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.

I have a turkey on the grill right now and decided I may as well take pictures of the process. First I brined the turkey for 6 hours in salt, brown sugar and water. I used 2 cups of kosher salt, 1 cup brown sugar and water to cover the turkey. I also add some ice to the water to get it cold faster. Refrigerate until ready to grill. I brined this one about 6 hours.

When you are ready to grill, remove the turkey from the brine and rinse. Place the turkey on a cookie sheet or aluminum pan that has been lined with foil.

Heat your grill. My grill has 3 burners so I turn the middle burner down low, the end one off and the one where I keep the smoking chips on high. My grill stays around 375 degrees doing it this way.

I soaked some oak and mesquite wood chips for 15 minutes before grilling, I added 1/3 to my wood chip tray over the high burner. You will add the rest of the chips during the cooking at any point while you are checking in on the turkey. I can’t help it I have to open the grill and adding the chips give me a reason too! This is what my turkey looked like when I first checked it after a hour.

I also add a butter herb mop to the turkey with a brush.

Turkey Mop

1/2 cup butter
1 cup chicken stock
2 cloves garlic - crushed or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
4 tablespoons assorted fresh herbs

Melt butter with chicken stock. Add fresh herbs and garlic, cook for a few minutes and remove from heat. Brush on turkey several times while grilling.

Note: This time instead of the fresh herbs I normally use, I used Penzey’s Mural of Flavor. If you haven’t tried this mixture yet from Penzey’s, sample it next time. I love it and use it as a seasoning mixture on everything from burgers to chicken.

This is what my turkey looked like at a little over 2 hours.

This was a 12 lb. Honeysuckle White turkey. This guy is one of a couple turkey still left from last holiday season. I learned when I first moved here that turkeys are not really stocked year around so they can be really pricey in the summer. I always stock up so I have turkey for summer grilling.

This is our turkey as he sits resting before dinner. We have a new puppy and the smell of this turkey is driving her crazy!