Chicken Basil Stir Fry with Rice Noodles

Lately meal planning has been a really daunting task. I can't figure out why. I'm someone who loves to eat and cook, but for some reason lately the pre-planning is making me nuts. Someone at my Weight Watchers meeting was raving about the new "The Essential WW Freestyle Cookbook" sold at meeting centers so I decided to pick it up. I figured any inspiration would be a good thing.

The first recipe I tried was this stir fry. The original recipe calls for turkey but I chose to substitute chicken. Overall I kept the recipe pretty identical except I added more noodles because my store had a limited option with the noodles and I ended up buying a pack of precooked "heat and serve" rice noodles. This recipe was very good. I think next time I'd add some sriracha to give the sauce some heat, but otherwise we all loved it.

Source: Slightly adapted from WW Freestyle Cookbook

6 SmartPoints on the WW Freestyle program (per 1 3/4 cup serving)

7 ounces thin rice noodles, cooked
3/4 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 pound chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1/4 tsp salt
4 teaspoons grapeseed oil (or canola)
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 tsp minced ginger
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
4 cups broccoli florets
2 small orange bell peppers, thinly cliced
4 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, cut into thin strips

Directions:
1- Whisk together the broth, soy sauce, and corn starch. Set aside.
2- Sprinkle chicken with salt. Heat pan with 2 tsp oil, swirling to coat the pan. Add the chicken and stir-fry until browned and cooked. Set aside on a plate.
3- Wipe out the skillet and add remaining oil. Add garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Stir fry for about 30 seconds. Add broccoli, bell peppers, and scallions until veggies are tender-crisp, about 3-4 minutes.
4- Add the chicken, basil, and noodles to the skillet. Whisk broth mixture again and pour over skillet. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat until the sauce thickens.

Makes 4 servings, about 1 3/4 cup each.

Lighter Chicken Pesto Pasta Bake

This has been a WEEK. I had an ear infection and missed a bunch of work, John has strep, and the kids are doing just fine (thank goodness) but when they're at full energy and we're both down... let's just say, it's been a week. I meant to blog this days ago but hey man, what can I tell you... we were in survival mode 'round here.

I am all about egg noodles. If I had to pick a favorite shape of pasta this might be it. I love the flat noodles, their curled edges, the smooth texture... oh man, I want some right now. Hazards of a food blogger, I suppose! Anyway, I have made a similar version to this meal countless times but I lightened it up a bit and it was perfection. I LOVE Pecorino-Romano cheese but you could lighten it up more by cutting back on that if you wanted. I suggest you don't, but you know... #choices

9 Smartpoints for 1/3 of the recipe on the Weight Watchers Freestyle program

Ingredients:
1 cup cherry tomatoes
Olive oil spray
Salt and pepper
1 packet Knorr pesto sauce mix, prepared with JUST water, no oil
6 ounces dry egg noodles, cooked
1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken breasts (I used rotisserie breasts)
9 tablespoons Pecorino Romano cheese, divided

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 400.
2- In an oven safe baking dish place your cup of cherry tomatoes. Spray with olive oil spray and season with salt and pepper. Roast until the skins start to pull back and burst. Remove from the oven and mash with a fork or potato masher.
3- Stir the cooked tomatoes into the prepared Knorr pesto sauce.
4- Transfer the cooked egg noodle and chicken breast to a baking dish. Stir in 6 tablespoons of the Pecorino Romano cheese. Fold in the sauce.
5- Bake the pasta for 15-20 minutes on 350.
6- Top each 1/3 of the recipe with one tablespoon cheese. Serve hot.

Chicken Cacciatore Pasta Bake

It's no secret that I love chicken cacciatore. It's one meal from my childhood that I still make (often) to this day. If I have an extra pepper and onion on hand you can pretty much guess that cacciatore is coming your way! This is a twist on my classic version, but a great make ahead option. I prepped the whole meal, minus the sauce, two days in advance and just added the sauce right before throwing it in the oven (if you add the sauce too far in advance it'll likely dry out).

There are many reasons I put on these pounds I'm working so hard to take off, but one of the reasons was I got lazy about cooking. It's just easier to eat a frozen pizza or some other frozen option than to cook when you come home from work and you're tired and have two little kids to care for. I've started really utilizing Sundays to get ahead for the week (like assembling this meal completely except the sauce... then when I got home and was ready to cook it I just stirred it in and baked). It's a learning curve but I'm proud to say in 5 weeks I'm down 10.6 pounds and still going! Meals like this help me to get there- they are hearty and comforting while also healthy and light.

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

7 Smartpoints for 1/3 of recipe on the Freestyle Program*
*Points vary based on the brand of ingredients you use

Ingredients:
2 cups of cooked pasta (I used white- you can use wheat and recalculate points)
2 cups of cooked chicken, cut into small pieces
1 bell pepper, diced into small pieces
1/3 cup diced onion
3 ounces of shredded light mozzarella cheese (I used Trader Joe's lite mozzarella which came to 3 sp)
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce (check the points- this can make the recipe more or less sp)
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese


Ingredients:
1- Spray a baking dish with cooking spray. Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and pour into the baking dish.
2- Bake at 375 for 25 minutes, or until cheese is melted and the pasta is hot.
3- Top each serving with 1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese