The weather is wonderful here today so I decided to head out to the grill again. I love this marinade recipe. It is both sweet and salty, yum! Next time I make it I am going to try the sugarfree preserves on this and see how that works. I grilled half chicken breasts so be sure to check your weight for the points. We had sweet potatoes and roasted asparagus as the sides with this. This is definitely a make again recipe and I can’t wait to try this marinade with other meats and fish.

Grilled Tropical Chicken
Salty, yet sweet and tangy, the marinade for this dish hits all the right notes for summer.

6 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 Tbsp ginger root, fresh, minced
6 Tbsp apricot preserves
6 Tbsp soy sauce
1 pounds uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 4-oz pieces

Preheat grill.

In a large bowl, whisk together lime juice, ginger, preserves and soy sauce. Set aside 1/2 of the marinade. Add chicken to remaining marinade, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours, turning chicken occasionally.

Grill chicken until firm and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes per side.

POINTS® Value: 5
Servings: 4

Note: I would marinade the chicken a minimum of 2 hours when I make this again.

I was in the mood for Chicken Parmesan and decided to try and lighten it up. I came up with a 9 point dish and felt like I wasn’t missing a thing. I did not bread the chicken and instead cooked it in the sauce. Right before serving I took the chicken out of the pan and added some mozzarella cheese and put it under the broiler to melt it. From start to finish this dish took about 30 minutes.

Chicken Parmesan Sauce with Pasta

2 chicken breast halves
1 medium Spanish onion, chopped in large pieces
16 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups water
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp ground basil
1/2 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp table salt
1 large zucchini, cut in large chunks

6 oz uncooked whole-wheat pasta
2 oz. low fat mozzarella cheese

Spray pan with Pam. Cut each chicken breast into 3 strips. Brown lightly and remove from pan. Add onions and garlic.

Add remaining ingredients except for zucchini. Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. Taste to adjust seasonings.

Chop zucchini into large pieces.

Start pasta cooking and add zucchini and chicken back to the sauce. Cook 10 more minutes.

Spray a pie pan with Pam and add cooked chicken strips. Top with the mozzarella cheese. Put under broiler until cheese melts.

Drain pasta and add to sauce. Serve.

9 WW points per serving using 4 - 5 oz. of chicken

You will have 4 servings of pasta so put that aside of freeze it.

Tonights dinner was grilled chicken, zucchinni, mushrooms served over wild rice with roasted asparagus. It was yummy.

I cooked the vegetables and chicken on a grill pan made by LeCreuset that I have had for a very long time. One of the good things about it is that because it gets to a very high heat the vegetables and chicken get a nice crust on them. I seasoned everything with Mural of Flavor a seasoning made by Penzey’s without salt.

We also had some roasted asparagus with dinner, I had some I needed to cook. To roast asparagus takes about 15 minutes in a 450 degree convection oven. I use a pan with holes in it and at about 10 minutes I give the pan a shake to just toss them a little. I spray the asparagus with Pam before cooking and sprinkle a little sea salt on them.

This dinner takes about 20 minutes to prepare so it is quick and easy enough to do on a worknight. I used Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice and prepared it without the butter to save a point.