Week of Dec 26, 2011

Mon -Ham and Beans (See week of Oct 2, 2011)
Tue - Creamy Lemon Pesto (Pampered Chef recipe)
Wed - Easy Salisbury Steak (Campbell's recipe) http://www.campbellskitchen.com/RecipeDetail.aspx?recipeId=25529&CID=EM-PX-MM-186
Thur - Family Burrito Bake (Pampered Chef recipe)
Fri - Microwaved "Baked" Zitti and Sausage

Creamy Lemon-Pesto Chicken & Linguine

Ingredients:
1   lemon 2   tbsp (30 mL) butter, melted 2   tbsp (30 mL) all-purpose flour 1   cup (250 mL) 2% milk 1   garlic clove, pressed 1/2   cup (125 mL) prepared basil pesto		6   boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 4 oz/125 g each) 1   tbsp (15 mL) Citrus & Basil Rub 12   oz (350 g) uncooked linguini pasta 2   plum tomatoes 1/4   cup (50 mL) thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

Directions:
1.	Zest lemon using Microplane® Zester to measure 2 tsp (10 mL). Combine butter and flour in Classic Batter Bowl; whisk until smooth. Add lemon zest, milk and garlic pressed with Garlic Press to butter mixture; whisk well. Microwave, covered, on HIGH 3-4 minutes or until thickened, stirring every 60 seconds. Add pesto; mix well.
2.	Season chicken with rub. Place chicken in Deep Covered Baker, overlapping as necessary. Pour sauce over chicken. Microwave, covered, on HIGH 12-15 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C) in thickest part of chicken and centers are no longer pink. Carefully remove baker from microwave using Oven Mitts. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes.
3.	Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Set pasta aside and keep warm. Seed and dice tomatoes. Serve chicken and sauce over pasta; garnish with tomatoes and basil.
Yield: 6 servings  Nutrients per serving: U.S. Nutrients per serving: Calories 480, Total Fat 15 g, Saturated Fat 5 g, Cholesterol 75 mg, Carbohydrate 50 g, Protein 34 g, Sodium 500 mg, Fiber 3 g  U.S. Diabetic exchanges per serving: 3 starch, 1 vegetable, 3 low-fat meat, 1 fat (3 carb)  Cook’s Tips: If desired, store-bought lemon-pepper seasoning can be substituted for the Citrus & Basil Rub.  Rice or other types of pasta such as spaghetti can be substituted for the linguine, if desired.

Mircowaved “Baked” Ziti

Ingredients

1 lb of Italian sausage (or ground beef, seasoned with 1 tbsp of Italian seasoning, 2 tsp black pepper, 2 tsp seasoning salt [such as Johnny’s], 2 tsp garlic salt)

1 can/jar (660 – 780 grams) of your favorite tomato based pasta sauce

1 cup of shredded mozzarella or “Three Italian cheese” packaged mix

½ cup of shredded parmesan cheese

3 cups pasta (penne, zitioni or rigatoni work best, but you can use any that take 9-11 minutes to cook according to package)

3 ¾ cups water or chicken broth

2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

Arrange the sausage (or meat) in an even layer on the bottom of the Baker. Cover and cook in the microwave on HIGH for 7-9 minutes or until no longer pink. Take out of microwave (remember the baker will be HOT use potholders) drain meat, crumble into small bite size pieces, and set aside.

Add pasta, oil, salt, pepper, and water or broth to baker. Cover, and microwave on HIGH for 16-19 minutes until pasta is tender, stirring after 10 minutes.

Drain pasta, if needed.

Mix pasta, sauce, meat, and ¾ of the cheese in the baker. Put the remainder of the cheese on the top of the mixture.

Microwave on HIGH, covered, until cheese is melted and bubbly, aprox 3 minutes. Enjoy!

Yields 6-8 servings.