Single Serve Pasta and Mexican Chicken Salad

I cooked some Italian Chicken for Bob last night and saved a chicken breast for today. I knew I was going to want to make this dish for my lunch. Normally for Italian Chicken, I marinade the chicken breasts in Italian dressing for about 4 hours. I take out 3 bowls. First bowl has flour, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Second bowl has 2 eggs, whisked with ¼ cup water and a pinch of salt. Third bowl contains flour, sea salt (to taste), more black pepper, 1 teaspoon Italian seasonings and shredded mozzarella cheese.

You dip your lightly pounded chicken breast in the first bowl and dust off most of the flour. Then you dip it in the egg mixture. Finally you dip in the third bowl – the flour mixture with the mozzarella cheese. Heat up 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet and saute for 3 minutes per side. I seved his Italian Chicken with some spaghetti and French bread. He was happy.

What I did for my lunch today was I marinated the chicken breast in a little olive oil, lime juice, salt, pepper and sliced jalapeños. While the chicken was in the fridge happily soaking up its glorious flavors, I cooked up some bowtie pasta, cut up some peppers (green, red, yellow, orange) sliced up some celery and some onion. I prepared my three bowls (small ones since I was only going to make one, Bob doesn’t like peppers). First bowl had flour, sea salt, ground black pepper and a little cayenne. Second bowl was same as the first, whisked egg with a little water, salt and pepper. Third bowl was flour, sea salt, black pepper, some chile powder, and some shredded cheddar and Jack cheese. I dipped my chicken in the flour – egg – flour/cheese mixture and sautéed it in a little olive oil, about 3 minutes per side.

I mixed in the beautiful peppers, celery, and onion into the pasta. Spooned the pasta over a bed of iceberg lettuce and topped it with cooked and sliced breaded chicken and finished it off with a little salsa. My lunch was perfect.

Except for the marinating, it took no time at all. I didn’t go hungry waiting for Bob to come home from work before I ate and I didn’t have another bowl of Special K for lunch either. Learning how to cook for one or two is going to take some getting used to, but I’m getting there. Enjoy your beautiful day my friends.

**********************