Chicken Parm Fingers Over Garlic Spaghetti Dinner

The Game Plan:

• Breakfast - Chocolate chip muffins (made the day before or from the freezer), smoothies
• Lunch - Taco roll-ups, apple slices
• Dinner - Chicken Parm fingers over garlic spaghetti, green beans

The Plan in Action:

• 8:00am - Make smoothies. Put 3-4 cups fruit (We like a combo of bananas, strawberries and blueberries. The frozen bags of fruit specifically for smoothies are a great option too.), and 2 c. plain or vanilla yogurt in a blender and blend. If the smoothie is too thick for your tastes, you can add a few splashes of juice or milk to thin it. Pull out cream cheese for taco roll-ups so that it can come to room temperature.
  
• 8:10am - Serve smoothies and muffins for breakfast. While eating, start boiling water for spaghetti.
• 8:20am - Throw spaghetti in pot. Finish breakfast.
• 8:28am - Drain spaghetti. Clean up breakfast dishes.
  
• 8:30am - Start making taco roll-ups. Combine 5 oz. cream cheese, 1/4 c. sour cream, 1/2 - 1 c. shredded cheese, 2 t. chili powder, 1 T. cumin, 2 t. garlic salt, 1/8 t. cayenne pepper, and olives, green pepper, red pepper, green onions (or any combination thereof). Stir until combined. Spread on tortillas and roll up. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until lunch time.
• 8:45am - Put cooked spaghetti in refrigerator. Cut chicken breasts into fingers and put back in fridge. Clean up kitchen and go do something else for awhile.
• 10:30am - On a plate, combine 1 c. flour, 1 t. salt and 1/2 t. pepper. In a shallow bowl, whisk together 2 eggs and 2 T. water. In a second shallow bowl, combine 1 1/2 c. breadcrumbs, 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, 2 t. Italian seasoning, 1 t. garlic powder or garlic salt.
• 10:40am - In a large skillet, heat 3 T. olive oil over medium-high heat. Working with about 5 chicken fingers at a time, dredge through flour, dip in egg, then roll in breadcrumbs. Cook in heated olive oil for 5 minutes. Flip and cook for 5 minutes more. Repeat with remaining chicken.
• 11:10am - Put chicken in an oven-safe dish in the refrigerator. Make sauce by combining 1 8oz. can tomato sauce, 1 4oz can tomato paste, 2 T. water, plus more if necessary, 1 bay leaf, 2 t. Italian seasoning, 1 t. sugar, 1 t. garlic salt, 1/2 t. red pepper flakes, 1/4 t. allspice and additional salt and pepper to taste in a small saucepan. Place over low heat and let simmer all day. Stir occasionally and add more water if sauce becomes too thick for your tastes. Dice 6 to 8 cloves garlic and place in fridge.
  
• 12:45pm - Pull taco roll-ups out of the refrigerator and slice each one into fourths. Slice a few apples and serve lunch.

• 6:00pm - Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 2 T. butter or margarine and 3 T. Extra-virgin olive oil in a medium skillet. Add garlic, 1 T. salt, 1 t. black pepper, and 1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes to skillet. Cook for about 5 minutes, until garlic is tender, stirring often.
• 6:10pm - While garlic is cooking, put chicken fingers in oven. Stir spaghetti from refrigerator into the skillet and warm through. Put fresh or frozen green beans in a small pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, cover and remove from heat.
  
• 6:25 pm - Remove chicken from oven. Place a mound of spaghetti on each plate, top with chicken fingers and sauce. With a slotted spoon, serve green beans on the side of each plate.

Chicken Parmesan Fingers Over Garlic Spaghetti

Chicken Parmesan Fingers Over Garlic Spaghetti
For Chicken Fingers

• 2 lbs. chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 1 c. flour
• 1 t. salt
• 1/2 t. pepper
• 2 eggs
• 2 T. water
• 1 1/2 c. breadcrumbs
• 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
• 2 t. Italian seasoning
• 1 t. garlic powder (or garlic salt)
• 3 T. Extra-virgin olive oil
  

1. Mix together the flour, salt and pepper on a small plate. In a bowl, whisk together eggs and water. In a second bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, and seasonings. (I think a pie plate is the easiest thing to use for this.)
2. Dredge the chicken strips in flour, dip in egg, and roll in bread crumb mixture. Cook in a large skillet with 3 T. of heated olive oil. Cook for 5 minutes over medium-high heat. Flip and cook 5 minutes longer. (**If you are eating this right away and not stolen moments style, be sure that the chicken is cooked all the way through before ending the cooking process.)
3. If cooking stolen moments style, remove the chicken from the skillet after it is browned on both sides and refrigerate. About 30 minutes before serving dinner, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the partially-cooked chicken in the oven 15 minutes before serving. Check to make sure it is cooked all the way through before serving.

For the Marinara sauce

• 1 8oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 4oz can tomato paste
• 2 T. water, plus more if necessary
  
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 t. Italian seasoning
• 1 t. sugar
• 1 t. garlic salt
• 1/2 t. red pepper flakes
• 1/4 t. allspice
• additional salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over low heat for at least 30 minutes, or up to 6 hours. Stir occasionally and add more water (a tablespoon at a time) if the sauce gets to thick. Remove bay leaf before serving.

For Garlic Spaghetti
*I sometimes like to serve just this dish as a main course with a big salad. When I do, I double the recipe and add about 6 extra cloves of garlic. For something so simple, it is insanely delicious!

• 1/2 lb. spaghetti, cooked (reserve 1/2 c. of water from the pot when draining)
• 2 T. butter or margarine
• 3 T. Extra-virgin olive oil
• 6-8 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T. salt
• 1 t. pepper
• 1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes

1. Heat butter or margarine and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and seasonings and cook for about 5 minutes, until garlic is tender, stirring often. Add a few splashes of reserved cooking water and bring to a slow boil. Let boil about 3 minutes. Add spaghetti, combine well, and heat through. If needed, add a few more splashes of reserved water. You don't want it soupy, but you do want to be sure you get sauce all over the noodles. Sometimes a little extra cooking water is necessary for that.

I'm planning on incorporating this meal into a full game plan tomorrow night.