Asparagus Prosciutto Wraps & easy "Chicken Parmesan"

Friday night's dinner consisted of asparagus prosciutto wraps, "chicken parmesan," and pasta w/ peas and mushrooms. This dinner took me about 45 minutes to prepare by going in this order: boil water for pasta, peel asparagus, throw pasta in while preparing the chicken, wrap the prosciutto while cooking the chicken, cook the peas and mushrooms last.

Asparagus Prosciutto Wraps

Prosciutto will make almost anything taste good. This appetizer/side dish looks and tastes fancy, but is extremely easy.

Asparagus stalks

Thinly sliced prosciutto, cut in half lengthwise (1 halved slice per asparagus stalk)

Olive oil

salt

pepper


While the oven heats up to 450 degrees, was the asparagus and cut only about 1 centimeter off the bottom. Peel the bottom half of each asparagus stalk to get rid of the bitter taste, but keep the length of the stalk. Line the asparagus up on a baking sheet or foil and spray with olive oil using a mister. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss. Wrap each asparagus with 1 piece of prosciutto (mostly in the middle of the stalk) and place in the oven for about 10 minutes.

Easy "Chicken Parmesan"

This is a simplified and healthier version (sans mozzarella and breaded layer) of an already simplified chicken parm recipe.

4 chicken cutlets
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
parsley
sage
thyme
salt
pepper
3/4 cup marinara sauce
5 teaspoons parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put some olive oil in the skillet and sprinkle in about 1/2 teaspoon of each of the parsley, sage and thyme into the oil and stir. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and place in heated skillet. Cook skillets until brown on each side, about 3-5 min. each side, depending on thickness of the cutlets. Add the marinara sauce (I used Healthy Choice to save a few calories) over and around the chicken. Sprinkle the parmesan over each chicken cutlet. Place the skillet in the oven for about 8 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Fusilli with peas and mushrooms

This recipe is super fast since peas and mushrooms cook very quickly and you can save even more time by using frozen peas and pre-cut mushrooms.

Olive oil
6 oz. sliced mushrooms
10 oz. frozen peas
Salt
Pepper
1/2 lb. -1 lb. rotini pasta (depends on how much you want the veggies to stand out)

While your pasta is cooking in the water, spray some olive oil into a small skillet with a mister. Add the mushrooms in first and heat until almost fully cooked (they start to look slightly brown), then add the frozen peas. Add a generous amount of pepper, a pinch of salt, and spray with olive oil. Continue stirring until peas are cooked through (about 2 minutes) and set aside. Drain the pasta and stir in the peas and mushrooms. If you want a little added flavor, sprinkle some parmesan cheese.