mixing bowl toss the Brussels sprouts with the seasoning and then the oil until thoroughly coated
Place the Brussels sprouts in the baking dish in single layer
Roast for 30-40 minutes or until they appear slightly charred on the outside

Garlic Bread

Ingredients:

¼ cup of butter or margarine (1/2 stick) melted
¼ cup of olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 (1 pound) loaf of Italian or French bread, halved lengthwise
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Mix the melted butter with the olive oil and the garlic
Brush the garlic mixture evenly on the cut sides of the bread
Bake the bread on a cookie sheet (cut sides up) at 350 for about 8 minutes
Switch the oven to the broiler setting and broil the bread about 6 inches from the broiler for about 2 minutes or until golden brown.
Sprinkle with parsley and serve

My name is Meka founder of RecipesOnADime.com. I am new to the world of culinary, but I love to eat, so I guess I am somewhat of a "Foodie"! I recently launched a recipe website http://www.recipesonadime.com a relaxed place where you can share ideas and techniques to create magic in the kitchen. If you are a "Foodie" and love to share creative thoughts we'd love to have you! There's always room for you at our table.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Meka_A_Harley



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6805714

Posted in: food