Three cheese chicken penne pasta bake

The good old kraft magazine comes through again. This was a hit with the kids and I actually liked, plus it is low fat, calorie. I was happy because I cut the spinach up kind of small and the kids ate the spinach. I told them it was just seasoning and they went with it.

Three Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake

1 ½ cup multigrain penne pasta, uncooked
1 pkg. (9 oz.) fresh spinach leaves
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces (really small for my kids)
1 tsp dried basil leaves
1 jar (14 ½ oz) spaghetti sauce – we like the marina sauce from Albertsons Organic line
1 can (14 ½ oz) can diced tomatoes (petite cut), drained
2 oz (1/4 of 8 oz pkg.) 1/3 less fat Neufchatel cheese – (low fat cream cheese)
1 cup mozzarella cheese, divided, (2% milk or skim)
2 Tbsp. parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 375. Cook pasta, adding spinach to boiling water for the last 1 minute. Cook and stir chicken and basil in large nonstick skillet on medium high heat, 3 minutes. Add sauce and tomatoes; bring to boil. Simmer 3 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in Neufchatel cheese. Drain pasta mixture well. Return to pan. Stir in chicken mixture and ½ cup mozzarella. Spoon into 2 qt baking dish. Bake 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 3 minutes.

Thai Peanut Noodles

Another great one from Our Best Bites. LOVED it and even the kids ate it. It didn't make TONS so I would probably double the recipe especially if you want leftovers. Ben loves leftovers!!

1/2 cup chicken broth
3 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
1 -2 tsp. Sriracha chili sauce (1 is mild, 1.5 medium, 2 hot)
1 1/2 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh minced ginger
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
8 oz linguine noodles
chopped green onions
chopped cilantro
2 limes, cut into quarters
chopped peanuts
3 breasts - chicken :)

Cook noodles in salted water. In the meantime, combine chicken broth, peanut butter, chili sauce, honey, soy sauce, ginger and garlic in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk until smooth and remove from heat. I actually didn't mean to but got mine to a very quick, low boil and it thickened it up which was good. I would do that again.

Toss cooked noodles with sauce and divide among 4 bowls. Sprinkle with green onions, cilantro, chopped peanuts and garnish each serving with 2 lime quarters. Before eating, squeeze lime juice over noddles and stir to combine.

The recipe didn't call for chicken but I need protein. I just used olive oil, soy sauce and garlic and just pan fried really thin slices of chicken.

Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce

I got this out of a recent family circle mag and we actually really liked it. Low calorie!!

Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce

1 pound penne (whole wheat)
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
7 medium size ripe tomatoes (about 2.5 pounds), peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (about 3 cups)
1 1/2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Cook Pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

While pasta is cooking, heat 2 Tbsp of the olive oil in a medium -size saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes or until fragrant.

Add tomatoes, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and tomato paste to pan and turn heat to medium high. Cook for about 10 minutes or until tomatoes have begun to lose their shape. Stir in remaining tablespoon olive oil and basil.

Place pasta in large bowl and stir in sauce and Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.