Rock and a Hard Place

Oh how one little DM via Twitter can throw a person.

I'm still in a bit of a tizzy over the message I rec'd re: NOT posting full recipes (ingredients and directions) on my blog, despite the fact that I never claim these to be my own recipes, and that I credit the source every single time. As I told one of my co-workers (and loyal reader - she actually made one of the zucchini recipes!!) - I love the source so much, that this DM feels kind of like finding out there is no Santa Claus and Hanukkah Charlie all at once. I'm hurt.

Soooo, I have decided to not post the recipe in its entirety tonight, until we (meaning me and my faithful social media guru peep/blog redesigner-in-progress) figure this out. Honestly, if I remember my J-school law class correctly (50-50 at best) - I think because I am citing my source, I'm OK. But just in case...

Now let's get on with it.

Tonight was the hubs first day back at school with the kiddos. So, being the nice wife I am, I asked him if he had any requests for his special dinner. Chicken Parmesan.

One thing you should know about me - chicken parm and I have a long history together. As a child, I used to go out with my grandparents for lunches and dinners all the time, and the only thing I would ever order would be chicken parm. To the point that my grandfather and I tried to keep a tally of who had the best parm in NEO (at the time, it was Bass Lake Taverne, btw).

But obviously, that kind of fried, breaded goodness is not particularly healthy. So, luck would have it that Clean Eating magazine published a delightful recipe for chicken parm in its March/April 2010 issue. If you want the recipe, email me, DM me on Twitter or leave a comment and I will share.

What I will share is the nutritional comparison (per Clean Eating, not per me) of traditional vs. CE's version of chicken parm

Per 4oz chicken/4 oz penne pasta

Calories: Before 1,032  After: 439
Total Fat: Before: 25g  After: 12
Sat. Fat: Before: 12g  After: 2.5
Carbs:  Before: 127  After: 43
Sodium: Before: 1,233mg  After: 585
Chol:  Before: 229mg  After: 70

(Oh look - CE cited recipeczar.com in its analysis with the above comparison. Hmph.)

Reviews:
I've made this particular recipe several times, and it is honestly great. We all loved the meal. The kid and I added steamed broccoli, and the hubs and kid had garlic bread. It does take a bit of time to simmer the sauce, but I was able to whip it out in about 35-40 minutes (including cooking time) tonight.

Image note:
Yes - I know my images aren't exactly that appetizing. I take them with the camera on my phone. But, the image I include on the blog are of my portion, which is always the recommended serving portion in the recipe - measured out and all. EXCEPT tonight, because I cut my pasta serving down to 2oz, after getting some very stern looks about carbs from my trainer today.

Look MV! Only 2oz of pasta!