Lemon Chicken Pasta Alfredo – GNCO August Winner

My family and I have restarted a Game Night Cook Off that we used to do when I was in high school. Each person brings a dish that must include the “special ingredient” of the night. The winner of each cook off gets to choose the following “special ingredient” which so happened to be lemon for the month of August. Each dish is judged by everyone in 5 categories: Taste, Texture, Aroma, Presentation and Use of Ingredient. The winner takes home the Cooking Champion Trophy until the next cook off. I just so happened to win this week so it gets to chill here at my place… hopefully forever if I can keep on winning!

And this is how one looks when they lose…

This is my brother, he won the previous months’ competition with Chicken Alfredo Garlic Bread Pizza (it was amazing!). He actually made a delicious Lemon Coconut Cake but scored low in presentation or he possibly could have won the lemon round as well.

I will be sharing some awesome recipes but sadly some of pictures got deleted so you will just have to trust me until I remake these and get some visually appealing pictures up to win you over!

Lemon Chicken Pasta Alfredo

Part 1: Lemon Chicken Breasts

(Lemon Chicken Recipe From Ina Garten on the Food Network)

*If you are only cooking for 2-4 people then I would cut the lemon chicken part of the recipe in half. If you are cooking for more than that I would double the Alfredo Pasta part. The Lemon Chicken is excellent in quesadillas and Caesar salad so making a little extra will give you more yummy meal options!

Ingredients 

1/4 cup good olive oil
3 tablespoons minced garlic (9 cloves)
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4-6 boneless chicken breasts
1 lemon

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Warm the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the garlic, and cook for just 1 minute but don’t allow the garlic to turn brown. Off the heat, add the white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, and 1 teaspoon salt and pour into a 9 by 12-inch baking dish.

Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper. Cut the lemon in 8 wedges and tuck it among the pieces of chicken.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts, until the chicken is done. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Part 2: Lemon Pasta Alfredo

Adapted from Natasha’s Kitchen

• 1 lb fettuccine or penne pasta
• 1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 garlic clove
• ⅓ cup white wine
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• ⅓ cup parmesan cheese
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 to 1 tsp. lemon zest (depending on how lemony you like it)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Rosemary for garnish, optional

Instructions

1. Cook ¾ lb noodles in salted water according to package instructions and drain. Don’t rinse (this helps the sauce stick to the noodles better)
2. In large sauce pan, over medium/high heat, add 2 Tbsp butter and onion and sauté onion till golden. Stir in garlic and sauté another minute. Stir in ⅓ cup white wine and reduce to about 25%.
3. Stir in Cream and simmer until it starts to thicken. Add ⅓ cup parmesan (or add to taste) and stir until creamy and smooth. Add paprika and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Turn off heat and stir in drained, un-rinsed pasta, and lemon chicken. Garnish with rosemary, extra parmesan and freshly cracked pepper if desired.

The 2nd place dish, which followed very close to 1st, was Oven-Roasted Cauliflower.

4/8: Crustless Ham & Cauliflower Quiche with Asparagus and White Cheddar Popcorn

I like cauliflower and always come across recipes using it as a substitute for potato or rice. The trouble is I don’t think the cauliflower is ever quite as tasty as the original recipe. I keep practicing though and finally had a good result.

This recipe was originally for a ham and potato bake and it was so yummy! I love any sort of quiche so I thought I’d try a lower calorie one, a crustless ham and cauliflower quiche. I was so excited because it actually turned out and everyone loved it! One slice was 153 calories.

I blanched some asparagus and drizzled an 1/8 tsp of sesame oil over the top (25 calories). To have a carb on my plate I had 1 cup of white cheddar popcorn (60 calories). Total lunch calories equals 238 calories.

4/6: Chicken & Shrimp Fried Rice Substituted with Cauliflower

Today I made fried rice using grated cauliflower instead of rice. I accidentally made it a little spicier than I liked so I did add 1/4 cup of rice to it at the end.

I am always willing to try a healthier version of something that I love. If I can eat a larger quantity with less calories than I’m willing. Some changes aren’t worth it though and I’m not sure I think cauliflower is a worth it change. If you make regular fried rice and you put lots of veggies and some protein in it then using 1/2 cup rice goes a long way. You have a nice size portion and your meal wouldn’t be above 260 calories (less with certain changes). For this portion size I realized I would use half as much chicken, that alone would take off 25 calories.

This dish was 240 calories. If I had not added the 1/4 cup rice then it would have only been 180 calories. Yes, cauliflower is less calories but it only tasted fine to me. I like delicious! So in my opinion… stick with rice.