Pizza Chicken

When I was pretty little, my mom was trying to figure out what to make for dinner. She saw the tomato sauce, and she saw chicken. She decided to get creative and put the two ingredients together. While she was still trying to figure out what else to put in it, my dad told her he was craving cabbage. That really got her creative juices flowing which then became a family childhood favorite. When she served it, my siblings and I immediately called it Pizza Chicken, even though it is nothing like pizza. The name stuck, and a new tradition was born. For the first time, this original family recipe will be available to the public. This was actually my first time making it, and the first time my mom and I wrote the recipe down on paper. It was so fun working in the kitchen with my mom giving me instructions on our family favorite. Now I can pass it down to my own children. You will need:

1 Large onion (chopped)
1 Large green pepper (chopped)
2- 13 oz cans of large mushrooms (keep juice)
2- 15 oz cans of tomato sauce
3 Cups Shredded Mozzarella
5 lbs Chicken without skin (to absorb flavor)

Seasonings (all to taste):
Salt
Black pepper
Italian herb blend
Minced Garlic

Directions
Grease electric skillet. Place chicken in a single layer in the skillet. Don't cook yet. In a separate bowl, mix onions, green peppers, mushrooms with juice, and tomato sauce. Fill empty tomato sauce can half way with water. Poor water back and forth between both sauce cans to get the remaining sauce. Poor tomato water in the bowl with the vegetables. Add spices to taste in the bowl. spoon part of the sauce mixture onto the chicken just enough to cover . Cut cabbage in half. remove core. Cut each half in quarters or smaller leaving wedges in tacked. Remove loose leaves . If desired, roll loose leaves together to add in (note: loose leaves will turn to mush if in the sauce by itself) . Place wedges and rolls in a single layer on top of the chicken. cover cabbage with the remaining sauce mixture. Cover. Turn skillet on to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook until chicken is done. turn off the skillet. Add cheese on top, cover back up until cheese is melted.

This recipe makes 20 servings. We have a large family, so we have to make a lot. But for those who are cooking for one or a few, all you need to do is use the desired amount of each ingredient. There is no magic trick to adapting this recipe for smaller or larger amounts. That is what I love about "to taste" recipes. I love how easy pizza chicken is to make! If you are only making enough for one person, you only need one wedge or one roll of cabbage...unless you love cabbage and want more. The picture below is me with the pizza chicken already half way gone!

 Nutritional Value:

Calories:               184
Total Fats                 4 g            6%
     Sat Fats               2 g           10%
Cholesterol             59 mg       20 %
Sodium                 719 mg       30 %
Total Carb                8 g            2%
     Dietary fiber        4 g          11%
     Sugars                 4 g
Protein                    28 g           50%
Potassium                                   5%
Vit A                                          6%
Calcium                                    14%
Folic Acid                                   2%
Vit C                                          43%
Iron                                              2%

This recipe include protein, vegetables, fruit (tomatoes), and dairy. The food group that is missing is grains. Our favorite side dish is rice (especially rice with cream cheese and mushrooms mixed in it...shhh...don't tell anyone if that isn't considered healthy ;) ). If you want to make it healthier, then just do plain rice. We love to drizzle the sauce on top of the rice. This dish could probably use more fruit as well. Any fruit would do (how about a fruit salad?), or even a homemade fruit smoothie.

Pizza chicken is an excellent source of protein which is a building block for just about every cell in your body to help grow hair, finger nails, build and repair tissues. Protein is a building block for bones, muscles, cartilage, skin and blood. Pizza Chicken is also an excellent source of Vitamin C which helps protect our bodies from immune system deficiencies, cardiovascular disease, prenatal health problems, eye disease, and skin wrinkling. It can help boost our immune system when we are sick. This recipe is a good source of calcium (if you need to have it dairy free, the calcium value significantly decreases to 2%). Calcium is crucial for for bone strength, bone growth, and preventing osteoporosis. It can also help maintain heart rhythm, muscle function, and more. Even though this delicious recipe doesn't go over the sodium limit, I feel the sodium is a little high for one meal.

I hope you all enjoy my mom's family famous pizza chicken recipe! Enjoy!

Paxson, S.

Chicken Marinara

Hello everyone! My name is Whitney Bonnema and I made this dish because I am big pasta lover.
My mom and I decided to go shopping and find the cheapest ingredients to substitute as a healthier version of the pasta we love, Chicken Marinara. This meal is quick and delicious.

Ingredients: 
- Angel Hair Pasta
- 1 Fresh Garden diced tomato 
- Precooked 1/2 Chopped grilled chicken breast
- Italian Seasoning

I love this dish because anything can be substituted and the amounts do not have to be exact. Because chicken can be expensive, it does not need to be added and it will still turn out delicious!

