Recipes

White Chicken Chili & Spaghetti Squash

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I love spaghetti squash.  I mean, what could be better than an all-natural version of one of my FAVORITE foods in the world?  Lately I’ve been in a spaghetti squash rut.  I’ve been searching high and low for something different than my standard Spaghetti Squash with Spicy meat sauce.

Luckily, I stumbled across this post by Green Dog Wine for some white chicken chili she tossed on top of spaghetti squash.  Sounded like an awesome combo to me!

Since Monday was a holiday, my usual Sunday-Cooktacular was pushed back a day.  Here’s a shot of some of my inventory:

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That doesn’t even include the 2 turkey sausages and 1 chicken breast I grilled up along with the 4 servings of White Chicken chili this recipe makes!  I’m a cooking machine!

Alright, on to the main event:  White Chicken Chilli!

First up, I heated up a skillet that I sprayed down with cooking spray.  Once the skillet was hot, I tossed in a cup of a chopped white onion and 2 cloves of minced garlic.

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A few minutes later the onions were looking nice and caramelized, so I plopped three chicken breasts seasoned with S&P into the skillet right on top of the onions and garlic.

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Once the chicken was cooked through, I added the following to the pan:

  • 1 can Navy beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can rotel tomatoes
  • 1 packet McCormick’s White Chicken Chili seasoning
  • 1 cup all-natural free range chicken broth

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I gave everything a good stir, then popped the lid on and reduced the heat to a simmer. 

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Meanwhile, I halved two baby spaghetti squash and tossed them onto a cookie sheet.  Into a 415 degree oven for 25 minutes (since these guys were so tiny, I shortened the cooking time). 

While the squash was cooking, I pulled the chicken breasts out of the chili mix and gave them a rough shred using two forks (just like I do when I make my buffalo chicken dip).  I tossed the shredded chicken back into the chili just in time for the spaghetti squash to be done. 

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I used a fork to scrape out all the squash noodles…  Squadles, perhaps? 😉

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Then, I divided the squash evenly between two containers to take to work for late-night dinners at the office: 

When it was time to eat, I topped one of the containers of squash off with one quarter of the white chicken chili mixture:

 

This is going into my spaghetti squash roatation for sure!  The chili was delicious even without the squash, but I like the extra texture and flavor that the squash adds. 

White Chicken Chili Ingredient List (serves four)

  • 1 cup white onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
  • S&P
  • 1 can Navy beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can rotel tomatoes
  • 1 packet McCormick’s White Chicken Chili seasoning
  • 1 cup all-natural free range chicken broth
  • Spaghetti squash (optional)

Myfitnesspal stats on one serving chili:  293 calories, 39 carbs, 5g fat, 33g protein, 10g fiber

 

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Recipes

Chicken and Barley Salad

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School is back in session – which means it is officially the end of summer in my book.  In honor of this self-declared change in seasons, I decided to make one last summer salad for dinner Monday night. 

The January 2010 issue of Cooking Light featured a recipe for Greek Chicken and Barley salad which was my inspiration and starting point to my dinner. 

First up, I seasoned a few chicken breasts with McCormick’s Montreal Chicken Seasoning and tossed them on to the George Foreman grill.  I only used 4 ounces of chicken in this recipe, but grill once eat thrice I always say. 

When the chicken was done grilling, I roughly shred four ounces of it:

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Meanwhile I brought 1 cup of Nature’s Basket Free Range Chicken Broth (fat-free and low sodium) to a boil, then tossed in 1/2 cup Quaker’s Quick Barley and cooked according to the package instructions. 

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Next I got to choppin the veggies.  For this salad I used:

  • 1 roma tomato
  • 1 large cucumber, seeded
  • 1/2 a yellow bell pepper
  • 1/4 cup of reduced fat Atheno’s feta cheese

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In a small bowl, I mixed together a yummy dressing for the salad:

  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp water
  • 1/8 tsp each salt, black pepper, ground thyme
  • 1 clove minced garlic
  • 1/4 tsp dried basil

Once the chicken and barley were cooled off, I added them to my veggies and feta, added the dressing, and tossed to combine. 

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I put the salad in the fridge to let the flavors merry while I cleaned up the inevitable disaster I created in my kitchen.

Dinner time!

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This salad was light and the veggies were so crisp.  I really REALLY like the dressing, and I had forgotten how yummy barley is.  I will miss you summer salads… but I won’t lie.  I’m looking forward to some dinner SOUPS!!

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Chicken & Barley Salad Ingredient List (makes two servings):

  • 4 ounces grilled chicken
  • 1 cup Nature’s Basket Free Range Chicken Broth
  • 1/2 cup Quaker’s Quick Barley
  • 1 roma tomato
  • 1 large cucumber, seeded (or 1 seedless cucumeber)
  • 1/2 a yellow bell pepper
  • 1/4 cup Athenos reduced fat feta
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp water
  • 1/8 tsp each salt, black pepper, ground thyme
  • 1 clove minced garlic
  • 1/4 tsp dried basil

Myfitnesspal stats on one serving:  309 calories, 37g carbs, 5g fat, 26g protein, 6g fiber

 

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