Easy Family Dinner - Garlic Chicken Penne!

Hola amigos!

So I've been neglecting my blog a little since the summertime due to back-to-school/travels/etc., but I realized I've got a few posts started back then that I wanted to finish up now -- this is one of those posts!

Every once in a while, when the parents are out or when I'm living alone, I'm tasked with making myself or the whole fam dinner for the night and for some reason, on one particular evening, I was just really craving pasta.. So, I found a recipe, made a trip to the grocery store, and voila! Garlic Chicken Penne!

You may notice it's more than half eaten - we were too hungry to wait for before pics haha

You can find the original recipe here, or keep reading this post for the how-to!

Here's what you need:

- 1 lb Boneless Chicken Skinless Chicken Breast

- 1/2 lb Asparagus Spears

- 1/2 cup Chopped Onions

- 1 tub Philadelphia Reduced Fat Italian Cheese & Herb Cooking Cream

- 2 cups Whole Wheat Penne Pasta
- 1 cup Cherry Tomatoes
- 2 tbsp Shredded Parmesan (or to taste)

The How-to:

1. First, you'll wanna prep your ingredients, which means: cutting the chicken into bite-size pieces, chopping the asparagus into small couple-inch spears, chopping the onions, and halving the cherry tomatoes
2. Then, get some water to boil for the pasta, and while you're waiting for the penne to cook, cook the chicken, asparagus, and onions in a large nonstick skillet on medium heat.
3. Once the chicken is ready, add in the pasta and the cooking cream (I couldn't find the Italian Cheese & Herb one tbh, so I used a different, Italian Garlic one instead and it tasted delish. So pick whichever you like best or is stocked at your grocery store!)
4. Lastly, after the cream is melted and stirred in nicely, add in the tomatoes for just long enough to get them to soften a bit the way tomatoes do.
5. Sprinkle with parmesan to taste and serve!


In total, the meal took 25-30 mins to make, and it tasted pretty amazing! It's a pretty heavy-feeling dish, so we ended up with some leftovers - I'd say it's enough to serve 6 comfortably. I also served it with a side of homemade garlic bread; you could also add a nice glass of white wine if that's your style, plus some good Italian accordian/violin music, and you'll have that full Italian meal feel!

So yeah, that's that! Hope y'all enjoyed the post and the recipe -- if you do decide to make it for yourself, let me know what you think or if you've got your own personal variations! I'd love to know! :)

Cheers y'all! xo

~SV 

Amazing Almond Butter Rice Cakes!

During this last semester of uni, I accomplished quite a bit through exams, courses, clubs, etc. etc. But one thing that was always lacking was a good diet. With all the stress and hassle around me, it was easiest to just ignore all those recipes I've learned over the years and opt for some fast food goodness instead. Well, this summer, I've decided no more!

Over the past few weeks, I've been doing some research about the right kinds of foods I should be eating to fuel my busy lifestyle, ones that will both satisfy my hunger and provide nutritional goodness to make me happy and buzzing all day (and it doesn't hurt if they're on the low-cal side either, am I right? ;) ) That being said, I thought I'd make a post about one of my new favourite snack/breakfast/thingies: these almond butter rice cakes!

I first came across these somewhere on Pinterest or FitSugar or something like that. The original source is  http://deliciouslyorganized.blogspot.ca/2011/11/vegan-gluten-free-afternoon-snack.html, where I got the pic from too.

So here's the good stuff, what it is n how to make it. It's SUPER easy. First get yourself some:
- Plain rice cake(s)
- Almond butter
- Banana
- Cinnamon or chocolate flakes (if desired)

For one cake, I take one tablespoon of almond butter and smear it on the rice cake, slice up half a banana, and voila! To add another flavour, you can also sprinkle some cinnamon or chocolate flakes or the like on top, but I personally prefer it without.

And apart from being so quick to prepare (literally takes me 3 mins then I'm munchin'), it's also SUPER yummy, vegan, gluten-free, low-calorie (less than 200 in one cake), and filled with mega protein, potassium, and fibres -- seriously, how can you NOT love it?

Anyways, I've been popping one of these as a post-workout/evening snack or pairing it with some greek yoghurt and blueberries for breakfast, and it's just great! So, have a taste, and let me know what you think!

Cheers,

~SV