Balsamic Glazed Chicken

Balsamic Glazed Chicken

Ingredients:

Four boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/3 cup water

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons honey

2 tablespoons butter


Directions:

Mix thyme, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Pat both sides of the chicken breasts with the spice mixture. Heat a large skillet with the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chicken, cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn and cook the other side until browned. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil.

Add water, vinegar, and honey to the skillet. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 2 minutes or until slightly syrupy and reduced by half. Add the butter and stir until melted. Reduce the heat to medium-low and return the chicken to the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes in the glaze, then turn the chicken over and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Serve drizzled with glaze.

Baked Pasta Casserole

Baked Pasta Casserole

Ingredients:

extra-virgin olive oil

3/4 pound whole wheat pasta shells

sea salt

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

4 cups well-chopped fresh spinach

1 1/2 cups sliced almonds, lightly toasted

zest of 2 lemons

8 ounces mozzarella, shredded or torn into small pieces


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter/oil a large casserole dish or baking pan - something roughly equivalent to 13x9-inch pan.

Boil the pasta in salted water per package instructions. Drain pasta, toss with a glug of olive oil. Set aside.

In the meantime, heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high. Saute the onions with a couple pinches of salt for a few minutes . Stir in garlic. Stir in spinach. Cook for just about 20 seconds, until the spinach collapses a bit. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of the almonds and 1/2 of the zest. Add to pasta and stir and stir - mixing extremely well, a minute or so.

Now sprinkle the bottom of baking dish with the rest of the zest. Add a layer of the pasta to the bottom of the baking pan, now sprinkle with some of the cheese, add more pasta, then more cheese. Finish with a layer of cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes or until cheese on top is bubbly and melty. Serve sprinkled with the remaining almonds.