Bow Ties With Chicken, Red Peppers, and Artichokes

I made this for some Memorial Day BBQ and picnics. I thought it was heavenly, Shyam was not as much of a fan. It was delicious both warm and cold, in my opinion. This recipe doubles easily.

6 servings
Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
12 ounces whole-wheat bow-tie pasta
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted (see Tip)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and thinly sliced
Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 small red bell peppers, thinly sliced
2 shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary, or 1 teaspoon dried
1 9-ounce package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed, or 1 14-ounce can, rinsed

Preparation
1.Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes or according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water until cooled. Set aside.
2.Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and sauté until no longer pink inside, 2 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
3.Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil to the pan. Add peppers, shallots and garlic, and sauté until the peppers are tender-crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Add to the reserved chicken.
4.Add broth, vinegar and rosemary to the pan and bring to a boil. Add artichokes and the reserved pasta and cook until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Return the reserved chicken mixture to the pan and toss with the pasta. Taste and adjust seasoning and sprinkle with pine nuts. Serve warm.
Tips & Notes
Tip: To toast pine nuts: Place in a small dry skillet and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.
NutritionPer serving: 375 calories; 8 g fat ( 1 g sat , 3 g mono ); 49 mg cholesterol; 51 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 28 g protein; 10 g fiber; 151 mg sodium; 497 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Selenium (82% daily value), Vitamin C (59% dv), Magnesium (31% dv), Folate (28% dv), Iron & Vitamin A (18% dv), Zinc (15% dv).

Carbohydrate Servings: 3

Exchanges: 3 starch, 1 vegetable, 2 1/2 very lean meat, 1 fat

I forgot to take my own picture, this picture from the web is pretty similar:

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/bow_ties_with_chicken_red_peppers_artichokes.html

Spinach Lentil Soup

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Spinach-Lentil-Soup-2/Detail.aspx

I forgot to take my own picture before freezing in individual boxes, so I'll steal the one from the original website.

This was super super easy and I just made a few modifications.

1. Cooked the lentils on their own for about a half hour so they'd be super soft.

2. After cooking the soup, I put 2/3 of it in the blender for it to be more pureed, then put it back in the pot to simmer with the chunkier part.

3. I thought it was a bland (and I don't usually mind bland stuff) - so I added some salt and creole seasoning to spice it up a bit.

I've had it reheated for lunch the last 2 days and it's very yummy for as healthy as it is.

Ingredients:
1 cup shredded carrots
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cups water
1 (16 ounce) jar salsa
1 1/4 cups dried lentils, rinsed
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 (10 ounce) package fresh spinach, torn

Directions:
In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, saute carrots and onion in oil until tender. Add the water, salsa, lentils and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 50-60 minutes or until lentils are tender. Stir in spinach; simmer 5-10 minutes longer or until spinach is wilted.