An Easy Dinner Recipe; Skinny Baked Chicken Parmesan and Asparagus Orzo

I love to cook. I'm not the best at it, but I sure do love it when I find a really great recipe or I get a "Mmm that's good" out of the husband. And trust me, he's a tough critique.

So if the recipe makes it on the blog, then that means that I definitely received the approval of the husband.

Both of these recipes were found on my pinterest {you can follow me here}

First, the Skinny Baked Chicken Parmesan. The picture shows it with spaghetti and marinara {which would be a great side as well}, but I wanted to make something different for the sizd so my second recipe that I did with this meal was the Asparagus Orzo.

*Both links will take you to the original recipes which are posted below as they are found on the website. I make notes in red on what I changed or did differently.

Baked Chicken Parmesan { I have an all-time favorite chicken parmesan recipe, which is more delicious, however this is by far the easiest and great for a quick whip-up dinner}



Image Credit


Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 8 • Serving Size: 1 piece • Old Points: 5 pts • Points+: 6 pts 
Calories: 224.5 • Fat: 8.6 g • Protein: 25 g • Carb: 14 g • Fiber: 1.5 g


Ingredients:  

• 4 (8 oz) chicken breast halves, sliced in half to make 8
• 3/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs (I used whole wheat)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp butter, melted (or olive oil)
• 3/4 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese (I used Polly-o)
• 1 cup marinara or Filetto di Pomodoro
• cooking spray

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 450°. Spray a large baking sheet lightly with spray.

Combine breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese in a bowl. Melt the butter in another bowl. Lightly brush the butter onto the chicken, then dip into breadcrumb mixture. Place on baking sheet and repeat with the remaining chicken.

Remove from oven, spoon 1 tbsp sauce over each piece of chicken and top each with 1 1/2 tbsp of shredded mozzarella cheese. 

Bake 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted.

*I followed all these instructions with the exception of the fact that I used chicken tender strips {what I happened to have} instead of actually cutting chicken breasts in half. They were great as tenders as well if you prefer those!*

Creamy Asparagus Orzo

Image Credit

Ingredients:

1 cup orzo

1 cup asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 tbsp butter or margarine

1/4 to 1/2 cup cream

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions:

Bring a large sauce pan of water (filled about halfway) to a boil over medium heat. Cook the orzo until tender, about 10 minutes.

After the orzo has been cooking for about 5 minutes, add the asparagus to the same pot (this will allow the orzo and asparagus to cook in the same pot and keep the clean-up to a minimum!).

Once the orzo and asaparagus are cooked and tender, drain and return to the pot.

Quickly add the parmesan cheese and butter. Stir thoroughly, allowing both the cheese and butter to melt. Slowly add the cream to the mixture, while stirring. Continue to stir and add cream until you reach your desired consistency.

Season with salt and pepper.

**This is my first time making orzo, and I have to say, I am impressed! It's a lot easier to cook than rice and I loved it. The only things that I changed about this recipe is that I used whole wheat organic orzo and I barely used any cream. I wouldn't measure out the cream, just pour it until you get your desired mixture! SUPER easy recipe!**