Rotini with Chicken, Asparagus, & Tomatoes and Parsnips & Leek Soup

Sunday night for dinner I made a delicious dinner! Rotini with Chicken, Asparagus, and Tomatoes courtesy of Cooking Light, November 2007. I think that for the first time my meal looks almost identical to the professional photo on the Cooking Light site! Hooray! The original recipe calls for goat cheese but Matt is not a fan of goat cheese so he replaced his with feta. We both loved our dinners, mine with goat cheese and his with feta!



My review: I love the flavor combinations!
Matt's review: I love rustic meals like this. (I'm not quite sure what this really means)
Final decision: This entree definitely earned a spot in my recipe box!

While I was putting together dinner I also threw together a parsnip and leek soup for my work lunches. I had 4 parsnips and a large leek in the fridge from my last Boston Organics delivery and needed to use them for something before they went bad. I think I did a pretty good job for my first vegetable soup creation. My Monday lunch ended up being delicious!

A bowl of parsnip and leek soup.


My red pepper bean dip, spinach, and goat cheese on a slice of whole wheat bread. Doesn't it look beautiful?!


Now on to the recipes....

Rotini with Chicken, Asparagus, and Tomatoes

Ingredients

8 ounces uncooked rotini (corkscrew pasta) *I used whole wheat ziti instead of rotini*
Cooking spray
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/4-inch strips
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup (1-inch) slices asparagus
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled goat cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken and asparagus to pan; saute 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and garlic to pan; saute 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in pasta, basil, vinegar, and oil. Arrange 2 cups pasta mixture on each of 4 plates; top each serving with 1 tablespoon cheese.

Serves 4


Parsnips & Leek Soup

Ingredients

olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 leek, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
4 parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 stem of rosemary, leaves removed from stem
1 stem of thyme
1 cup of reduced sodium chicken stock
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 cup fat free milk
salt and pepper

Saute chopped onions in olive oil for 4 minutes over medium high heat. Add chopped leeks and garlic saute until soft, about 4 minutes. Add chicken broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes - 1 hour. Then stir in milk and half & half. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat. Add to blender and puree in batches.

Makes about 6 cups