This meal took me a total of 15 minutes to make. 
This process is quite simple!

Directions:
1. Boil angel hair pasta until desired softness
2. Rinse noodles, Strain water, Place to cool
3. While noodles cool- chop tomatoes and heat chicken
4. Chop chicken into desired slice size
5. Place noodles on plate followed by chicken and tomatoes
6. Sprinkle desired amount of Italian seasoning (or my personal favorite, Balsamic Vinegar)

Nutrition facts:

Angel Haired pasta-
calories: 200
calories from fat: 10
total fat: 1g
saturated fat: 0
trans fat: 0
cholesterol: 0
sodium: 0mg
total carb: 42g
dietary fiber: 2g
protein: 7g
sugar: 2g
-Contain a lot of carbohydrates, which provide energy for your body.

Tomato
calorie: 27
water: 141g
total fat: 0 
cholesterol: 0
-Tomatoes are an excellent source of vitamin C.

Grilled Chicken
calories: 150
calories from fat: 35
total fat: 4g
cholesterol: 60mg
sodium: 630mg
carb: 3g
protein: 25g
-Contains a lot of protein, which is a building block to many functions in the body


The food group that is missing from this recipe are dairy and fruits. These can be provided with a fruit cup and some milk or grapes and cheese sprinkled on noodles. 

Nutritious and Delicious Pasta

Hello! I'm going to share a really easy pasta recipe that tastes like a healthy twist off of spaghetti. I enjoy it because it is easy, yummy, healthy, and can be refrigerated and eaten throughout the week or shared with my roomies. 

Taste: Delicious, it tastes like it would require a lot more effort then it does. It is flavorful and a yummy combination of healthy foods. 

Ease of Preparation: This recipe takes about a half hour to make. It requires no earlier preparation besides going to the grocery store. The pasta is what takes the longest to cook, other then that the other ingredients are quick to toss in the mix! The best part is that if you make it for yourself it can last the whole week! 

Ingredients: 

3 cups of whole grain rotini

2 carrots (as shown in picture)

1 head of broccli 

1 1/2 cups of sugar snap peas

1 1/2 cups of marinara sauce

4 medium boneless & skinless chicken breasts

Directions

1. Boil water in a medium pot and add rotini, cook until soft.

While the rotini is cooking:

2. Spray frying pan lightly with vegetable oil and cook chicken until done. ( I salt and pepper mine)

3. Cut chicken into bite size pieces.

3. Chop carrots and cut sugar snap peas in half.

4. Cut broccoli into pieces about the size of your thumb.

5. Put veggies in a bowl with 1/2 cup water and steam them in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.

Once rotini is finished:

6. Drain water from pasta

7. Mix all ingredients in a big bowl

8. Warm marinara sauce in microwave or on stove, mix it in with the rest.

Bon Appetite!

Specific nutritional value: 

Serving size: about 1 1/2 cups

total fat: 5g

total carb: 40g

total protein: 26g

cholesterol: 49mg

dietary fiber: 6g

sodium: 56mg

potassium: 345mg

sugar: 5g

Vitamin A: 115%

Vitamin C: 58%

Calcium: 4%

Iron: 13%

Why are these nutrients so important?

Nutrients in Broccoli: contains a large amount if vitamin K, C, and A. Vitamin C is a very important antioxidant that helps keep chemical reactions within our bodies in check, and our body also requires vitamin C to produce collagen.
Nutrients in Sugar Snap Peas: a very good source of dietary fiber and potassium. Dietary fiber can help lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels. 
Nutrients in Chicken: chicken is a great source of lean low-fat protein. This will keep you feeling fuller longer and also give you the protein your body needs to repair itself daily. 
Nutrients in carrots: contain a great source of antioxidants. Antioxidants prohibit and sometimes even prevent disease. 
Nutrients in rotini: Whole-grain pasta is a great source of carbohydrates, which are an important macronutrient your body needs daily to keep energized. 

This recipe creates a pretty well balanced meal. As you can see it contains complex carbohydrates, protein, many vitamins and minerals, and a small amount of fat. I would suggest drinking milk on the side to incorporate dairy in your diet. I would also suggest eating your favorite fruit on the side. 

Ashlee Lawson

One Dish Chicken Meal

Green Beans, Potatoes, and Chicken all in one dish!

Super easy and cheap meal. I found this idea for a meal on Pintrest. I love finding easy meals and trying them and this one is a great one.

