My youngest daughter is a busy stay-at-home mom who always finds time to get together with me on Fridays for lunch. I try to make meals that are tasty, quick and easy, and reduced in fat and calories. Here is the meal we had this week.
I brought out an old favorite today- Chicken with Spinach and Noodles. This was adapted from a recipe I found in 1998 on Weight Watchers Light & Tasty software. It’s a very flavorful dish yet light on calories and fat.
Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling, salted water for 9-11 minutes until tender. Drain and keep warm. Meanwhile, in a large non-stick skillet, heat oil; add garlic to skillet and cook stirring frequently for 1-2 minutes. Stir in bell pepper and cook until pepper pieces are tender. Stir in tomatoes, spinach, vinegar, salt, pepper, and pepper flakes. Cook until spinach is wilted and mixture is heated through. Add cooked chicken and noodles; toss to mix well. Add pieces of mozzarella, stirring until cheese is melted. Spoon 1/4 of mixture onto each serving plate. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings CHICKEN WITH SPINACH AND NOODLES
Based on 4 servings, nutrition count per serving (DietPower software): 184 calories, 6.41 g fat, 48.9 mg cholesterol, 107 mg sodium, 699 mg potassium, 13.5 g carbohydrate, 3.52 g dietary fiber, 19.3 g protein
Weight Watchers: 3 points per serving
In my recipe binder there’s a note: “First made on 3/29/1998. Excellent. Would be good with asparagus instead of spinach.”
For dessert, I tried using what I had on hand to make a chilled Butterscotch Pecan Dessert and we both enjoyed it very much.
In medium bowl, mix together the pudding mix, ricotta and yogurt. Fold in the Cool Whip and 1/4 cup of chopped pecans. Divide mixture between 6 dessert dishes. Place one pecan half on top of each serving. Chill until ready to serve. BUTTERSCOTCH PECAN DESSERT
Yield: 6 servings
Based on 6 servings, nutrition per serving (DietPower software): 136 calories, 6.99 g fat, 10.8 mg cholesterol, 213 mg sodium, 23.2 mg potassium, 11.1 g carbohydrate, 0.449 g dietary fiber, 3.79 g protein
Weight Watchers: 3 points per serving
Your daughter is pretty like you!
I’ve been trying to cook more low fat/ lower calorie dishes. I’ve decided to eat this way during the week, and then on weekends I’ll go back to my usual cooking. I’ll have to add this to my list 🙂