Creatively cooking with constraints.

So the diet has left me missing large meals. I am not starving by any means but I do get that "oh so very full" feeling and maybe that is a good thing. Many times I go past the osvf feeling and go straight to the "oh so very uncomfortable" feeling. So I have been experimenting with low cal ingredients to make a larger and satisfying meal. By experiment I mean I look around my kitchen say I like this, this and this. Now will they taste fine together. I tend to stick with variations on a theme. I like recipes yet I like to do my own thing. Today I am trying my hand at a baked pasta dish. I added some chicken and orange peppers and it turned out pretty good. It's pretty simple.

Ingredients:
1 small chicken breast
1/2 cup of pasta (whatever you want I like the spiral kind)
1/2 cup sauce (I improv mine with canned tomato's but you can use what you want)
1/4 cup grated cheese (I like cheddar)
1/4 an orange pepper
Spices (Your choice I used Sage, Basil, Ground Mustard, Majoram Leaves, Black pepper and oregano)

Bake the chicken breast, sprinkle sage, basil, ground mustard and marjoram on the chicken. It doesn't have to be fully done it will finish baking in the dish. When the chicken is well on it's way to being done take it out and dice it up into small piece and put into a small baking dish.

Boil the pasta till it just starts boiling it will finish cooking in the dish. Drain the pasta and add to the chicken. Dice the orange pepper and add it to the baking dish. Add about 2 spoon fulls of sauce over the chicken, pasta and peppers sprinkle a small amount of the cheese with that then add black pepper and oregano. Mix it all together in the dish then add the rest of the sauce over the top of everything a little more black pepper and oregano as well as the rest of your cheese.

Put in the oven at 350 for about 10-15 minutes. It serves about two and is roughly 300 calories a serving (or 600 if you eat the whole thing) and very yummy.

I steam up about a hand full of veggies to go with and it makes for a good meal and pretty low cal and easy. I am sure every time I do this I will do it differently depending what is in my fridge. :)

I look at it this way it was easy and quick. Two things I like in my cooking. I like to get right to the eating.

Screw Flanders or Bon Appetit