Ingredients

One can Cut Green Beans
Two small red potatoes
Five or Six chicken tenderloin strips
Salt, pepper and Vinaigrette dressing of your choice.
(I used a Greek Balsamic Vinaigrette)
1/4 cup of butter


The great part about this dish is that you don't have to use these exact amounts, you can alter it to use more or less depending on how many people you are serving! This is the amount I made and it was enough for two people.

The preparation is simple and takes less that 10 minutes.
Grease pan with butter or spray
Wash and slice the potatoes and layer on bottom of dish
Lay chicken on top of potatoes
Pour desired amount of dressing on top of chicken
Put green beans on top
slice butter and place on green beans
Salt and pepper it all
Cover with foil and place in oven at 350 for 45mins to an hour
Optional- uncover dish for last 5 minutes or so and broil to get a more crunchy top




BEFORE

AFTER

 

 

 

 

This is a healthy meal because it is made with simple ingredients.

This meal is great because you get your protein without getting too much, Americans always eat too much protein and with the addition of the green beans and potatoes, you get almost a complete meal. This dish mainly consists of protein from the chicken, carbohydrates from the potatoes, vegetables are the potatoes and green beans, and fats from the butter and dressing. Proteins are necessary for the structure and function of the tissues and organ systems in the body. Carbohydrates are the basic fuel for the body. Vegetables are full of vitamins and minerals that are essential for other body functions. Fats are also a good provider of energy for the body but its important to not get too much.

 

This meal has a lot of important stuff but still is missing some things.

Some ways we could add to the deficiency of this meal would to make a salad!

A salad with some dark leafy greens, cheese, some hard boiled egg, and maybe some nuts and dried fruit would be a great and delicious addition! Salads are great on the side or even as the main part of the meal and you can always add a ton of great things to them!

 

A way this meal can become unhealthy really fast is the butter, dressing, and salt you can add. Don't go overboard with the butter, just a couple of slices will do it.

Also we Americans have way too much sodium in our diets and I will admit I did add a lot of salt to this dish. A few ways you can cut down on the salt is by not adding too much to begin with and only salt after you have already tired the food. Canned food is a great cheap option for college students but they can also hide a lot of preservatives and extra sodium. I got a can of green beans that had no sodium added. When at the store there are usually options like this that are the same price so be on the lookout.

 

Healthy and Cheap meals are possible for college students!

 

 

 

I found a great website to look up the nutritional information about your meals

https://www.supertracker.usda.gov

 

This is ALL the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals of the recipe!!

pretty helpful and very comprehensive

 

One dish chicken meal Portions: 2   Food Groups Amount Per Portion Grains 0 ounce(s) Whole Grains 0 ounce(s) Refined Grains 0 ounce(s) Vegetables 2¼ cup(s) Dark Green 0 cup(s) Red & Orange 0 cup(s) Beans & Peas 0 cup(s) Starchy 1¼ cup(s) Other 1 cup(s) Fruits 0 cup(s) Fruit Juice 0 cup(s) Whole Fruit 0 cup(s) Dairy 0 cup(s) Milk & Yogurt 0 cup(s) Cheese 0 cup(s) Protein Foods 5 ounce(s) Seafood 0 ounce(s) Meat, Poultry & Eggs 5 ounce(s) Nuts, Seeds & Soy 0 ounce(s) Oils 0 teaspoon Limits Amount Per Portion Total Calories 596 Calories Empty Calories* 160 Calories Solid Fats 160 Calories Added Sugars 0 Calories *Calories from food components such as added sugars and solid fats that provide little nutritional value.  Empty Calories are part of Total Calories. Nutrients Amount Per Portion Protein 41 g Carbohydrate 35 g Dietary Fiber 6 g Total Sugars 3 g Added Sugars 0 g Total Fat 33 g Saturated Fat 15 g Monounsaturated Fat 10 g Polyunsaturated Fat 4 g Linoleic Acid 4 g α-Linolenic Acid 0.3 g Omega 3 - EPA 14 mg Omega 3 - DHA 70 mg Cholesterol 177 mg Minerals Amount Per Portion Calcium 78 mg Potassium 1215 mg Sodium 713 mg Copper 326 µg Iron 5 mg Magnesium 90 mg Phosphorus 381 mg Selenium 42 µg Zinc 4 mg Vitamins Amount Per Portion Vitamin A 199 µg RAE Vitamin B6 1.0 mg Vitamin B12 0.5 µg Vitamin C 20 mg Vitamin D 0 µg Vitamin E 1 mg AT Vitamin K 62 µg Folate 94 µg DFE Thiamin 0.2 mg Riboflavin 0.5 mg Niacin 11 mg Choline 138 mg www.SuperTracker.usda.gov

 

T. Stewart