Pesto Chicken Pasta with Brussels sprouts

I love pretty much any dish that incorporates Brussels sprouts... this is a quick and easy pasta recipe that brings sprouts and pesto into the mix!

Servings:  4

Size:  ¼ of pasta dish

Points Plus: 11pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time:  35 minutes

Rating: 4 stars – Very good

Ingredient List:

1 lb. Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1 lb. chicken breast, skinless, boneless

12 oz. pasta, farfalle or orchecchiette (both work well for this recipe)

¹/₃ cup pesto

¼ cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a medium bowl, toss Brussels sprouts with 1 Tbsp. olive oil.  Spread evenly on a baking sheet and sprinkle salt and pepper on top.  Roast the sprouts for 20-25 minutes, or until browned and crisp.  While the sprouts are roasting, you can prepare the chicken and get the pasta water started.  Cut the chicken breasts into smaller, bite-sized pieces – cook in a medium skillet with a bit of olive oil.  In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente.  Drain the pasta water, but reserve about ¼ cup to add to the assembled pasta dish for additional moisture if needed.  Add the chicken, pesto, Brussels sprouts to the pasta and mix well.  Serve in bowls and top each serving with a pinch of shredded Parmesan cheese.

Tip:

There are a lot of extras you could add into this recipe – try some sliced almonds, or sun-dried tomatoes!

XOXO Megan

Caprese Burgers

Since spring has FINALLY arrived in Minnesota, it felt like it was time for some grill food!  I pinned this recipe on Pinterest a while ago.  The first spring weekend felt like a good time to test it out.  Stuffed burgers are hard to make on the small side because you need two thinner patties to seal together, so this is a bit high in terms of points, but well worth it I have to say.  You can serve with a side salad to get some more veggies in without adding points to your meal too.  These burgers were delicious and filled with some of my favorite salad ingredients.  Who doesn’t love a good caprese salad with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella?!

Servings:  2

Size:  One burger patty
Points Plus: 11 pp (this is only for the burger, not including a bun)

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes (adjust cooking time based on your preference)

Rating: 4 stars – Very good

Ingredient List:

1 lb. lean hamburger meat

Burger/Steak seasoning

¼ cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

Fresh mozzarella cheese

Fresh basil leaves, sliced into ribbons

Directions:

Mix the burger/steak seasoning into the hamburger meat.  Our favorite is Byerly’s Dry-Aged  Beef Seasoning – it’s a delicious blend of herbs, onion and pepper. Shape 4 thinner hamburger patties – make the middle of your patties a little bit thinner than the edges, this will help to make sure the burgers cook all the way through evenly.  Pile your tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil in the middle of 2 of the patties.  Make sure all your ingredients are in the center of the patty.  Layer the 2^nd patty on top and press to seal the edges.  Throw on the grill; cook until your preferred level of doneness.  We made our burgers on a grill pan on the stove.  The edges cooked well, but the middle took a little bit longer.  To speed up the cooking process we used a pan cover to help trap the heat and produce a more even cooking for the burgers.

Tip:

Although caprese ingredients are great in this recipe, there are MANY other options you could swap out for these caprese burgers.  You could make Mexican with jalapenos and cheese, Greek with feta and olives… the possibilities are endless!

XOXO Megan