Meal Makeover: Chicken Tetrazzini
PIN IT!What a remarkable few days it’s been on this blog! Thank you all for visiting and sky rocketing my views! Always humbles me to see that ya’ll like what I say and what I cook!
Now, the past few days have been a little rough for me. As I alluded to in my “Now What” post, I’m feeling a little lost and sad now that the wedding is over. Although I have PLENTY to keep me occupied (hello moving, hello school, hello 4 other weddings to attend this year), I’m still missing the whole wedding planning thing. It’s like postpartum depression for recent brides. Yes, I realize I just made up an illness and self diagnosed. Safe to say, this feeling of sadness that has taken over me STINKS. Like a rotten egg. PEE EWWWWW. So naturally, I needed a big ol’ serving of comfort food and a bottle of wine (or 2 bottles, don’t judge me) to try to cheer me up.
Enter, the amazing looking dish in front of your eyeballs, lightened up chicken tetrazzini. Before I divulge the recipe, I have to shamelessly admit where I got the idea to make this. Does anyone watch The Soup? No? Well, DO IT. It’s absolutely hilarious and will make you pee yourself, just a little. Well, a few months ago, I was watching a rerun and came across this hilarious video Joel was making fun of. It’s from the Maury show, so you know it’s good. Basically, a woman is accusing her man of cheating on her with another woman in their own home. The woman, allegedly, went into “their” home and cooked her man chicken tetrazzini. Every since that episode, I’ve been dying to make this. So friends, here you are! My lightened up rendition of chicken tetrazzini. Because if you’re going to be an accomplice in an affair, at least make a meal you don’t have to feel guilty about!
Recipe adapted from Eating Well and makes six, 1 cup servings.
Lightened Chicken Tetrazzini
What You’ll Need:
- 2 cups of pasta (I used tri-color rotini)
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 and 1/2 cup of finely chopped mushrooms (I used baby bellas)
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
- 3 cups of reduced sodium, organic chicken broth
- 1/2 cup of 2% milk
- 2 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken, skin and bone removed
- Lemon zest (of one lemon)
- Lemon juice, to taste (fresh squeezed!)
- 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup Panko dried bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon fresh parsley
How to Make It:
- Heat oven to 425 and grease the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
- Heat enough water to boil the pasta. Add salt and pasta once water is rapidly boiling. Cook until al-dente, around 8 minutes. Rinse and set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Add mushrooms and 1/2 teaspoon rosemary; cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
- Add broth, milk and lemon juice and cook for about 4 minutes more, or until sauce is nice and thick. Remove from heat.
- Place pasta and chicken into the 3-quart dish. Mix bread crumbs, lemon zest, remainder of rosemary and cheese into another bowl. Sprinkle over the pasta/chicken mixture.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly.
This dish was the BOSS. The mushrooms were soft and the gravy/sauce was absolutely delicious. It was decadent and creamy without being too heavy. The Panko gave each bite a crunchy texture and the Parmesan added just the right amount of cheesiness.
This dish is a MUST make, especially since one cup only has 6 grams of fat! Plus, aren’t my little bowls cute?
Nutritional Information per 1 cup: 295 calories, 6 grams of fat, 35 grams of carbohydrates and 25 grams of protein.
Beautiful meal, by the way!