Recipe: Chicken, olives, & lemon noodles

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This is a fast, healthy, delicious recipe for a weekday dinner.  I make it often, when I’m craving noodles and the saltiness of the Kalamata olives.  With the chicken, it’s also a great way to get some protein in your diet for the day.  I truly hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

  • ½ pound of chicken breasts, preferably cut into thin cutlets
  • One package of soba rice noodles (if you can’t find soba, just get brown rice noodles). 
  • ¾ of a cup red onions, sliced
  • ½ pound frozen peas
  • ½ cup red cherry tomatoes chopped (into at least thirds, maybe fourths)
  • ½ Kalamata olives (I LOVE Kalamanta olives.  Treat yourself and get really nice ones)
  • ¼ of a cup of basil
  • 3 tablespoons of olive oil (get a really yummy, delicious one.  There’s the olive oil that you cook food with and there’s the olive oil you use to finish dishes...You want the one that you finish dishes with)
  • Zest of 1 lemon (watch this video on how to zest a lemon and here’s the lemon zester I use)
  • Juice of 1 lemon

Preparation

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Start one big pot of water boiling for the noodles. Start one smaller pot of water boiling for the peas. 

Take the ½ pound of chicken breast, lay them flat on a roasting pan, sprinkle them with salt and pepper (I use a lot of pepper, I tend to use less salt), and roast them for about 25 minutes (20 minutes if they are thin, more time if they are on the thicker side.  FYI, I always ask my butcher to slice my chicken thin so that they roast quickly.  When the chicken breasts are cooked, slice them into easy bite size pieces. 

Cook the noodles according to the direction on the package.  You have two options, cook them 1 minute less than it says, drain them, and toss them with the 3 Tbs of olive oil in a bowl(this keeps them from sticking with each other in a big lump).  The noodles will keep cooking in their own heat and you will have them nice and warm when you eat them.  If you want room temperature noodles, then cook the noodles for the time it tells you in the package.  When they are done cooking, run them underneath cold water.  This will stop the cooking.  Toss them with the 3 Tbs of olive oil in a bowl.

Take the peas and put them in the boiling water in the small pot.  You just need to cook these for a few minutes; they are so small they cook right away.  How to know if they are done? The minute they turn a bright green, they are ready!  Take them out immediately so they don’t overcook and get mushy. 

In a bowl combine the red onions, cherry tomatoes, Kalamata olives, basil, peas, and the zest and juice of one lemon.  Combine this with the noodles and chicken.  You are ready to go!

I would love to hear from you, so please leave a comment below.  If you enjoyed this post, share it with your friends and family!

Lots of love,

Judith