Monday's Dinner: Lemon-Basil Chicken, Noodles, & Brown Sugar-Glazed Carrots

This week's dinner was great! It did, however, take a lot more time than I estimated (as usual) and I didn't really get to enjoy it. Oh well - we're having the leftovers tonight.

I scour sites like Cooking Light every week looking for new recipes and that's where I found the recipe for Lemon-Basil Chicken with Basil Aioli. It's something I really enjoy doing. Is it weird that I also love it when I think of ways to make the recipes even a little bit healthier than what they say?

Lemon-Basil Chicken with Basil Aioli

Chicken:
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Cooking spray
Basil Aioli:
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon olive oil

Preparation
1) To prepare chicken, combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken to basil mixture, turning to coat.
2) Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; cook 8 minutes on each side or until done.

3) While chicken cooks, prepare aioli. Combine 1/4 cup basil and remaining ingredients in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Serve with chicken.

While the chicken was cooking, I made Fettuccini Noodles to serve with the chicken. Once those were finished, I melted butter over them with garlic and Parmesan cheese. I thought that would give them a little more flavor. Also, I doubled the recipe for the Basil Aioli so that it would make more of a sauce to cover both the noodles and the chicken. Though, of course, you don't have to do that - it definitely doesn't make it any better for you. I was just worried about it being too dry.

Mel made Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots for Family Small Groups one Sunday and I loved them. They're super-easy - I didn't really even need a recipe, but here's the one I (sort of) used.

Brown Sugar-Glazed Carrots

Ingredients
1 pound peeled baby carrots or medium carrots, halved lengthwise and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
Dash salt
Black pepper

Directions
1. In a medium saucepan cook carrots, covered, in a small amount of boiling salted water for 8 to 10 minutes or until

crisp-tender. Drain; remove carrots from pan.

2. In the same saucepan combine butter, brown sugar, and salt. Cook and stir over medium heat until combined. Add carrots. Cook and stir about 2 minutes or until glazed. Season to taste with pepper.
3. Makes 4 servings

All in all, it was a great meal. My family liked it, and it was relatively easy - even if it did take longer than I expected.

For my lunches this week, I made this recipe for Macaroni & Cheese from Self.com (introduced to me by my cousin). It was very good - almost everything you'd want in a macaroni & cheese that isn't too terribly bad for you. But, next time, I'd add a little more Velveeta - it was a little drier than I like my mac & cheese. That could just be a personal preference, though. Also, don't be retarded like me and put the broiler on to "make the breadcrumbs a little more crispy." I forgot about it for a few minutes. It was still good, though - the top didn't get burnt too much.

I love finding light recipes. Don't get me wrong - I'm not going to go overboard and make "weird" food. But, I am going to make things I love healthier. There's no point in putting all that "bad stuff" into my body if I can make it taste the same (or better) as the original recipe. Get what I'm saying?