Dinner in 30 Minutes
I am admittedly not a very good planner. I just don’t think ahead very well. It’s something I’ve had to work hard to develop in myself once I became a teacher–and parent. I still revert back to my poor planning tendencies on a regular basis which is why making dinner in 30 minutes, start to finish, is pretty important to me. Here is a recipe solution to those of you who just run out of time in a day and need to get a meal on the table in 30 minutes.
Gluten Free Pasta
I very rarely make wheat pasta these days. Since doing a Whole 30, I’ve tried to change my ways when it comes to gluten. This means finding some alternatives. Currently, I’ve been using Aldi brand, LiveGfree, which is brown rice and quinoa pasta. Like any gluten-free pasta, it cooks a little different than wheat pasta. I also find it is important to rinse GF pasta when I strain it. It’s just much starchier/slimy than typical pasta and a good rinse gets rid of that sticky starch so that it has a similar texture as your normal pasta.
Also, interesting note for you. I do not like using the instant pot for my gluten-free pastas. It bubbles up in the pot and spits all kinds of sticky grime over the lid of my IP. Let me know if you have pro-tips for this!
Chicken Options
The recipe suggests chicken tenders, but I have made it with chicken breasts as well. And, I think it would be delicious with boneless chicken thighs! You can cook your chicken WITH the onions and peppers OR cook it before sautéing the veggies. If you do them before hand, you can get your chicken tenders to be nicely seasoned and maybe even a little crispy but you will need to remove them from the pan and add back in later! My favorite, of course, is to crisp them up in the pan before doing the veggies.
Either way, be careful not to overdue your chicken, especially the tenders. They get pretty chewy and over done easily. Sign up for my Cupboard Companion guide over on my homepage. It includes meat cooking temperatures that will be helpful for you in cooking your chicken tenders to the perfect temperature.
Healthy Chicken Pasta in 30 Minutes
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Chicken Tenders thawed
- 12 oz Pasta I use penne or fusilli
- 3 Bell Peppers sliced
- 1 Red Onion
- 1 Tomato diced
- 2 Cups Fresh Spinach
- 1/2 Lemon to squeeze
- 4 oz Feta Crumbled (Might need a little extra, depending on your tastes)
- 1 tsp Minced Garlic Sub a little garlic powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp All Purpose Seasoning Use your favorite! Mine is Trader Joe's Lemon Pepper.
- 2 TBSP Olive Oil
Instructions
- Start by getting a pot of water boiling for your pasta.
- While wating for water to boil, slice your peppers and onions. Check out the photos in the blog post for a quick hack on chopping peppers.
- Next, grab a skillet, turn the heat up, and get 2 tbsp olive oil nice a hot.
- Lay your chicken tenders in the hot oil and add your favorite seasoning. I like to use Trader Joe's Lemon Pepper or All Purpose Seasoning. You could also just do salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder (just a little).Turn the heat down right away to medium low.
- Watch chicken closely until the sides are turning white and the top is only a little pink. Flip and give it a couple more minutes. Remove from pan once tenders are done and set aside.
- Add some more olive oil to the pan. Throw in some minced garlic, sliced onions, and sliced peppers. Cover for a couple of minutes until the get soft.
- Meanwhile, your pasta might be done and ready to drain. Remove the pasta from the water as soon as it is done and rinse.
- When the veggies are soft, add your two cups of spinach and let it shrink down and soften.
- Add the pasta, feta, and fresh sliced tomatoes to the skillet.
- Squeeze a half a lemon over everything and combine. That's it! Enjoy!
Notes
- Calories 520.3
- Total Fat 16.2 g
- Saturated Fat 4.9 g
- Total Carbohydrate 52.5 g
- Dietary Fiber 4.2 g
- Sugars 3.0 g
- Protein 41.8 g
I’d love to hear how this recipe worked for you!
-Suzi
