Big Italian Dinner

Like everyone I love pasta with vodka sauce, but it's so loaded with fat even thinking about making it is just begging for a first class ticket to the Biggest Loser Ranch.  Needless to say I was ecstatic to find a recipe for Lite Vodka Sauce in the February issue of Cuisine at Home.  This recipe makes 14 servings so unless you are hosting a huge family dinner you'll want to measure out a few serving for now and freeze the rest for later. 

At my dear husband's request I served this with his favorite Chicken Parmesan.  I had leftover pizza sauce from making pizza earlier in the week, but you can substitute Italian seasoned tomato sauce if you want to skip making an extra sauce for the chicken.  

Lite Spicy Tomato-Vodka Sauce

Heat:

2 Tbsp olive oil

Add:

1 cup diced onion

½ cup chopped turkey pepperoni slices (1.5 oz.)

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 ½ tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp dried basil

½ cup tomato paste

Stir In:

2 cans whole tomatoes in juice (28 oz each)

½ cup vodka

2 dried bay leaves

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup heavy cream

¼ cup grated Parmesan

Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high.

Add onion and pepperoni to oil and sauté until onions are soft, about 4 minutes.  Stir in garlic, pepper flakes and basil; cook until fragrant, 1 minute.  Stir in tomato paste to coat mixture and sauté 1 minute.

Stir in tomatoes, vodka, bay leaf and salt.  Crush tomatoes into chunks with a spoon.  Bring sauce to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until reduced by a third, about 30 minutes.  Discard bay leaf.  Stir in vinegar, cream, and Parmesan.

Serve desired amount of sauce over pasta immediately.  Freeze the remaining sauce for later use.

Makes 14 servings (7 cups)  

 

Baked Chicken Parmesan

2 chicken breasts cut in half width wise then pounded until thin

salt and pepper

½ cup dried breadcrumbs

½ cup fiber one cereal crushed into crumbs

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon oregano

1 tablespoon basil

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup egg substitute

1 tablespoon skim milk

¼ cup fat free shredded mozzarella

1/2 cup pizza sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat chicken breasts with salt and pepper.  Mix breadcrumbs, fiber one, garlic powder, oregano and 1 teaspoon salt in a large freezer bag.  Mix egg substitute and 1 tablespoon in a shallow bowl.  Dip chicken breasts in egg mix then coat in the bread crumb mixture until covered.   Place on a baking pan coated with non-stick spray then spray the chicken with a light layer of non-stick spray.   Bake approximately 6-8 minutes until chicken is cooked through.  Immediately top the chicken breasts with a few spoons of pizza sauce and then top with a handful of fat-free mozzarella and place under a broiler until cheese is just melted. 

Pizza Sauce

1 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 large clove garlic minced

salt to taste

Puree all ingredients in a mixer.  Simmer in a saucepan over medium/low heat 30 minutes until reduced.